# early retirement, is it an option for me?



## 4th estate (21 Jul 2009)

Age    51


Spouse’s/Partner's age: n/a

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 75,000
Annual gross income of spouse:n/a

Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed - employee

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving? Saving

Rough estimate of value of home 320,000
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: Nil
What interest rate are you paying? 

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc None

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? Yes
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 

Savings and investments: 20,000 Savings Certificates
35,000 various deposits, ,5,000 Prize bonds

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes

Do you own any investment or other property? No


Ages of children: 

Life insurance: 


What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? 

If I retired on next birthday 52 I would have an income of 30,000 gross

I believe I could live comfortably on that, but I don't know. Am so tempted to opt out of the rat race, but would like to know if anyone else has taken the plunge at such a drop in salary.

My full time salary should mean I would have accumulated much more savings, but a lot of that in the last few years went into refurbishment, and paying off debts and the mortgage.

I am debt free and my only extravagance is a holiday - short haul one year and long haul the next. Plus the occasional dinner party with friends, don't do pubs.


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## Guest116 (22 Jul 2009)

Do you have the option to go to a 3 or 4 day week perhaps and cut it back over a few years and eventually retire. Might be better than going from working 5 days to none at all.

51 is not old, you might have another 30 years ahead of you!


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## z109 (22 Jul 2009)

Is the company/area you are working in likely to be affected by the recession? Will there be the possibility of a voluntary redundancy/early retirement scheme in the next few years?


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## 4th estate (22 Jul 2009)

Thanks for your replies. There do not appear to be any redundancies imminent (crosses fingers) at the moment, and I don't have the opportunity to lessen hours. All or nothing in my job.

I have been through major family illness in the last year, that made me realise life is short. My father died, my mother is now gravely ill, and my sister 45 yrs has advanced cancer, all in the last twelve months. It has coloured my view on life somewhat. 

Anyway what I was really looking for was the experience of someone who took a big drop in salary for a different life. I would like to spend some of the year abroad. I suppose only I can decide in the end. It is the "could I survive on that amount of money question" And I think I could. I am fortunate not to have any debts, kids, or an extravagant lifestyle.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it. So if anyone has done what I am thinking about, do let me know. thks.


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## z109 (22 Jul 2009)

Ah, that changes things a bit. You have my sympathy.

My suggestion is that you approach your employer for a leave of absence of a few months and go and do something during that time to see if it is really what you want to do. Life changing events are either a very good time or a very bad time to do something radical. You don't know until afterwards! You may end up bored without the all or nothing. Or you may not. Think of it as a trial separation...


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## paddyodoors (23 Jul 2009)

Hi 4th Estate 

You would need o look at what you intended to do with your time to get a realistic answer to whether  or not it would be enough. Remember whilst working you are not paying out for things to do - like a round of golf for example.

As you say you have no debts and do not have an extravagent lifestyle - at least not whilst working, if you were to spend part of the year abroad, where would you stay and what would this cost?

Why don't you look at what net income you would receive on the lower amount and live to those means now. Set up a standing order to put anything above this into a savings account the day you are paid, then just live off of this smaller net for a few months and see how you get on.

This will not only help to boost your savings but give you a more realistic impact of your liquidity on the lower income.

Paddy


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## Brighid (23 Jul 2009)

Hi 4th Est. I retired early this year on 30,000 pension no probs living on it. I must say that I have enjoyed every moment of my retirement and would highly recommend it and I did take early retirement. PM me if you want to discuss futher.


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## Gervan (23 Jul 2009)

Not retired, but I left employment and work for myself. I find myself turning away work, as the time with family is worth more. Like you, I enjoy travelling, and you can stay longer on a trip if not still in employment. 
I don't have much income, but don't regret it, which is part of what you were asking.


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## Horatio (24 Jul 2009)

E30,000 will go a long way in developing countries, you could live like a King. 

As you have no debt.s, living on 30k should not be an issue.

