Early retirement

The way things are going, in a few years "early retirement" might be at age 70 for both Male and Female retirees.  It's important that everybody plans  their finances  for their retirement, even although they are entitled to those gold plated protected pensions paid for by the rest of society.

K 

even although they are entitled to those gold plated protected pensions paid for by the rest of society.

There is, at least for me, another side to that coin. For much of my life I could have earned more in the private sector. On three occasions I was offered a position with one of a number of consultancies that I had worked with at considerably greater income than I was then getting. I considered that my terms were better where I was working and that there are also things that can be more important than money.

Husky, I think others have covered it. An analysis of income and outgoungs is essential but remember that after retirement your tax liability will reduce along with gross income, your travelling costs will reduce - will you need to keep the van, for instance.

In my experience, if you work things out on a worst case scenario and still think you’ll be OK, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised when the reality happens.

Good luck.

if you work things out on a worst case scenario and still think you’ll be OK, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised when the reality happens.

Some truth in that TW. When I made my calculations based simply on what came in and what went out I made no allowance for the fact that some of my outgoings were in fact payment into a regular saver or the fact that most of my savings received interest which did not then figure as it was reinvested at source. 

Two thirds of my savings are now set up to pay monthly - a move I started on the run up to retirement. 

Your usual"provocative" type post is like water off the ducks back for us who, when working in industries that are/were the backbone of keeping the UK going, and at much lower wages and still paid into our pension funds,whereas the private sector were mostly enjoying far more "perks" and wages than us,

We are now reaping the benifits that the govenments of the time bestowed on us after having strong representations made to them  from variose trade unions,

and i am sure that we are all grateful that our years of being looked down on by some that our past efforts are now recognised

Ps it is the "golden key"  which "unlocks" money to keep our pensions afloat ,not as you say

Your usual"provocative" type post is like water off the ducks back for us who, when working in industries that are/were the backbone of keeping the UK going,

All I can say to that is ''Quack, Quack''. 

Many of those that I had dealings with in consultancy could not understand why I was prepared to settle for less income. 

We both retired at 60; sold the family home and down-sized; resigned as local secretary of Lib Dems and joined the Caravan club; bought a second-hand motorhome, and set off for France with no guide book, but some clippings from MMM, and now 14 years and 155,000 miles later we're still looking forward to our next trip out.

When you retire ,and want to travel, make sure you don't have any responsibilities that tie you down. ( family duties cannot be excluded of course); get house insurance with 90 days cover and annual travel insurance included (eg Comfort Ins); and keep track of who's offering the best interest rates for your savings.

The one thing you can't assume is continued good health, so get cracking as soon as you can to do the things you want to do, and to visit the places you want to visit!

Not sure if it has already been mentioned Husky, but the Chancellor (previous one) has decided that total years of paying N.I. contributions increased from 30 (which I had) to 35 (which I didn't) so I've been playing catch up to increase my pension when and if I qualify for it. So check your N.I.status. You can do this online with them.

Look at income and outgoings HD, and trust me, don't leave it too late. No one knows what is around the corner, just make sure after all the hard work you get to enjoy what you want to do. Time and health are your most precious possessions. 

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