Retire early or travel while we can?

We retired 10 years ago. I was 60. Himself 62. No regrets. We weren’t eligible for out state pensions so we worked out our sums on the back of an envelope. Divvied up our ‘lump sums’ into monthly allowances to last us the 6y to state pensions kicking in.

My NHS pension is tiny (I didn’t join it for years, silly me). Himself had to forfeit 7% of his private pension for each year he retired early so that was 21% less of a lump sum and then the annual amount. It would have given us a better income but less ‘time’ but we have enough for our needs and have absolutely no regrets. Especially so as he is now on palliative chemotherapy treatment.

What suits one couple may well not suit another. Decisions have to be made after talking things over. We jotted down every possible outgoing - even dentist, hygienist, car service * MOT, petrol (we knew we couldn’t afford another and ours is an 18 year old Peugeot), birthday and Christmas presents, utilities. All I can suggest is look at all the financial ramifications of retiring early, struggling would bring its own stress and you can’t buy peace of mind. Then, after careful consideration if you feel you can live well enough, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Lack of choice brings its own stress. If you can only afford a cheese sandwich you’d yearn for a steak dinner but conversely, if you have the money for a steak dinner you don’t mind choosing a cheese sandwich! It’s when you can’t afford something you’d like problems occur.

Make sure your wants are less than your needs.

Go for it if it works for you financially. Best years of our life - fit, healthy and travelling the world. Now from the perspective of old, old age we have wonderful memories of those life-enhancing travels and experiences in our late 50s and 60s.
Seize the moment...

We did it and have never regretted it. Now my DH has been diagnosed with a couple of serious conditions in the past year which will impact our ability to go long haul, I’m even more glad we did it. We live comfortably and downsized which released cash too.
If you can make it work, do it. You never know what’s around the corner, as we and others on here know only too well.

Forgot to check for typos! I help with financial education and bills.

Primrose 53 I feel for you, my husband had a first stoke 12 years ago but had a 2nd stroke in November taking the use of both left and right side now.They also found an incurable brain tumour on his scan and now only has months to live.He is only 60 years old and we are both devastated, he is now in a care home, life really is too short 😢

There's no pockets in shrouds - go for it.

I had to retire early for health reasons.

I agree with everyone. Go for it. I have been on river cruises on the rivers of Europe. Smallish boats so you are not surrounded by thousands of others like on ocean cruises, and there are excursions from the boat to some really interesting places. One of my favourite trips organised through a university with a history professor was the Roman sites of Southern France. Mesmerising.

I latterly worked o a 'relief' basis by doing this I would book 3 nights away to Prague on one occasion, to Jersey on another occasion, we went off to Rome then another time to Venice, all the time with the security of my job. I found myself frequently working 7 days a week, when I eventually decided my health wasn't keeping up with me at 67, I decided to retire, a workmate told me to say I only want 2 days I week - he was a bit shocked when I said I had already asked for that. Now at 80, I'm so glad I had the chance of those little trips, cause there is little chance now.

Go for the travel option. I left my main job at 52 after a nervous breakdown but worked at several other jobs till I was 70. I have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit, lately with my family, and enjoyed ever minute.

I think it will keep you both young and very happy !

Yes just go for it ! I waited until 62, partly because my DH didn’t want to retire - but I worked part time and he was self employed so we did plenty of the things we loved . We had a few good years post retirement the. COVID and endless bouts of ill health ! Dont hesitate

I retired from my NHS job after 36 years at 55 , my OH retired the year before me , again NHS at 55. We are mortgage free, have bought ourselves a wee campervan and enjoy travelling around Scotland when the notion takes us.If you do the numbers and can afford it , then I would definitely recommend it.Life is far too short and I have seen so many friends pass away at a young age. I still work on the nurse bank a couple of times a month to keep my registration and it gives me the chance to catch up with my colleagues ( I work in dialysis).

Definitely go for it, take the trips whilst you know you can. Not being pessimistic but practical, knowing too many people who kept putting it off worrying about care home bills, by which time chances are you won't know slot about it, or what seemed a massive amount of savings will disappear in a flash!

Slot? 🤣 Much of course

Yes do it . We haven't regretted it at all . Husband decided after having a knee replacement and I went to . He was 61 and I was 57 . We did the maths and although we stick to a budget and aren't extravagant we have managed to enjoy trips here in the UK and abroad .
We'd seen so many older family members struggle with health issues that didn't get to enjoy their retirement sadly .
Every passing year the aches and pains increase so do it while you are able and well .The only downside for us is that the years fly past way too quickly because our weeks are so full . Life is short , time to enjoy it while you can .
Good luck , enjoy your travels 👍

Definitely travel now whilst u can

Go for it and retire early. I hung on to the bitter end because DH wanted me too but 6 months later needed life changing surgery. None of us can see the future and retirement is the best job I ever had.

Just do it !!! Life is short

I took redundancy at 60. My husband had already retired he was then 70. Oh how glad I did we had nearly 8 years of travelling and long winter stays in Spain before he got ill and died of prostate cancer 3 years ago. If I had waited till I was 66 I would have missed all those happy times and memories.

Go for it! My life was cut short at 63 by a big stroke. I am so sorry I put things off. Can’t do it now.

I pretty much retired at 57 (I still do a bit of consultancy work) and have never regretted it. My husband is a bit older than me, and the plan was that we'd retire together when he was 65, but the change to the pension age made that seem impossible. In the end, he decided to leave at 60. I stayed on for a while, but didn't like leaving the house in the cold and dark whilst he was still in bed .

Like others, I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing, and knew I wouldn't be able to change my mind, so it was a big decision that I dithered about for ages, but it was the right one. I'm never bored, and absolutely love not having to set the alarm. I still get a buzz from the work I do, even though it's just a few hours, and I now have plenty of time to follow my interests and do as I please.

My husband isn't much of a traveller. I would like to do more of that, but I'm not bothered enough to want to go alone or with friends. Maybe I will if I get itchy feet, but maybe not. My health means that I would have to think carefully about where to go and what I could do anyway.

I decided to retire at 58 after regularly working 12 hour days. One day I took a look at all the young faces in my open plan office and immediately made a plan to get out of the way and let a younger person have my position! I used my savings to repay my mortgage and overpaid my National Insurance to fill any future gaps and ensure I get the full state pension. I do not regret my decision and have filled my days travelling and volunteering 😀

Retire and enjoy yourself. My late husband retired at 60. He said to me, "If I die tomorrow, I've had 20 wonderful years" he had never been ill all his life but died two weeks later out of the blue.

I retired 6 years ago at 65. I still miss work. I miss the mental stimulation and the social interaction with a wider range of people. I only seem to meet other old people now! Although I don’t miss office politics and tiresome bureaucracy. We do have relatively good pensions, but I miss having greater financial flexibility. I am finding that life is getting more expensive, not less.

We are still well able to travel but have never wanted to be away for months at a time. Experience has shown us that 4 weeks is our comfortable limit. I would say that it depends what you want to do - very sympathetic to those who found themselves with less time than they hoped due to loss or ill health. But I know just as many who can’t afford to do what they would like - often because redundancy etc cut their working lives short.

You have a good chance of being healthy and active in 20 years time - just think about how much money you need to live the life you want to live over that time span -not just over the next couple of years. I met someone who had retired early, then gone back to work. He said that you need less money than you think in the short term, but more in the longer term. I have found this to be true.

Retired at 60 haven't regretted one minute. If you can afford to - go travel.