I'm intending to retire! ?

It is lovely - complete freedom to do what you want, when you want.
The only problem is there is so much choice and a lot of it clashes.
You name it and you can volunteer for it but I would take stock first and decide if you really want to do it.
I would recommend the U3A and the NWR.

Don't rush into anything is my advice.
Relax for a couple of months and weigh up your options. Enjoy mulling over what it is you plan to do, be that volunteering, joining a club, taking up a new hobby or something else. I suggest you leave at least a couple of days a week free where you can do 'sweet fanny adams' it's a great feeling !

Good luck Loopyloo. I'm looking forward to retiring in a year's time. Or rather, I've given myself a year to decide because the thought of living on a much reduced income scares me a bit.

Thank you!
Londongirl the much reduced income scares me a bit, my State pension is 3 years away, but the sudden announcement that a very successful service is not going to be funded in future has made me have a total rethink.

When I consider my car/petrol costs, too much spending on clothes, buying ready meals because I am bad at meal planning, buying sandwiches when I'm in the office, reduced stress etc are taken into account I'm definitely going to give it a good go.

It also means I can focus more on my very elderly parents and dgs (+dgs2 due May!) without feeling as if I'm either pulled in two directions or feeling guilty I can't do more.

Both DH and I often comment on how costly going to work was!

Enjoy your retirement.
X

A good decision and I wish you lots of luck.

I love the freedom that I have to pick and choose what I do. And the breakfasts in bed are not to be sneezed at!

We never really felt the pinch when our income plummeted on retirement because we have no housing costs, as the mortgage is paid off.

You do get used to living on less, and the other compensations are so huge that you just go with the flow and live within your means.

LoopyLou congratulations!!

I retired 2 years ago , 9 years off my state pension ( because they keep moving the goal post !) and went from a high salary to zero overnight !!

Luckily DH has a reasonable pension so for the first time in 40 years I'm dependent financially on him. I didn't expect to retire so although I'd done some planning not enough to improve my financial situation.

It's been fabulous!! Took a while to sort the finances out between us so I don't feel I have to ask for everything. But in terms of living it's been amazing. All those things I never had time for are now within my grasp. No ' oh god it's Sunday night - work tomorrow' feelings ! No office politics, no caring about my team , no HR issues etc etc .

We do budget more now . We don't have takeaways mostly ( all those 16 hour days meant we ate a lot of takeaways). I enjoy cooking from fresh ingredients now I have time and I'm not permanently exhausted. We shop around because we have time.

I think you're going to love it, even if finances are a bit tighter .

loopy pretty much the same happened to me and "propelled" me into retirement. Here's what I have learnt: you spend a lot less money when you are not out and about. I am at home day after day quite happily and sometimes my only spending is on bread and milk. Compare that to popping in to somewhere like Pret daily for lunch (in London).

After about a year of full time retirement I got a bit bored so I took a short term contract which ends in June - only accepted it because interested me. So I'm already looking forward to having the summer off again. I only work 3 days a week (from home) - and on the other days my best is settling down with my knitting to watch a movie at 10 a.m.

Now when people ask me "Are you retired?" I say "No, I'm in transition".

Good luck!

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Reading all this is really confirming my thoughts and decisions, thank you so much x

I think that most people on the verge on retirement worry about whether they'll have enough to live on. We have friends in a similar situation at the moment and it is their biggest worry, in spite of us trying to reassure them they will be ok (they will have more income than us and we more than manage and haven't had to tailor our lifestyle too drasically). DH is a great advocate of bus passes and using public transport instead of the car to get about - or he was until he got on the bus yesterday and sat in a seat someone had urinated on! I think it might have coloured his view somewhat!!

I hadn't intended to retire when I did, I went from full time to part time to my contract ending and even now I do not know if I am retired or not working! Luckily DH has a decent pension, so I am reliant on him till my SP kicks on. I think I worried more when I gave up work to have children before the days of maternity pay. Time does not hang on our hands, there is so much to do even without voluntary work. Hope you have a very enjoyable retirement!

Thank you for starting this thread, loopylou. My very part-time job seems to be coming to an end and so I have been very interested to see the encouraging things that others have posted. As I wasn't earning much anyway, it's not going to make a noticeable difference to our financial position, but I have been worried about filling the time and whether I would feel useless. (I do have another seasonal job which will keep going for a few weeks in the summer, so I won't be entirely away from the wonderful world of work, so it's silly to be concerned.) Thank you all for making it so obvious that you're enjoying yourselves!

Thank you so much for starting loopylou I have been pondering on retiring for so long. I think about it every day. My once wonderful job with the NHS has become so stressful that I somtimes feel as if I'm going to either have a heart attack or get an ulcer. My worries are mostly financial. I just don't want to go back to penny pinching and having to wear my husbands old army body warmer in the winter to keep me warm (I did this when my children were little and at school) I also worry I'll become depressed or slovenly with nothing to do all day. I can get my SP mid March and I will have a small pension from the NHS. My husband reckons I'll be about £80 week worse off. He thought telling me that would comfort me. It didn't I can remember working for less than that. I think all this is a throw back to my 50's impoverished childhood and my family's 'work till you drop' ethic. The first thing my late dad used to ask me was " job still going ok, then he'd go through my whole family asking if they still had a job even before he asked how we all were" An old friend turned up unexpectedly today. I trust her to give unbiased advice and she thinks I should retire. So perhaps this thread it fate and I should take the plunge. Scary.

