Retirement

I love retirement and the thought of going back to all that stress and anxiety of working gives me the vapours! I have plenty to do, have made a completely new group of friends and personally I feel liberated. I do what I want to do, when I want to do it for the first time in my whole life.

I had a very busy, very stressful job and was worried about retirement, but when I did retire (14 years ago now) I loved it ! I seem to be busy all the time, but doing things I want to do. We are lucky that we saved for retirement so are able to afford the odd night or two away, and holidays. My favourite pastime however is walking - which costs nothing. Keep a young, positive outlook on life and you will be fine

Sounds like you have doubts, so if you still enjoy it and can don’t, yet, but make a plan for when you do go. Is it possible for you to reduce your hours? I did this a year ago and reduced from full time to 3 days (though have worked from home since through lockdown). I do still enjoy what I do, but enjoy my time off too and wouldn’t have a problem filling the time if it was full retirement, especially once lockdown restrictions have eased. I still enjoy my job and the money that comes with it, but there will come a time before long when I give up completely.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

I was fortunate enough to have the choice to retire in my fifties and I have never, ever, regretted this. At that time our first DGC was a baby and it meant we had time to see & help our DS & family, as well as to do the same for arrival of our second DGC, two year later. A few years ago DH & I used some savings to undertake a round-the world-trip. We decided to do this while we could, "because you never know what the future holds". It was wonderful & memorable trip.

It was good for me, I feel so much healthier and stress free. Last job I had was very pressured and didn’t get support from my boss. The first year I traveled extensively, and for the past year it’s been Lockdown so have walked, read, painted and kept in touch via phone with people. So glad I haven’t had to go to work.

I think we are all different aren't we in what we expect from retirement. Some feel a need to be busy and on the go, filling their time belonging to various groups, volunteering etc and not happy to sit and "be". Others are more content just to "be" and take things at their own pace - perhaps joining some groups, or perhaps not. Others may fall somewhere in the middle of either of these. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that "one size does not fit all".

As long as you have enough income to cover all the necessities and to cover what it is you wish to do with retirement, then I would suggest seriously consider retiring, but if you feel the time is not quite right, then continue working a little longer, perhaps looking at reducing your hours as a gentle easing in to retirement.

So much comes to bear on these decisions, of course - your health might be suffering or you could be as fit as a fiddle, you might hate the job you are in or you might love it, you might have bullying work colleagues, or you might not, finances might be tight but they might not be. Only you can know what is the right choice for you. We can give you our experiences, and they might help a little - but that's just what they are - our experiences, and none will be exactly the same, just perhaps similar.

My advice would be to check out what your income is likely to be once retired, look at what your likely outgoings are going to be, remembering too, that some outgoings will cease or greatly reduce, others might increase slightly. Take the advice of a regulated financial advisor, if need be, plus contact pensionwise, and also contact the state pension people for an estimate and take it from there.

You say you are worried about having nothing to do when you retire, so perhaps it might be an idea to join a few things that might interest you before you retire which you might be able to take up further once retired. (I know lockdown makes that difficult at the moment, though many things are available online). I don't know what your interests are, but perhaps a keep fit class, birdwatching, a book club, futurelearn, learn a new language, sewing, WI, church groups, coffee morning groups (some happen at weekends), rambling (once it's allowed again), National Trust/English Heritage membership, a running group, gardening etc, etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I did! It was never my intention to retire in my late fifties but the workplace I’d been very happy in was taken over by a new company and there was a completely different focus which I was very unhappy with. I resigned with the intention of having a few months break before finding a new job but in that time my daughter became a single parent and I decided to retire to help raise my grandchild. Of course her circumstances changed, as they do, and now I’m bored and unfulfilled and too old to get a job. C’est la vie.

Retirement can’t come quick enough for me. Next Spring hooray! I have a bucket list of things I plan to do and places I want to visit whilst my health is good. I do think it’s a mindset I won’t feel I’m getting old,I’ll just feel I’ve been given freedom to eventually do what I want when I want.

Love retirement and the freedom to take things at my pace. I agree that you need a bit of structure and its easy to fall into the trap of others filĺing your time . A lot of my retired friends are stuck doing endless childcare and it restricts them. I told my lot that they can ask me to do anything but not to expect a yes all the time or even an explaination of why we say no. It works well for us. Covid has made a difference of course but I feel blessed not to have to use public transport or mix with 40 or more people each day any more. I feel safe and perfectly at ease with life. I cherish my relationships with family and friends in a way I didnt have time to before. Embrace retirement. Its not the end of life but the start of a new way of living one. Enjoy x

I'm 69,I retired at 63,now people have to work till 66.I was enjoying my retirement until the first lockdown.I had 2 little voluntary jobs,went to classes etc,was able to go out using my bus pass.I spent time with my family,including my granddaughter.But I've felt a lot older since the lockdowns,I haven't the same purpose to my days,and I just hope I can find the confidence to return to things when they can start again

Daisymae Excellent advice

I loved my job and my colleagues. I carried on working part time for 18 months. After this I felt ready to retire. I could afford it and my health was not great. I haven’t regretted it.