As suggested above why not request 6 months leave & give retirement a spin in simulation mode.

g'dluck


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## putsch (24 Jul 2009)

Having been through early retirement myself (now working 3 day week) and observing many friends doing the same I notice a couple of trends:


there is an initial bounce, life seems new and fresh, meeting a friend for coffee at 11 am on a Wednesday is fantastic
then after about a year levels of insecurity rise - will I ever work again - woudl I still be able to get a job - what do I say to people who ask what I do? - Is arranging my time solely to suit myself  a good way to live? Is there something more I should could be doing?.......what is life all about?
Once those things are worked through by say getting a part time job/doing voluntary work/helping out with family/friends in need the new routine settles down. And its better than being tied to a full time job. As far a money goes I was able to live on 30K but I resented the limitations I had to put on myself and it did mean although I had the time to do more (hols, meals out, concerts etc) I couldn't always afford to do it. I love being spontaneous about events e.g. book 3 tickets for friends for a concert and a fixed modest salary prevents that.

But overall I'd say go for it! You can work things out as you go along.


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## Deiseblue (24 Jul 2009)

Brighid said:


> Hi 4th Est. I retired early this year on 30,000 pension no probs living on it. I must say that I have enjoyed every moment of my retirement and would highly recommend it and I did take early retirement. PM me if you want to discuss futher.


Could'nt agree more , retired myself at 52 over two years ago on roughly the same pension and could'nt be happier.
Have you checked to see if you will receive a lump sum ?
Can you claim social welfare for the 15 month period post redundancy ?
Again feel free to PM me if you feel I can help.


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## j26 (24 Jul 2009)

Try living on what your post-retirement earnings would be, for a while and see if you're comfortable with that.

The added bonus is that you would boost your savings.


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## mtk (28 Jul 2009)

Congrats 4th estate for being in this position
I think you will be fine whatever you decide. Leave of absence looks like a good idea if feasible
One  plus not mentioned :wont the state pension also provide a boost at 66 but i think (?) you have to hang around and sign on to build up credits

one negative coccured to me will the 30k increase in paymnet as a couple of years of high inflation could wipe out the purchasing powe fairly quickly
Mtk


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## 4th estate (30 Jul 2009)

Many thanks to you all for taking the time to reply.

I have been doing a bit of research following your advice. I can apply for a leave of absence but only 6 months maximum. Earliest start date for this is October this year. I think I will do it, and use my savings to live on the equivalent of 30k after taxes and levies, and see how I get on.

I will be able to spend a month or so in Spain rent free after Christmas, courtesy of my sister and her husband who own an apartment there. How kind of them! The cost of living there is so much better than here, so that will be a bonus.

My mother who is ill, is in a nursing home. I have enquired and they would be delighted for me to work there as a nurse's aid/orderly on weekends, minimum wage but it would boost my income and still give me the weekdays to do my thing. Obviously not going to do that on the leave of absence, but long term the door is open there. I have also been invited by the nursing home to do voluntary activities with the residents. As local history is one of my interests, I plan to do an "autobiography" session with the residents where they tell the story of their lives. There might be a book in that!

At the end of the day, things might work out very differently. I may stay working, I may take the package. But your comments have enabled me to plan a bit better, and thank you all so much for that.


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## paddyodoors (31 Jul 2009)

That sounds ideal - well done and good luck with it.

Paddy


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## Sue Ellen (2 Aug 2009)

Deiseblue said:


> Can you claim social welfare for the 15 month period post redundancy ?



Down to 12 months since last budget


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## treasure (5 Mar 2010)

Hi 4th Estate,  I was wondering what you decided to do about early retirement? I'm considering the same but don't know what to do. Because of career breaks I will have a pension of about €20k + savings and lump sum of about €200k if I retire this year at age 52. It cost me €18k to live last year - includes everything including a holiday, but excluding work done on my house which I own (no mortgage). I have no loans either. I would appreciate your opinions. Thanks.
Treasure


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## Fostra (9 Mar 2010)

4th estate said:


> Many thanks to you all for taking the time to reply.
> 
> I have been doing a bit of research following your advice. I can apply for a leave of absence but only 6 months maximum. Earliest start date for this is October this year. I think I will do it, and use my savings to live on the equivalent of 30k after taxes and levies, and see how I get on.
> 
> ...


 
That sounds wonderful, 4th Estate.  A life of meaning and following your dreams.  Go for it and best of luck.


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