I've been in transition for about 3 years with a very, very reduced self employed workload. Finally finished work 3 months ago. The finance was seriously scary, as it was when I moved to self employment, but it's working out. Our occupational pensions are dire but just enough. Still experimenting with being retired, found I need a sort of (very) flexible structure. It's working, it's fun and possibilities only bounded by my courage - or lack of it. You will be fine.

Health-wise I have palpitations and an ulcer from my previous job, so know what you mean. It is scary morethan2, I have a small NHS pension and a very small private pension but I'm going for it.

I reckon things will be a bit tight but the thought of not being stressed about working completely cancels out my concerns regarding money - we'll just have to be sensible (and goodness knows we've been there before!)

I have umpteen things that I want to do, and although I'll be probably about £100 / week 'worse off', I'm sure I can manage with not 'needing' new clothes/ready meals/odds and sods that are quite honestly frippery, not necessities ?

We will see!

loopylou provided that you can sort out food shopping you may, like me be able to go a full week without spending anything. No more tube journeys into London, no more clothes and shoes to be bought and I agree with others, sandwiches bought daily and the odd lunch out treat. That is where my money vanished when I was working.

I have not filled my car up with petrol for a month so I save there. You will also notice the days and times when your local supermarket is selling off items.

You are retiring at a good time, spring is about to start, summer is on the horizon, you will have sorted out your money by the time winter sets in and you may have to spend extra to heat the house/flat. Enjoy!

You are so right about the myriad things that you simply don't 'need' when you retire. My wardrobe hardly ever changes - just two or three new sweaters now and again, or tops in the summer. Trousers and jeans seem to last and last.
There was the travel to work costs, the monthly charge for a parking space at work (about £50!). None of that now.
And then there was the wonderful sandwich bar on our campus, who could resist? There goes another £3 a day. Oh, and the newspaper to read in my lunch break, might as well buy a choccy bar while I'm about it as they're on offer. And so it went on.
My net income is about two thirds what it was when I was working, but I seem so much better off! So you could well be very surprised loopy and find things aren't anywhere near as tight as you fear. And just think how great it will be in the summer, not having to go out in all the pouring rain lounging in the garden with a book and a glass of wine.
Good luck, I'm sure you will very soon realise that it's the best decision you've ever made

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I'm really looking forward to it!
Thank you everyone, ???☕️

I've got a big drop in money coming in when my son leaves home in the Autumn, but I will just have to cut my cloth accordingly. Also, expenditure will go down, not as much food to buy, less cost on electricity, no phone bill for him, no finding extras for him to go out. Swings and roundabouts, just different.

I do hope you enjoy your new found freedom. Daytime tele is just grand.

Yes, you can save loads when you aren't working, we have a good lifestyle on less than 50% of our previous income. We have redecorated our house, and helped family members with theirs, Have lots more time to get fit, go to silver screen at the cinema, go on cheap last minute holidays, meet up with friends for lunch , time for hobbies etc. We are enjoying it while we can as you never know what's round the corner, too many of our friends and colleagues never lived long enough to enjoy their retirement, so look on it as a time of fantastic opportunities,

I work full time at the moment in two different jobs. Both are stressful in their own way but the NHS one which is two days is beyond stressful now and I hate it. I will be retiring from both in July of this year and I can't wait! I'll manage on the reduced income and the bonus is I am moving right next to my daughters which which will be wonderful. I have all kinds of plans and with some health/pain issues I really need to stop working but as I am divorced and needing to finance myself I've had to plan carefully but it's all falling into place. I say go for it and enjoy a new life, I am

I'm planning to retire in the summer and like you was concerned about the drop in income. One thing that has helped me plan is an app I downloaded on which we are diligently recording everything we spend each day. We've done it for 3 months now and (even discounting Christmas) it's been very helpful to get a true summary of where our money goes now. I can clearly see expenses we won't have and also how much I spend on a whim - little treats at work, coffees you forget about etc. It's made us realise that we should be able to manage fairly well and I'm also much more aware of the money I currently waste!

I won't get my state pension until I'm 66!

Having said that, I love and really enjoy my job!

I retired from teaching at 58, and although I still loved my job, I was absolutely exhausted both physically and mentally. It is the best thing ever...we retired together and straight away went away to a fairly isolated cottage in the Black Mountains. This helped adjust to the new pace of life. We are both less tired, enjoying not getting up at 6,a.m, being able to help out more with the grandchildren plus doing more voluntary stuff. My husband has become a governor in a very challenging school...i do lots of aqua aerobics , garden and am just about to take on a guide dog puppy. Yes, a very reduced income but we manage and are absolutely loving retirement. Of course there are times when you miss work but the positives definitely outweigh this. Take your time to adjust but have some projects that you want to do...we tackled the mountain of photos that needed sorting. Enjoy!