After Retirement

Euthanasia might be in by then, everyone's problems solved and elderly care solved once and for all.
 
Not retired yet, but possibly will be this time next year. We plan on using an upcoming inheritance to fund our two year gap to middling pensions payable at age 60. Would also plan on getting jobs for say 10-15 hours per week to get us out of bed and supplement our income. All to be clarified yet….
Bought a small place in Spain earlier this year and we hope to spend several months a year out there. We will lose one of the cars as not needed. Reckon we will live well on €3,000 per month based on current expenses minus stuff we won’t be paying for then. Have to get youngest through final year of college first.
We are both looking forward to it as working becomes increasingly unpleasant; not the concept of it, more the way it has become an exercise in confirming compliance, box-ticking and endless repetitive reports for management that doesn’t really care (both public servants).
 
Harfang said:
No replies. They’ve fallen asleep after pointless. The odd few still up are watching the rose of Tralee. Better chance of a reply tomorrow am I reckon.
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Not really. I've been up an hour now. Planning my day and watching the early morning trades on the Ftse and doing some research on my next holiday.
Had a nice lunch in Dalkey yesterday and a stroll around Coliemore Harbour.

We will both head out for a coffee this morning, somewhere local.

Probably spend no more than an hour on some household chores and tending my home grown vegetables.

Later today I will probably catch up on the latest episode of South African Survivor.
 
As a mental exercise when we were out walking yesterday after work.....

Took our combined salary, took off the mortgage, the savings, the pension payments, and AVCs. The resultant figure is what we are living on, give or take.

This actually equated pretty close to our projected retirement income which was very reassuring.

And I'm going back to college in October, so I'll be qualified in a different career around the time I hope to retire, so any extra income from working (part time) in that will be jam on top. As well as, like Magilla said, keeping me occupied for a few hours a week.
 
I have just retired and will be 60 in a few months. My Husband retired just the end of last year. And so far he is really enjoying it and not a minute bored.
We both play golf and enjoy walks.
He likes to cycle also and would do a 25km cycle a few days a week and I purchased an ebike and can now go along if I feel like it. We also have done a few of the greenways.
We both have separate hobbies but similar interests also. We are members of the same golf club but only play together occasionally but like to play together when we go on weekends away. I’m sure they will be midweek now that I will be available.
So my plan is to golf two days, join a walking group for days out in the nearby hills.
My main priority is for us both to be as healthy and as fit as possible. So on that I am going to go to a personal trainer to set me up with a weights program that I can do from home if possible,I want to do this as I see that when people approach 70 and over their posture gets stooped and I want to maintain as much muscle as I can. I need to be able to lift my 10k suitcase up the airplane steps.
I love to cook and we enjoy traveling also.
I have booked a month is the Canary Islands for January for this year and if that goes well we will do it for longer next year. We also have grandchildren but they live in the UK and we visit and help out from time to time.
We hope that we will be able to afford to bring them on a sun holiday for a week once a year.
My husband has just qualified for the state pension and I will have a small one when I get to 60 and we have a rental income so our net income will be 45k and this should be fine for us.
We have no loans and live modestly but do enjoy nice holidays.
I liked the comment “I want to live rich not to die rich “
I must remember that and tell it to my husband as he worries more about money that me.
I’m really looking forward to having lots of adventures and travel both at home and abroad.
I am also going to learn how to swim properly I can just about shuffle up the pool.
We had our family young so now feel this is our time. There are so many options out there you just have to keep trying them out to find what floats your boat. I feel it is important to be flexible and open to new ideas and meeting new people to see where that takes you. I have enjoyed hearing how others have got on and what people can live on. It is great to hear that.
 
I must admit that I do look forward to reading new posts on this thread. I am a good time away from retirement age yet, but I am of the age that I need to get serious about planning for it.

One recurring theme on this thread is the intention to spend some of the gloomier months of winter abroad which is something I hope to do. I guess this has become even more attractive for retirees given the sharp rise in the cost of energy. Indeed, I wonder if you will now be able to save money by spending 1-2 months in a warmer climate?
 
