Anyone here had a “F*** IT” moment that led to retirement?

Yep.
Sometimes it's just the very word, but I would never just say it in company, or online, in case it offends, or someone wants to say it does, anyway.

every day

I,ve never forgotten one day my brother,age about 6 came into
the house and announced the f word! My mother wasted no time she found some carbolic soap and "washed"his mouth out! I said to myself then ," I,m never going to use THAT word! "I was 8years old.

I'd never heard it until I was about 20!!
People just didn't swear so much in the olden days.

Having worked in the NHS for nearly 40 years, I had one of those moments, spurred on by a colleague who had left and was managing on her , not as many years as me, meagre pension. Loved my job, loved the patients, hated the stinking politics and the underhand bullying by some senior staff.
So yes I upped and left after serving my notice.

ours was when we wanted to take a large private pension as a lump sum, i said to husband that he would be in the larger tax bracket and would be working 40 hours for next to nothing so we took it all and paid tax but as he wasn't working we got most back the following year. Best thing we did. You cannot get time back. We are both enjoying retirement really pleased we did what we did especially as soon after came covid, i worked in a supermarket so pleased i wasnt working then.

Yes three weeks ago returned to work after a weeks annual leave and spent the first wrestling with myself as I truly didn’t want to do the job, I’ve doing for 24 years. Spoke to Dh and he said he was glad I’d finally seen sense as I’d been unhappy for a while, so next morning spoke to my boss and told her I was retiring early I was due to retire May 2025, she did her best to convince me to stay, but told her I was comfortable with decision have two weeks left and can’t wait to start living for me for the first time. DH travels across Scotland for work so can visit places I’ve only ever seen on the weather map at the end of the news programmes.

Went down to 3 days a week teaching aged 57! Did the sums, def had A F …. it moment! Retired at 58 after 36 years at the chalkface ! If the LA hadn’t restructured I would have stayed longer but took the freedom and no regrets !! Go for it but do your sums first

Yes. Big row over something so small with over bearing bully boss. Lucky to be able to retire at 60 after being in that employment over 25 years with the same boss. (Everyone else was lovely and I loved the job). Bully boss was the same to many of the employees but did have a few "favourites" who pandered to her🤮. Best thing I did.

I was the same - working in a university library when I heard that my daughter was coming over for a week's visit(she lived in the US). Hadn't seen her for a year and said OK if I take that week off. Stunned silence from my boss, then 'No'. I thought - I'm 60 I can retire, and I did. Never regretted it, and would never work for somebody else! I sell secondhand books via Amazon and I'm so much happier. May not have a fortune, but life is too short to waste on being unhappy!

I was teaching secondary school in Los Angeles when in March 2020 we switched to remote learning through the end of term in June. Three months of remote teaching did me in. I retired in June, two years before I had been planning to. Very happy I did, because I moved to the UK to be with my wonderful British hubby!

Mine was when I asked for partial retirement at age 60. It was declined so I did my calculations and worked out that I could manage (just) on my work pensions so handed in my notice. Of course, the powers that be went into panic mode because I would be taking my knowledge and experience with me and offered me partial retirement. I took pleasure in declining and nearly 6 years on I don’t regret it for a moment. Roll on February for my State Pension when my finances will be much more comfortable.

Yes, I worked at a hospital and wanted to work until I was about 67 years old to have something in my savings. I had to pack it in when I was 62 years old because of extreme stress. My hours were supposed to be 8.30 - 3.30pm and it ended up being 7-7! They piled work onto me and I was foolish enough to take it until I was ill with stress.

After 33 years of full time teaching in secondary schools with minimal maternity eave for two children I was completely burnt out. I was stressed, exhausted and depressed and thought that I would not actually live to see retirement at 60.

I had my lightbulb moment in the classroom, gave in my notice and left at the earliest possible time to preserve my pension. As I thought I was not long for the world I took the pension actuarily reduced by 25%, a swingeing cut. I thought the lump sum would help the family when I was in no fit state to.

Little did I know that retiring would give me a new lease of life. 13 years later I am fitter and happier than I ever believed possible. Life is a joy to me and I see a great deal of my family with an adorable granddaughter and another on the way in November. I am truly blessed.

Yes, I was a manager and was two staff down for almost two years, due to long-term illness, death, one woman who felt she should have my job and went off sick with "stress" and various other vacancies.
I worked in a university and it wasn't unusual for admin posts to be empty for some months whilst the rest of us were expected to cover.
Eventually I was told that I would be getting a one-off bonus which turned out to be £1200 (gross). After doing around 10 hours overtime a week I'd simply had enough and wasn't prepared to do it for virtually nothing. My replacement lasted less than six months.
I retired at 56 with significantly less pension than if I'd worked to retirement, but fortunately I'd been making additional pension contributions which helped a little. I don't regret it for a moment.

Susieq62,

You are quite right to say, 'Do your sums.'

I figured that after adding all the costs of travelling to work and other expenses and the £100's per month of tertiary education costs for my youngest DD, I was actually killing myself working for £400 a month disposable income.

