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Pitfalls of early retirement

  • 09-12-2015 12:19PM
    #1
    bcklschaps
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,291 ✭✭✭bcklschaps


    I am re-opening this older thread.

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=84923343



    I am being made redundant next Feb/Mar I will be 43yro. I have been working for about 22years. I will be getting a reasonable redundancy and I have some savings. In total I will be sitting on about 150k.
    I will also be able to cash in my pension from 50yro onwards .. so will be inline for another 15K lump sum or there abouts.

    I own my own house (Mortgage is fully paid) and I have about 20 acres of farmland as well.

    I make a small income from the farmland about 1k per year

    I am considering retiring Full Stop in March.

    My reasoning.

    1). I'm kinda burnt out from work and need a break from the rat race. I am not sure I am happy to work my whole life anyway and then roll over and die. There has got to be more than this ?

    2). This break in my work career is coming at a nice time in my life, I am single, I am old enough to have a few quid saved up, but I'm still young enough to be able to have some 'real' fun.

    3). I have old aged parents that need a bit more attention than I have been able to give them over the last few years due to my work commitments. Be nice to spend more time with them.

    4). There's a few things I would like to do .. If I had the luxury.

    Burn my Alarm clock, and sleep-in every morning till 10 or 11am
    Enjoy a relaxed breakfast every day.
    Do a bit more travelling (but with an open ended agenda, unconstrained by work holidays)
    Learn the guitar
    Go out drinking at noon on Monday or stay up all night on Wednesday .. and not have to ever worry about work.

    But naturally I have a couple of genuine fears as well....

    1). That if I took maybe a year off .. that I would not be able to get back into a decent job again and might even get stuck in long term unemployment.
    2). I am not sure how my self esteem would hold up if I was long term unemployed. (Especially knowing that it was due to my own conscious decision)

    3). Would I eventually get bored and depressed ? How would I spend my time? I couldn't very well spend my days in the pub or go travelling all the time as I would need to be watching the outgoings as I would be living on the dole and only using my savings for exceptionals. Hanging out in Pubs and travelling the world are both fairly expensive pastimes.

    4). Speaking of the Pub, I like a drink, but would I become a complete Alcho seeing as I suddenly have plenty of time for it. Maybe end up spending all my loot and become a penniless bum.


    Anybody any thoughts ?


«13

Comments

  • #2
    smash
    Closed Accounts Posts: 34,808 ✭✭✭✭smash


    165k is not a lot of money. Especially if it's to last you the guts of say, 50 years...


  • #3
    gandalf
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,457 ✭✭✭✭gandalf


    How about looking at doing a course. Something that is not commercial based. When I left school I really wanted to do a University History Degree course but stopped myself because there were no jobs at the end of it. If I was in your position now that's what I would do.

    You do need something to ensure you keep mixing with people be it a part time job, doing a course or even setting up your own business.


  • #4
    gaz wac
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,333 ✭✭✭gaz wac


    Sometimes retirement is the worst thing that could happen to a person, they just kinda give up!


    My dad wishes he was back in work, misses the people, having the crack and the set routine that goes with it. ( he's 70 though)


    Hope it all works out for ya OP ....great chance to get out there and do some traveling while your still young. good luck


  • #5
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 12,694 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Work part time, self employed, make more of the farm free rang eggs?, build a small holiday home for rent to provide some income for you self. Re train for some other career you are only 43.

    A mixture of all of the above.


  • #6
    valoren
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,707 ✭✭✭valoren


    You mentioned the rat race.

    Find out what you are passionate about then figure out a way of getting paid for it.
    Essentially get paid for having a hobby.


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  • #7
    imitation
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,815 ✭✭✭imitation


    Why think retirement, you are in an ideal situation to change career into something interesting and enjoyable. That doesnt mean you cant have a nice career break and travel, but as you say it yourself, you will more than likely get bored after a few years of it. Im a firm believer that people need to feel they are doing something with there life. If you are just hanging about its just a slow descent into boredom and obscelence.

