Growing Up

Well that is a relief, I've been putting it off for years

The proposition is of course a nonsense. The over fifties still have a long life of relative poverty in retirement ahead, when they are no longer able to offer employers a decent return on their potential efforts. Returns on money saved has never been lower so that sacrifice is not going to return as expected in private pension terms now ...

Maybe one does not have to grow up till you are sixty or sixty seven at normal retirement age, but the writing is still on the wall for most.

ATB from George

Don't be such an old grumpy George,  some glasses are half full as it happens :-)

My lifestyle has bettered appreciably since I retired, apart from spending a lot my time with a rather nice person. Thanks to my investments & me taking care of maximizing my pension during my working life.  

As to investments being low,  you need to take a look around whats available.  I'm no financial guru - far from it. Apart from 2008/9 when my investments did drop to single digit negative,  every year since has been double digit positive.   

I do not intend to "grow up" in fact I firmly believe that looking on the bright side of life, i.e. not taking life so seriously & maybe acting like a carefree teenager once in a while keeps you as young as you want to behave.  

The Mick P school of economics - if you have no or little money for retirement it is your own stupid fault.

i reached 50 the started to take the years of, so i shall retire at 15 years old.

Well i'm now 52 and still in touch with my inner toddler so it looks like I'm destined never to grow up.

My plan is to take on the challenge posed by a fellow kite flyer: He who dies with the most toys wins. I'm aiming for at least a place on the podium!

I do think George has a point Mike. I have 2 private pensions that TBH aint worth a toss when i look back at how many years i have put into them. Sadly one of them is with good old Equitable Life. We are fortunate that SHMBO and myself dont have to worry,but a lot of OAPs can look foreward to a grim old age and a constant struggle to make ends meet.

Mista h

OK Mista H,   in hindsight maybe my post did seem to be insensitive. I have been fortunate & maybe more so than others - & an apology is in order methinks -sorry if I have offended.   

The point I was trying to make - light-heartedly - is that life can be gloom & doom if you let it,  I am just a perpetual optimist - always look on the bright side as Eric Idle sang so nicely

-  oh & don't forget to turn a dollar a day !!!. 

Dear Mike,

I am a jollier person than sometimes my posts indicate.

I don't care to look too far forward, but rather take the present day and enjoy it. 

When I was younger I looked forward with that optimism that allowed for prudent [within the budget possible] planning for sufficient financial independence of begging from the state in old age ... 

My private pension plan, such as it could ever have been, required the economy to develop continually as it did before the crash of the Balir Brown era. Quite obviously, we are living in a World that will not allow for below average earners to set themselves up with more than something that will be assessed away again in a claim for rent and Council Tax support!

Never mind actually gaining some independence of finance in old age.

I can say this, I missed out on inheriting a fortune that would have allowed me to retire today!

So I do see both sides of the divide.

So I try to be optimistic enough to enjoy the joy each day can bring without thinking too far forward!

ATB from George

He who dies with the most toys wins. I'm aiming for at least a place on the podium

Damn, I'll have to get my 135 active six pack now...

Money's not everything, health and happiness come first in my book, but, of course, it helps, especially in the Naim game!

I'm 58 now and with the financial restraints of the children nearly done, my daughter's in her final year at University, I'm looking forward to retiring in 7 years. Apart from my system I'm not an extravagant spender and when I retire, we'll probably go back down to my home county of Devon where we'll be downsizing and living a simple life of music, golf, fishing and walking. The only priority with the house we buy is to have a good sized room for my hifi and records. Although my wife and I are reaching that 'certain' age our outlook is young and we want to live the rest of our time together to the full, and you don't necessarily need a fortune achieve it.

Loki--

Maybe some grieving widow will give you a good deal on that 6-pack when her husband goes to that great podium in the sky.

Or you could just take a bottle of wine and some CDs to her place....

Cheers JRHArdee! I'll let my wife know...

Chaps

Most of us contribute around 5% -7% of our salary for about 40 years and then rather foolishly expect the pension fund to pay out half of our last years salary for the rest over our lives, which is probably around 20 years and quiet often expect annual increases plus a lump sum as well.

Anyone with half a brain must know that it is unsustainable because the maths just don't add up.

Therefore if we live longer,  we need either to work longer or alternatively get used to paying in a lot more contributions.  I started my pension at the age of 22 yrs, I then started secondary equity investing at around 33 yrs and BTL in my mid forties, all with an aim to secure a retirement at 60. It needs planning and discipline to pull it off. Being poor when you are young is a pain in the bum, being poor when you are old is a disaster.

Retirement is actually a costly stage of your life and it needs a lot of funding and you really do need to plan it out in advance.

Regards

Mick

Mick, are you retired?

Loki

Yes I am retired. I finished working at 61 and I have just passed my 65th birthday.

Mick

Thanks for the warning. My contributions are 8%. We also contribute additional monthly voluntary contributions. Not sure I'll be done by 65 though!

Loki

I do not know your age but 8% seems very low indeed unless you are in a final salary scheme, in which case you are ok providing you will make a 40 year pension.

As a rule of thumb, take your age and divide by two, that is the rough percentage figure you need to contribute( inc of employers contribution) to receive a 50% pension at the age of 65. To put it another way, your pension will only pay out around 4% of your total fund, so if you have £100,000.00 in your pension pot, you can expect to receive a pension of £4000.00 pa.

If you have a final salary scheme, then you are ok but I would advise that you stash a regular pile into equities or property and don't touch it until you retire..

I actually spend more money now then when I was working because I have more time on my hands.

Regards

Mick

Thanks Mick: good advice! 8% from me, 14% from employer, TPS final salary scheme. Plenty going on property!

And that is why I'd be inclined to work into my "retirement years"!

David

I have a friend who is a retired Wing Commander and he receives a good pension from the RAF. He lives in one of the best streets in the town and he lives a fantastic lifestyle. If he wants something, he simply buys the best without batting an eyelid.

He commutes into London every day so he leaves home around 6.00am every morning and probably gets home about  8.15pm.  He has a very stressful but highly paid job working for a railway company.

He looks a physical wreck and he wants to carry on because he is stashing away loads of money every month.

I forgot to mention his age - 71.

He is going to drop dead from exhaustion one day.

Somewhere along the line you have to draw a balance. I will admit that I was racked with guilt when I stopped working because it just seemed plain lazy but I feel better today and less stressed than when I was working and my overall view on reflection is too retire as young as you can and travel around the world until you drop.

Regards

Mick

Dear Mick

I think your friend needs his bumps testing. 71 with a few bob in the bank and still working.....Bonkers IMHO. He will end up the richest man in the boneyard.

Mista H

Mick and Mistah: thank you for sharing. This side of 50 we need all the advice (and help) we can get!

Mista H

It's the old thing of feeling guilty if you are not doing anything.  He is something to do with rail safety and by working he helps to save lives and as it cost a fortune to train him up etc, he feels obligated to carry on.

I suspect he will wake up one morning and just say sod it but 71 is way to long to be working.

Regards

Mick