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I hope all went well in the operation last Monday. I had a below knee amputation on my left leg in 1999. I was up and walking on a prosthetic leg in 3 months. What i will say is that it takes determination but you can do it. I have witnessed folks not trying and ending up in a wheelchair. Try not to be one of those and give it a real go. Good luck. By the way the staff in Rookwood hospital are lovely.
I’m 66, still working, would quickly get bored if I wasn’t. Living differently though with far more holidays and weekend breaks, nearly all have been postponed or cancelled but the thought was there.
Had a sad ‘phone call from my missus earlier this morning, the 46 year old son of a friend of our passed away suddenly during the night leaving a wife and kids. Seems retirement age is, perhaps, only a number. I s’pose you’re never too young to start that bucket list.
At times this lockdown has given me a glimpse of retirement, and I can't wait.
I always just think its such a shame there isn't something in place where you get to have sort of mini retirements throughout your life rather than it being all for later in life.
Dread to think the age I'll have to retire at.
Good for you. I’m 57 so your post is very relevant and insightful. So thanks.
I remember a friend of my parents retired many years ago after working for a well known oil company for most of his life. And he died about a year later. So we need to make the most of our time here!!
(following Cardiff City around the country more sounds like a great idea 👍)
I retired in December 2019 aged 60. It was a bit weird for a while but I have no idea how much of that was down to retirement and how much down to lockdown. I started a PhD when I retired which keeps me occupied and my brain ticking over so I'm very happy with my decision.
I had to take early retirement in 2004 at the age of 50 to look after my disabled wife .
Only realised last year when my daughter started her OU course that I am now entitled to a student loan to pay for the degree so I enrolled on a History and Politics BA with the OU last October. A few problems with my wife's health meant that I had to defer and start again in February but I have now just completed my first four assignments and will be submitting the fifth sometime in the next couple of days. The final assignment is due by early September. and I will probably start the next module in January/February.
It is quite hard work but if you are organised it is not too bad. Having been out of work for so long I have found concentrating hard but I have got better as the year has gone on.
You have actually got 16 years to do the degree ( if I take that long I will be 83!!) although I want to do mine in six by doing one module a year. You can do two a year if you think you can and get the degree in three years.
I would thoroughly recommend it, it certainly keeps the mind active.
good luck TBG, you always struck me as a very decent chap and you deserve to be free of the constraints of this bastard system, any regrets you may currently be harbouring are just due to psychological conditioning..
..fly TBG, fly awayyyyyy..
Jesus, I was only being whimsical. I have hardly been in a concentration camp during my working life.
I'm glad to see that you are still around and I will never forget that fleeting meeting with you outside the Romilly.
I still can't find my wallet though........
Just seen this post. Congratulations TBG! Well deserved free time.
I get told by clients that it's a strange feeling. Having something to retire TO is as important as having something to retire FROM.
Maybe the egg stained string vest is your thing maybe not!
Couple of (non financial!) tips that I've picked up by those who I think have done it well are:
- have a structure for your ideal week (ie your timetable) - obviously just doing things that you want to be doing!
- don't rush into anything. There are so many potential calls on your time, volunteering, hobbies, socialising, looking after grand-children, that some people can feel more under pressure than when they were working.
Howdy, RSD. Your having come to this thread late (and there's really no excuse for that, old fruit ) you may not have read that I do indeed have a timetable. Different types of physical exercises in the mornings and intellectual pursuits in the afternoons (improving my German and Spanish and re-starting Welsh): that's when I am not walking with friends and/or leading group walks, attending gigs and City games etc. I have evening classes to continue (and I may start one up myself) and I shall be travelling domestically and further afield. I have no progeny (having decided to spare humanity my contribution to the gene pool) nor partner so my time is my own. I dropped down to being part-time four years ago (oddly, for beneficial financial reasons) so it's hardly a big transition in reality.
Now where's that vest....
just to change the slant slightly regarding retirement if your say between 60 -65 years of age right now what is a tidy sum of money to retire on to give a reasonable/ decent standard of living ?
with and/or state pension ?
Having planned ahead in anticipation of retirement I put quite some thought into this subject. I don't think anyone can really answer you properly as what one person's passable lifestyle is not someone else's. What I did was compare my full-time income in employment minus the contributions I was making for my retirement against what I could clear once I draw on my various pensions having cancelled the contributions I was making towards them - and I made sure that I will be better off and not worse off. The biggest problem is thinking about how you treat lump sums you may receive and as to how much you dip into it on an annual basis wherever it is invested and how long it will last at that rate, the problem being that you don't know how long you will live. You don't want to be skint if you live to a ripe old age but on the other hand you don't want the Grim Reaper to show up when you haven't had time to enjoy your investments (especially if you are single and childless like me).
By the way, I'm no financial expert so ignore me
A very kind City fan on here gave me a bit of a steer too.
Mozzer- as tbg says there is no right answer to this. As someone once said to me you’ll only ever know if you made the right choices once you’ve died 🙂. It’s all down to your own personal needs/expectations of retirement too. I really benefited from talking all of this through with an IFA. Choose carefully though.
As Taunton Blue Genie says, there's no magic number. Most of us adjust our lifestyle to our income levels.
A good rule of thumb that I use when working with people (I'm an IFA specialising in retirement planning and later life!) is around £2,000-£2,200 per month for a couple looking for a reasonable lifestyle. This figure was very similar to the recent Which magazine survey which came up with £2,170 per month. This would usually cover all the basics, plus hobbies, eating out a foreign holiday.
This would be a good target to aim for (assuming you'll be mortgage /rent free in retirement).
After working out what you need, the next step is to work out where the money's going to come from.
If you've not done so, get an upto date state pension forecast, and then understand exactly what your other pensions look like and what you can do with them.