    Your situation can change a lot too, you could meet somebody too, After 10 years on the dole no employer will be particularly interested, but you maybe stuck for money. Theres no guarantee the state wont get screwed up too, whos to say they will give out the dole indefinitely, most countrys dont, especially not to people who own their own assets that could be sold to support themselves if they dont want to work (rather than being incapable of working)


  • #8
    chops018
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,458 ✭✭✭chops018


    Take a year out and see what the story is and how you feel then.

    As other posters have said, you could miss out on work etc. after a while.

    But if you decided to just take a year out to go travelling, or decide to do something with the money like start a new business, or invest it, then now you have the free time to do it.

    43 is super young and most people would probably be looking at having to work another 20-25 years before even thinking of retiring at that age.

    Fair play on getting to the position you're in now though, I doubt it was easy to have most essential things in your life paid off and have a tidy sum at the end of it.


  • #9
    littlevillage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,538 ✭✭✭littlevillage


    On a wet Wednesday its definitely tempting to feck off and retire

    But as you have rightly pointed out ... what happens, when you get bored and depressed and start spending just to pass the time. I think you would need a bigger nest egg (or be prepared to sell some of the property if necessary)

    Incidently I know a lad who did something similar .. Not Sure exactly what age he was but somewhere in late 30's, early 40's. He took voluntary redundancy back in the early 00's, got a nice wedge of cash. He took a good long break (6 Months kinda thing), but then found it hard to get a job and after a year or so he was completely locked out of the employment market. He hasn't worked in 10 or 12 years at this stage and he's a bit of a basket case...hangs around the house all day, drink, depression, over weight etc.

    He has never actually admitted it to me but I reckon if he had the chance again he would have done things differently. eg. Stayed working or at least not taken Voluntary redundancy until he had something else lined up first.


  • #10
    BBDBB
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,899 ✭✭✭✭BBDBB


    Take some time off, relax a bit, but keep busy, find something you enjoy doing and see if you can turn it into a small income, you have some resources, but not really enough to be thinking you will never have to work again. Interest rates are pretty poor so your capital is going to ebb away faster than you think. Make some positive decisions rather than listing a few lazy day ambitions.


  • #11
    recylingbin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,001 ✭✭✭recylingbin


    Be careful not to die, which seems to happen to a lot of retirees.


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  • #12
    Mr. CooL ICE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,064 ✭✭✭✭Mr. CooL ICE


    recylingbin wrote: »
    Be careful not to die, which seems to happen to a lot of retirees.
    mod:

    Down with that sort of thing


  • #13
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,925 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    bcklschaps wrote: »
    .............

    I am considering retiring Full Stop in March.

    .................
    1). That if I took maybe a year off .. that I would not be able to get back into a decent job again and might even get stuck in long term unemployment.
    2). I am not sure how my self esteem would hold up if I was long term unemployed. (Especially knowing that it was due to my own conscious decision) .....................
    Anybody any thoughts ?

    You're thoughts are all over the place imo :)

    If you genuinely wanted to retire full stop you wouldn't be thinking about not being able to et back into into the rat race after 12 months.

    You also seem very inclined to think you'll get overly fond of the gargle.

    Financially, €1k/year is nothing essentially, you have 7 years to go until pension at 50, €150k won't be long dwindling.

    After 6 or 12 months you will be assessed for JSA, you won't be getting that with €100k in the bank.

    If I was you I'd get a job of some sort to keep body and mind together, I'm not gone on work myself but it doesn't do you any harm. Especially if its a handy ish job with low responsibility and little pressure and you have money in the bank.


  • #14
    tina1040
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭tina1040


    You're only 43. You could live another 43 years.
    You're not to old to meet a nice woman and have a couple of kids.
    IMO it's far too early with very little assets to be retiring and drifting into sleeping, drinking whenever and being generally lazy.


  • #15
    Letree
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,005 ✭✭✭Letree


    Go for it. I would do it in your position. You may have to live more frugally but that one of the choices you have to make. And anyway you can always go back to part time work in a number of years if you feel you'd like a bit more money.