LondonIrish said:
Indeed, I wonder if you will now be able to save money by spending 1-2 months in a warmer climate?
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I'm not retired yet but at the start of the year went to Spain for a month WFH to test this. As a singleton, I spent about 1k instead of 1.5k which I normally spend here so I would contend that it is cost neutral depending on your spending habits and your rental needs. I actually ate out more often than I would in Dublin as the cost was not excessive and I was saving on the staples. Some of the main savings I made were coffees at 1.20 a pop and a beer for about 2 - 2.50 a pop but if these are not in your 'diet' it may be more difficult.
 
I have been planning a selection of road trips, well using local transport, in Austria, Portugal, France and Switzerland.

I have more or less chosen each route that I will take and have picked most hotels/apartments. These are for 2023.

Austria will consist of flying to Vienna, then to Graz, cross in to Slovenia and stay in Maribor and Ljubljana, then to Trieste and finally back home from Venice Treviso airport.

Portugal will consist of flying in to Lisbon, then to Tomar, then to Coimbra, Aveiro and out of Porto.

Another Portugal trip will be, fly to Porto, then Guimaraes, then Braga and a few days on the coast, probably Viana do Castelo.

However this year I still have a two location stay in Menorca next month and a few nights in the city of Murcia in October.

Both of us being non smokers and light drinkers and not interested in restaurants with white table cloths can save money for these trips.

I spend a lot of time putting these together, unfortunately a couple of hours everyday........not good to be sitting around for so long though...
 
I feel we will spend less that our usual monthly spend,as we won’t have any heating or petrol costs and also have the benefit of nice weather and having a swim in the sea daily. Of course we will have the rent and flights but it is not excessive.
 
Bronco Lane said:
Not really. I've been up an hour now. Planning my day and watching the early morning trades on the Ftse and doing some research on my next holiday.
Had a nice lunch in Dalkey yesterday and a stroll around Coliemore Harbour.
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Interesting to re read my post of last August 2022.

I continued with my holiday research and like a child in a sweetshop I booked five overseas holidays just before and after Christmas. I have the funds which I worked hard to get and am grateful that I could do this.

I have had two of these holidays already. One in March and one in April and another in the next fortnight. Thoroughly enjoyed the first two. Spent more money on them than I anticipated that I would, flight costs almost trebling in price, upgraded rooms in hotels and used taxis more than I would have done in the past.

I forgot about the hassle in getting to the airport (traffic), delays in flights, (plane sitting on runway for 30 mins before take off), but these problems melted away when I got to my destination. Sitting in the sun, having a drink a nice lunch and visiting villages for a stroll around was lovely.

Already looking forward to our next adventure in two weeks time to a two destination holiday in Spain.

I have found that when I return to Ireland I am not really eating or drinking out. I seem to be leaving this to when we are away. Considerably cheaper also. I also like getting back to some plain home made meals that I could not really get abroad. I love my garden...however I cannot get over how fast Spring has come and almost gone. Also catching up with Family is great.....I may have left little time in between holidays for all these other things.

I have been looking at breaks in Ireland for July and August but we will probably not go anywhere. It's not that I cannot afford it but the prices to stay in Ireland are outrageous. I just don't want to pay them. We might just head off on daily picnics instead.

This morning I spent time planning a September break. October already sorted. I have been thinking about November also, maybe maybe not.

Other than that, my retirement continues as before. Annoying paperwork, tax returns, chasing banks, insurance companies, utility companies.

I am thankful that I have provided financially for our retirement, I am grateful for our good health and loving family and I hope that we have many more years of the same to come.
 
Great post Bronco Lane, a very enjoyable read compared to some of the other threads on AAM
It was my birthday at the end of April and am now on the wrong side of my fifties but also a good 12 years retired
Around this time of year I also do a stocktake of where I am, what's changed and where I want to be

Cycling wise, "Cervelo the fat" has returned because I was getting a bit bored with cycling and climbed of the bike mid November
and didn't start cycling again till early January and even then it was only an hour a day on the Tacx in the garage until the weather improved
Started back on the road in April but with the extra ten kilos it's a bit of a struggle at the moment and will probably take me most of the summer to get close to where I'd like to be weight wise and fitness wise but I do like a challenge

