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

MissAdventure

No, because the word f* is one of the best words for using in such a variety of ways.

Oh yes!

I presume the over 55s who have given up work are mainly not claiming universal credit, so they aren’t in the figures - if they can afford not to work, there isn’t much any government can do to get them back, other than increase taxes and the cost of living to force them into it?
They could increase the number of years needed to get a full state pension. This would benefit those who start work in their teens, who are, perhaps, less likely to have good occupational pensions, and cut the pension bill for those who spend longer in education and take early retirement. It wouldn't be popular, but it would be hard to argue that it was unfair, if they phased it in rather than do it with immediate effect.

My understanding is that the graph only show employment benefit claimants, so students can’t claim it can they?

The statistics for younger people show 16-24 which is quite misleading as under 18s are supposed to be still in compulsory education or training so will not be working, except maybe part-time and cannot claim benefits. Even at 18, many are still at school. These young people cannot be counted as unemployed.

It’s an interesting question, so I had a look at the figures, and the need for effort to get unemployed people back to work is definitely age biased, in that it is the younger people, under 25, who are the biggest group of unemployed. Over 55s who class as unemployed have been returning to work, probably driven by the rise in the cost of living.
www.statista.com/statistics/974421/unemployment-rate-uk-by-age/
I presume the over 55s who have given up work are mainly not claiming universal credit, so they aren’t in the figures - if they can afford not to work, there isn’t much any government can do to get them back, other than increase taxes and the cost of living to force them into it?

I worked until State Pension age, though I would have loved to give up a couple of years earlier, when I was stressed and exhausted. I could not afford to leave before my pension kicked in as a single person.

Let's say, a fiddlesticks moment.

Delia22

I don't use that word either!! Does that .make 3 or 4 of us who have the appropriate grammar?😊

Like I said, the F-word isn't the point of this thread! And having worked with words my entire life, I like to think that my vocabulary is as broad as anyone's, but there are times when only certain words will do!

No, because the word f* is one of the best words for using in such a variety of ways.

I don't use that word either!! Does that .make 3 or 4 of us who have the appropriate grammar?😊

JackyB

PS: I never use that word either. I've never seen the point.

Good for you!!!!!

JackyB

PS: I never use that word either. I've never seen the point.

The word isn't the point here.

The majority of us seem to have our “F”
moments when new management arrive and drive us out with their new ideas etc. I retired from the work l loved, as a public health nurse managing a small hardworking team when my new line manager who had no idea what we did reorganised the whole team’s role. I decided that my mother would appreciate my help and support far more and I retired at 64. The lovely consultant I worked with also jacked it in 3 months later !

I certainly had such a moment at work and on an absolute whim checked out my pension status and promptly applied for early (55) retirement. My husband and I retired within a month of each other.
It turned out to be the best decision ever as he only had a few years of his and at least we were able to spend these years together.

Blazing row

Yes, worked in a school in a very demanding job (exam officer), difficult head but when a new deputy head joined she was so impossible to work with and wanted me to work her way ( after 15 years of managing perfectly well) had a blazing risk with her on the last day of the Autumn term and thought ‘ I don’t have to put up with this anymore ‘, typed my resignation letter, went to the head and told him I wasn’t coming back.

A difficult couple of months followed, but I am so glad I did it.

My husband had a moment like that and, hard though it was to get through the lean years that followed until his pension kicked in, we're both glad he did it. He was a higher-education teacher, preparing young people for a career in engineering (the kind of thing that used to be called an apprenticeship before the fools that run education in this country decided to scrap them). Due to another massively stupid government decision, the college was "put out to tender" (ie, sold to the highest bidder). The company that won have nothing to do with education; they make and sell things and are solely concerned with monetary profit. DH watched standards falling and falling as hard cash took over from educational standards as the raison d'etre of the college. Students who didn't have the ability to pass their exams were given "second" chances time and time again, to the point of absurdity. In the end, tutors were told to "make allowances" and pass those students anyway (because failures look so bad on the performance charts). He argued, explained, tried his level best to get the company managers to see that giving people an education is not the same as making and selling nuts & bolts. He came close to getting sacked (except he was still technically a civil servant and it's very difficult to sack a public employee). In the end, it was a student who was the last straw (ironic, considering DH had worked for years to get his students a better deal). "You don't care about us," said the student, "You just take your nice fat salary and think to hell with how we're going to get through the system." DH dismissed the class early (total anathema to him, actually), walked to his office and wrote out his resignation. We had a tough few years without his "fat salary" but it was worth the pain. At least DH has been able to live with his head held high. Since then, all universities and colleges put money, bums on seats and pass quotas first, whether they've been sold off to the commercial sector or left in the hands of academics. It makes me sick, which is why this posting is so long and tedious! Thanks for listening...