I retired when my youngest had just left university and we suddenly lost the drain on resources that college cost us. I would have had to go anyway because of my health but her leaving Exeter meant we could live on the reduced amount with little effort.

I had several during the first lockdown whilst I was managing a retirement development. It never felt like "my job" from the start but I only had 6 years to go until retirement and fancied a change from the lecturing/training that I'd been doing all my working life. Since the job was in the Lake District, I decided to go for it.

Managers were deemed 'essential staff' when lockdown began and there were several incidents where people did really stupid things that put all of our lives at risk. The final straw came when a resident invited 5 members of her family into her one-bedroomed flat all at the same time! They couldn't have got 6 feet away from each other if some of them had hung out of the window! I missed them on their way in but when they all trooped past my office on the way out, I was fuming!

That was it! I gave my required 2 months' notice and took early retirement. No regrets.

I loved my job but then new manager started. Managed 4 years of her bullying and then had to get out

Me too! I realised that my work-load as a teacher was spilling over into my private life, and that if it continued to do so, our marriage would suffer.

Then my head-mistress told me I could not refuse to correct a sixteen year old boy's essay that had been handed in too late.

I explained as I had explained to the boy's mother who had complained to me that all my sixteen year olds knew and had accepted that the essay topics were posted at the beginning of term and it was up to them to decide when to write the five essays, but that they would only be corrected if I received them on or before the due date. I told them, they were old enough to start planning their work and accepting the responsibility of getting in done in time.

I also asked my head-mistress why it was unacceptable to refuse to correct an English essay that was handed in late, when the entire Maths dept. refused to correct end of the month projects that came in late, and no-one had told them they could not do this.

As I received no satisfactory explanation, but was told I had to correct the essay, I went home, discussed the matter with my husband and a couple of days later handed in my resignination, stating plainly why I was resigning.

I have never regretted doing so.

Politically it is fashionable to try to encourage all retirees to go back to work - all countries are trying this right now, saying that there is a shortage of workers in all branches.

How this can possibly be the case when millions of young people with good qualifications cannot get work, I do not know.

I worked out at 60 that as a pension kicked in I could afford to drop one day a week - couldn’t stop as daughter just starting uni. So I did that . The work was okay but a petty minded work environment ( line manager and management cronies) meant that together with increasing ill health, I was questioning carrying on.
I applied for and got a management post in a completely new role - loved the work and the people were great but this changed when anew manager joined the team - not my direct manager but felt she should interfere in everything I did. The frustration of this ( I spoke up for myself and reported to my line manager and there’d be a short improvement but then the digs would happen again) and another team member had long sick absences which disrupted the work as you were never sure when they’d be in or if when they returned they’d change anything.
Eventually , daughter finished uni and got a job , state pension was due and having checked how much I’d receive from my work pension , after a particularly fraught period with arguments about how a piece of work was to be carried out and how often I’d attend the office ( using public transport my commute is an hour to the office - I also got a lot more done working from home) I decided I’d had enough and at 66 I decided to retire .
It’s still relatively early days but my health has improved and I don’t miss the stress

Yes twice. The first was when I burnt out working 70 hours a week due to staff shortages. I realised I didn't ever want to go back so resigned after being off ill for 2 months. Financially it wasn't a good move as I was on full pay at the time but probably not thinking straight. Don't regret leaving though.
The second was when I was child minding and after 3 years I was diagnosed with a lung condition at 59. I decided I wanted to retire so gave all the parents 3 months notice and found alternative child minders for them all. OH had a well paid career so we managed on his salary until I was 66 and could claim pension.

Yes, me, several moments in fact. I was off work for a long time after an operation and a serioius diagnosis, I was hassled mercilessly while I was off, and I had no end of advice from docs and occupational halth that I was to take it easy whn I returned, but my boss said 'That doesn't work for me' When I explained my limitations.
I was made to feel more and more of a waste of space and so one day I just said 'No more' Luckily it was part time, but I DID need the money but after my life changing illness I just could not deal with it any more and just wanted peace.

Ziplok

Similar here. My work was making me ill and I decided it was time to go or I wouldn’t be around to enjoy any sort of retirement. I don’t miss it one bit and there’s no way I would be enticed back. A drop in income, certainly, but as the saying goes, you cut your cloth to suit.

Me too….and four months later I had viral myocarditis, complete heart block and was very ill for months.I’m sure years of stress and having no help at home contributed.

Way before retirement I had a F* moment and packed up all my things and walked out of work half way through a morning only to remember I couldn't get home as my daughter had borrowed my car that day! Stayed for another 10 years plus.

Yes, I walked out, was signed off sick with stress and never went back. The policy of local government is to get you back to work asap. I was approaching a phased return and my epiphany came when I realised I wouldn't get better if I went back. I knew there was one colleague I simply couldn't work with. I wrote and sent my resignation that day and never looked back. I was lucky because they waived the requirement to return to work my notice and I could afford to lose my salary. The clouds rose and the sun came out. I was a school teacher and I was 59.