Travel wise, instead of going to Spain last winter we were thinking of a trip to Japan in April with a pit stop in Beijing but the more we planed and extended the journey to more places and then shortened it because the cost was getting a little crazy, we both agreed that the idea of sitting on a plane for the best part of a day or more was something that neither of us wanted to do which is a first for us as we love to travel and have travelled extensively over the last twenty odd years
So we will be spending the summer in Ireland and maybe like yourself do a few day trips here and there and around August/September think about the where we want to spend the winter

One of the things I love about been retired is going to the cinema in the afternoon, shortly as in the next 15 mins we'll head off to the IMC in Dun Laoghaire to see Guardians of the Galaxy 3, more than likely we'll splash out and go for the Luxx version at €15 a pop but what I really hoping for is that we're the only ones in the cinema which does happen quite a bit
 
Over the weekend I was researching a trip to Japan. I had a look at the Travel Department and thought that there was no meat on the trip. Back in the 1990's I did a lot of trips with them with mixed experiences. Now everything we do is DIY.
I then extended my search to other travel agents that were the same price as The Travel Department only to discover that their tours did not include flights. Cost circa €5500 per person without flights. (to Japan)
I would still like to go. We have a son who lives in Hong Kong and a week there on the way over or back would be perfect. Except like you, the idea of spending a day in a metal box does not suit me. I did it in 2018 to Hong Kong and it nearly killed me. Hot stuffy flight with Etihad. Poor service and we flew Business class, thinking it would be fantastic. It wasn't. I think I got some sort of food poisoning in the Business Class lounge before the flight, I couldn't eat a thing on the plane. I was looking around at everyone else feasting and drinking. I was sipping water. When we arrived in Abu Dhabi, same thing. All you could eat and drink included in the price and I was sipping water.
Like yourself I am an early riser. I find that I have run out of energy come the mid afternoon and like to sit back and watch shows either recorded or downloaded. Unfortunately this becomes "snack" time. We are trying to cut back on the snacks because my cholesterol count is over 6 and I am concerned.
I like retirement. If I want to do something I do it. If I don't, I don't.
Cervelo, best of luck with the weight loss...
 
Warning:- Even if you are retired you must spend six months (183 days) of the tax year in Ireland if you wish to continue to pay income tax here. It is easy to inadvertently extend your time outside of Ireland and become a tax resident in e.g. Spain. If you are on an extended resident of any country (even in the EU) don't forget to 'count all your days abroad backwards.' Otherwise, you could get an unexpected foreign income tax bill on your worldly earnings where it is up to you to prove your tax liability is in Ireland. Just food for thought when you present your passport entering and leaving any country - you are on record.

Make it easy for yourself and confine your stays abroad to 180 days (total) during the tax year.
 
Coincidentally I've been looking into the "183 days" rule in Spain. We're both public servants, and it appears under the double taxation agreement between Spain and Ireland there's an exception to this rule for Public Service (PS) Pensions. For an Irish PS pension to be liable for tax in Spain one must be Tax residential AND a Spanish National. So Irish citizens are exempt. Of course any other income is fair game, and I don't know if the same clause exists elsewhere.
 

1. Interesting point from @rjt and I've come across that situation (once I was interested in becoming a fulltime resident of Spain). It is correct what he says and you become a Tax Resident of Spain if you spend excess of 180* days there between 1st January to 31st December. (rolling year not relevant in this). That's exactly why I mentioned spending 183 days in Ireland to comply with Irish Revenue. Mrs Lep was to stay a resident of Ireland. and could piggyback on my "residentia." to spend more time in Spain. while paying tax in Ireland.
2. Here's the interesting bit:- If you have tax free investments in Ireland they likely will be subject to tax to all Irish tax residents in Spain. You don't even have to declare them, Spanish Revenue likely will send you the bill by courier. You can dispute but probably will need a tax accountant/solicitor in Spain which might cost more than the tax due there.

*Note excess of 180 days in Spain in a calendar year to become tax liable. Spend 183 days in Ireland (calendar year) and situation will not arise in Spain.

For the record:- There are advantages and disadvantages of acquiring a Residentia in Spain. Honestly, I just got fed up with the red tape and near my potential dotage I could do without the hassle. However, if you are young you may feel differently.
 
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