I don't regret it for 1 moment. I was 68 when I finally retired, having spent 47 years nursing and 2 years working with The Blood Transfusion service. I did some voluntary work with WVS and some craft work in a primary school before I finally hung up the work clothes and got a dog.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I retired 5 years ago and have t missed work a bit! Been busy looking after elderly family so retired at the right time. I would have retired earlier if I could have. Large construction company accounts director, so glad I am not doing it now!

I 'retired' at 60 I refused to work till 66 as we had planned everything around my 60th. I was lucky I had a local gov pension and will get my state pension next month. I love it until pandemic we have travelled out of school holidays I knit sew garden walk get up when I want go away when I want. Visit my children and grandchildren. After 6 years I have virtually no contact with my former work colleagues as you make new friends. I would do it again tomorrow

Elusivebutterfly

If you enjoy work you don't need to retire yet. We are all different.
I was keen to retire as I was stressed and exhausted. Even so, I did feel a little nervous about having no job after so many years. I loved retirement. I used to feel bored quite often at work but am never bored at home. I was always busy. Covid means much less to do but I am happy reading, going online and pottering about at home.

This sounds very like my reasons for retirement and my current life.
We're looking forward to spending time travelling this country once the worst of the pandemic has passed. We can take life as it comes and have all the time in the world to do whatever we want to do, at our own pace.

PernillaVanilla

Me too. I always said that I would not let the government make me work until I was 66, so I'm thinking of going at the end of this year when I'd be 65 and 4 months. I haven't enjoyed my job in social care management since Covid came along and I don't think I want to go through another full winter. On the other hand if I stay til next August there will be a bit extra in the pension pot and I will get my state pension, which is better than most as I have some SERPS and SSP to come.
I'm probably going to do some freelance work on a self employed basis for a few hours a week and spend more time with the dog and at the gym, more travel and all the usual stuff. DH is semi retired and works 2 days a week, that seems to be a good working pattern, especially if you enjoy what you do.

You wont get any more state pension working until next August, under the new rules if you had more than 35 years contributions/credits before 6th April 2016 you get the basic plus protected payments for the extra years worked but any NI contributions you pay after that will not go towards your pension, and the protected payments have been reduced under the last 2 budgets. I reached pension age this month I do get a lot more that the basic, but not as much I would have done if the 5 years of NI contributions after 2016 were counted towards my pension

Never, never regretted it. My company was keen to lose people so made very generous redundancy and early pension offers. I managed to retire at 50 with a good pension. Driving out of the gates for the last time was one of the happiest days of my life. I only missed the company of my workmates. I didn’t miss being bored and having my life run by the clock. My DH, 10 years older than me, had also retired early just before me. We indulged our mutual passion— travel, travel, and more travel. Long haul to exotic places and odysseys all over the UK and Europe in our caravan.
You have to have something you want to do more than work. I had one colleague who retired and had no interests. He was always popping back into work for a chat to his former workmates, just to get company and pass the time. Really sad. He died soon after.

Ordinarily, when Covid hasn’t got everything shut down, I juggle three volunteer roles with different organisations, all to do with the arts, education and entertainment. In other words, I don’t think of myself as retired but as someone who no longer works for money.

I retired early in my 50's because I was sick of doing the work of 3 people after they left. I'm very happy and have not taken up all the voluntary work and hobbies that people here suggest because I'm very happy not having a structured life but doing whatever I like whenever I like. We moved shortly after I retired and have recently moved again so I can look forward to the renovation of my new home and seeing more of my DC and GC now that we live near them again.
If you're not a "joiner" there is no reason why your character should change now, nor that you would be happy to force yourself to be busy through voluntary work or whatever.
Only you know how you will or will not fill your time.

I retired at 60 and had been planning it for a couple of years before. At that time I had just one grandchild I was looking after part time, but knew there would be more. Plenty of hobbies as well as house and garden and several retired friends. Since OH retired we've had more days out and holidays pre Covid. Neither of us regret retirement although he likes to do a bit of freelance work as and when.

grannyrebel7 it really depends on what your work is and what your finances are? I used to do complimentary therapies which I really enjoyed, I also worked as a support worker which I really enjoyed. I gave up the therapies when my thumbs started to be arthritic, I could not longer do a decent reflexology. I loved my support job and the people I worked with. I tried just doing 2 days a week, but somehow they turned our to be 5, 6, or 7 days a week. My hip joints started to be a problem so decided to retire at 67. I'm still in touch with the friends I made there, most of the residents have since died and I have been to their funerals (apart from covid) My DH and I travelled a lot then by the time I was 70 I was granny (a job I love). I'm 76 now and no regrets.

I haven't "retired" and tbh was a bit worried what I would fill my time. Thanks to Covid I have been furloughed since last March and have loved it. I am not looking forward to doing back to work after lockdown and cant wait till Christmas when I will retire officially.

I retired as as a community mental health nurse at 57 due to ill health, I loved my job until the last two years when we had a new manager who was an incompetent bully.
I find that since I finished work I feel old and don’t have much to do all day partly due to my ill health.
I was also more organised when I worked, now everything can wait until tomorrow.
I would suggest if you love your job and you are in good health stay there until you feel you have had enough