Agree 100% with those upthread who remarked how university work has changed for the worst. I left accademia in the early 2000s, having probably had the best of it. Universities were still about expanding one's imagination and experience. We did not have to wade through all this dreary woke and transgender stuff as both staff and students do now. Working in higher education now must be like treading on eggshells and being terrified of misgendering someone or committing a micro-racist offence by admiring someone's hairstyle.

We were all fortunate to be educated and trained in the 1960s/70s, all for free, with opportunities opening up for female promotion and responsibilities due to the fight for equality in the workplace and women's lib. No one forced us to go to college or university. All that money wasted

Sorry but I dont agree that ANY of the time I spent at university was wasted. When I was 18 it didnt arise as an option as my parents would not have supported me - even with a full grant from the LA. So I went into a career (Librarianship) where I qualified by another route - taking the internal examinations. Even then I had to do it part time because of lack of parental support.

Later Librarianship changed to become a graduate profession and those of us who qualified under the old system were being dispreferred by short sighted employers. These new people had no experience of running a library or even working in one. However they had a bit of paper we did not have.

Some of them were semi literate by my standards.

My F* It moment came when I was attempting to add up some statistics and one of these "graduates" kept interrupting me to ask how to spell perfectly mundane words. In the end I fetched a dictionary from the reference section and told him "Your the graduate. Use this!" and dumped it in front of him.

That was when I decided that I could not possibly do worse at uni than some of the graduates who were emerging.

I loved my job and have worked hard and supported myself all of my life. I had planned to just keep working until I couldn't work anymore. But so many things deteriorated at work and there was so much corporate interference it just wore me down. Then I found I was the only one still working out of my siblings. They egged me on, told me to stop as it was clear that I was done.
So that's it this year I chucked it in at the ripe old age of 64.

Every now and then I regret losing what was a very good salary, and to a certain degree my identity. But on the whole I don't regret it.

We both had the F***T moment a few years before we planned to retire. I was 55, DH was 53. We said if we can sell the house we'll be off to North Yorkshire. I was nervous but totally worn out as a Senior Nurse Manager with huge responsibilities. I asked for more flexible hours, that was refused, I asked to put my name on all the papers I had written for the Board which massively improved our services but no it had to be my bosses name on the work I'd done. The specialist nurse teams that I managed were under huge pressure and needed lots of support. Looking back I would have like to have stayed on longer but DH was in an even worse state than me. The house sold the day after it went on the market so off we went. I did do some part time work after for a hospice and some voluntary work as a Trustee but now at 71 I just do U3A and Golf. Still miss it all though. There was excitement even in the pressure and I felt useful and relevant. I don't now. Its all Gods waiting room stuff now. As I don't believe even that difficult.

w1u7

Miss Adventure your story reminds me of a novel written years ago by the great Lesley Thomas. The Adventures of Goodnight and Living tells the story of a man who on his regular commute by train to the office, every day sees a man fishing by a river bank. Lucky so and so he thinks and one day after a particular tedious day he decided to give up his job and goes travelling. Wonderful book.

That does sound a good read.

It's being brave enough to break "the rules" isn't it?
Often self imposed ones, at that.

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.

Miss Adventure your story reminds me of a novel written years ago by the great Lesley Thomas. The Adventures of Goodnight and Living tells the story of a man who on his regular commute by train to the office, every day sees a man fishing by a river bank. Lucky so and so he thinks and one day after a particular tedious day he decided to give up his job and goes travelling. Wonderful book.

I had the opportunity to take a 6 month unpaid leave of absence to live in Françe, so off we went (MrJ is self employed). It was wonderful, so although I really enjoyed my job after a month back at work I gave three months notice and took early retirement. We spent another three terrific years in Françe, we worked p/t and I drew a private pension, never regretted it.