Mechanics of giving up work: any gotchas?

[mark88man]

In my last year of work so very topical thread. Male - early 60s - married with cost centres and not quite empty nest

From a work POV - the mechanics issues will be notice, balancing holiday pay and optimising tax years. Also I need to not resign before this years bonus is in which means I can't go too early. I would like to use up some of my Tax year 24/25 allowances before going as I don't plan part time work, I am planning to live off TFLS for the first year to mitigate that if retirement doesn't stick then at least I can go back to work without having triggered MPAA

In terms of timing, not absolutely driven by tax years so much as that I am quite active politically, and campaigning, and May is local elections time so would want to go in mid March to give myself time to help my friend in his tough district fight. Also sometime in 2024 there will be a general election and boundary changes make our seat winnable (a tough fight but not a hopeless one. Walking round the villages of the shire leafletting seems a pleasant way to spend the time

I will start my travelling early as well, but mainly we like the UK but have friends and family internationally so a little of each but maybe a long break early summer would be good for the soul. Then I would like to spend some time getting fit, losing weight, lots (and lots) of DIY/Gardening to do

[tjh290633]

It's been said before, but you will find that being retired is a full time job. One area that you might like to consider is volunteering. In my case I took up driving the Community Bus. Once or twice a month, but you tend to get more involved. Twenty odd years later I'm still a trustee of the charity that runs it, which has expanded considerably in the meantime.

I don't know what your expertise is, but many voluntary organizations have a need for treasurers or auditors. There are plenty of opportunities out there.

TJH

[Gerry557]

What are you going to do with all that glorious free time?

One thing I might seriously do is buy a subscription to Netflix and start watching all the TV shows that my friends seem to talk about so much. Game of Thrones, True Detective, Parks And Recreation, Secession, Breaking Bad, and so on. Dunno if that's a bit shallow of me, but I'm curious as I've never been able to find the time to just sit and stare at a screen.
!

You might need to look at more than Netflix for that list. Better Call Saul is on Netflix, Breaking Bad spin off or prequel. How have you not seen Game of Thrones

The only gotchas I can think of are other people assume you have nothing to do so steal your time or keep them at bay, especially the wife. Second you need to find something to keep you active. I cycled to work, instructed spin classes twice a week in my lunch hour. The job also had active elements. That all disappeared.

It's easy not to do anything as there is no driver to cycle to work so you need to plan for that change. Home gym and cardio equipment?

You can holiday more as you are less restricted. Have a short cut to late deals holidays set up and a go bag.

[Tedx]

I don't mean to break into the thread, but I'm looking forward to the mechanics to giving up work too. Soonish.

I feel I might need to just f-off for a year or two though to make the break effective.

Any advice?

Moderator Message:
Edited to remove pejorative remarks directed at another TLFer. Tedx, you've been a Lemon (and a Fool before that) for long enough to know that that's a no-no. So don't. --MDW1954

[abbeymeadster]

Try this thread from February 2017, covering the topic of what to tell people when you're taking very early retirement.

Interesting thread! Also intereting that noting the ages people said they retired (or planned to) gives an average age of 50. Also get the impression it's almost all men, as far as I tell.

I'm mid-50s, female and retired a month ago.

Unlike others, I haven't felt the need to come up with a "cover story" There's been a lot in the news about people taking early retirement, so friends haven't been particularly shocked by it.

I thought that Spring/early Summer would be a good time to go, as it would just feel like an extended summer holiday - and so far the weather has helped in being exceptionally hot every day! I do have a sort of hobby job, which is good for me as I don't think I could cope with an entirely empty diary.

Stopping mid tax-year means that I can make use of the annual tax-free personal allowance for 23/24. Before retiring, I checked that I had full state pension entitlement showing on the govt website. And I've set up a direct debit to pay in the £3,600 gross to my SIPP (to benefit from the free money, mentioned by someone else).

I don't think there are any other particular gotchas you need to be aware of.

[Snakey]

I'm 51, female and coming up to two years of freedom (that's my thread that was linked to earlier, from before I was anywhere near retirement).

I went when I did for tax optimisation reasons and because I wanted to retire into the summer.

Tax-wise, if you retire mid-year you will most likely have overpaid tax, especially if you get accrued holiday in your final pay packet. Because I did a bit of freelance, and was already in the self assessment system as a result, I had to wait until after the year-end and claim via my tax return. I believe that if you are not in the self-assessment system and are absolutely sure that you won't earn anything else before next 6 April then you can send a copy of your P45 to your tax office (which HR should be able to tell you, if it isn't on your payslips/P60) with a letter confirming your intentions and get a refund. Check your State pension entitlement and consider whether you'll have the full year of NI contributions and whether you need more years on top.

Non-tax-wise, it depends what your wife does for a living - as a solo, I needed to prepare for the complete and permanent removal of all ability to print, photocopy, swipe batteries from the stationery cupboard etc but you may not need to worry about any of that. Print off all your payslips if you get them electronically, in case you lose access to the system without realising. If you signed up for anything using your work e-mail address, change it now. If you get on with your colleagues, make sure you take a group photo at your leaving do/the last work do scheduled before your departure (even if you feel like an idiot for asking). I didn't do that because I would have felt like an idiot for asking, and I wish I had now.

My other advice is: Clear the diary, and if all those empty pages make you feel anxious then remind yourself that's fine. It's a massive life change, and it may well not feel like you thought it would. Make your peace with those blank pages while you decompress, and carry on sitting with them until you know, even if that takes months. Don't fill it up with panicking busy-work or other people's chores, or you might as well stay in your job and at least get paid for it.

[mark88man]

I'm 51, female and coming up to two years of freedom (that's my thread that was linked to earlier, from before I was anywhere near retirement).
<...snip...>
Don't fill it up with panicking busy-work or other people's chores, or you might as well stay in your job and at least get paid for it.

Wisest thing I've seen for ages and very much to the point of my own concerns

[Scillyfool]

Not sure how many years you’ve got to go to receive the State Pension, but give them a ring to get a pension forecast. They are very friendly and will talk you through the process and even get you set up so you get the pension promptly. They told me how many years short of a full pension I was and what I could do to rectify the situation. I retired over 18 years ago and the money hasn’t run out yet!

[Tedx]

Not sure how many years you’ve got to go to receive the State Pension, but give them a ring to get a pension forecast. They are very friendly and will talk you through the process and even get you set up so you get the pension promptly. They told me how many years short of a full pension I was and what I could do to rectify the situation. I retired over 18 years ago and the money hasn’t run out yet!

...or register for your Government Gateway account and you SP forecast is there.