    Im stuck with 20 year mortgage and working in a job i dislike. To get a full pension i'll still be working till im 67. Its a terribly depressing thought.


  • #16
    BattleCorp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,867 ✭✭✭✭BattleCorp


    I suspect that if you retire completely, you will run out of money.


  • #17
    bcklschaps
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,291 ✭✭✭bcklschaps


    Thanks all for the useful contributions.

    I see that I have a couple of options.

    1). Go ahead with the plan. Take the loot in March and never look back. It might involve some fairly thrifty living down the line because my nestegg is modest, but I'll never be a fulltime 9-5 work-aday drone again. (a seasonal part time job might be a reasonable compromise to keep the machine greased and my sanity intact)

    2). Take the summer off and see how I feel in the Autumn. Perspective is everything.

    3). Try to line up another similar job to the one I have now, before I get layed off... 'its easier to get a job when you have already got one etc.' but maybe negotiate a start date later into the summer to allow for a decent holiday of maybe a Month or two.


  • #18
    the evasion_kid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,740 ✭✭✭the evasion_kid


    do it,wage slavery is soul destroying..


  • #19
    danganabu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,277 ✭✭✭danganabu


    Option 2 for sure seems the most prudent, but it's your life bud so you do whatever to hell you want and fcuk the begrudgers!

    How about just getting a nice part-time number behind the bar in your local, kill two birds with the one stone and no real stress.


  • #20
    draiochtanois
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,632 ✭✭✭draiochtanois


    This post has been deleted.


  • #21
    littlevillage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,538 ✭✭✭littlevillage


    I think we would all like to be in a position of not having to get out of bed on these cold December mornings ... but as most all of the other posters have said.

    You will eventually run out of money and maybe run out of your mind too... if you completely retire at 43.

    Take a step back ...maybe look at some other handier career options. (It sounds like you have worked hard in a tough gig for the last 22 years).

    Would love to be in that position myself. Let us know how it pans out in Feb/Mar ?


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  • #22
    Bulbous Salutation
    Closed Accounts Posts: 882 ✭✭✭Bulbous Salutation


    Alcoholism.


  • #23
    The J Stands for Jay
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,932 ✭✭✭The J Stands for Jay


    Will the farmland be producing your food? That would help stretch the budget a bit. You'll need to invest the money in order to make more of it. You now have the time to learn everything on how to do that. You will also have the time to learn all sorts of skills. Maybe you'll learn a bit of woodwork, and someone see the contraption you built for the craic from some wood and nails and they decide to buy it off you. You could set up a travel blog and start earning a few quid off that. Hell, you could even blog your expected descent into alcoholism.


  • #24
    FalconGirl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 874 ✭✭✭FalconGirl


    Go for it OP. You can well afford to take a year or two out if you feel that way. As another poster said find something you like doing and maybe invest in it and spend the rest of your career there. Find a job you love and you will never work another day in your life.

    I know the feeling of burn out. The 9-5 slog etc. There is more to life than that for sure. Feck the societal norms! My old boss in a financial institution went from being a high flying executive to working in a coffee shop. He quit suddenly because of burn out and is as happy as a pig in ****e serving coffees and scones.


  • #25
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    I retired in my early 50s. If you are ready to retire you will know and welcome it.

    The money you cite is very very small. My lump sum was several 100,000s and ongoing pension is very generous.

    You are just too young for retirement. Take the summer off, do a course, or change to a career you would enjoy.

    That said, early retirement is brilliant. I have never been bored and have thrived on it.


  • #26
    Avatar MIA
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭Avatar MIA


    If I was in your position I would consider taking the redundancy and taking a year out.

    I could get away with saying something like, 'I left my previous job to set up a business, but unfortunately I missed the corporate life too much and yes, I would like to work with your company.' :)

    However, the expression 'what's seldom is wonderful' comes to mind. Something like sleeping in until 10/11 am is only a novelty because you cannot do it too often. If you go to bed knowing you've no urgent need to get up a large part of the benefit is lost.

    I'd also worry I'd miss out on work life. :rolleyes:

    One thing - make sure the €150k you're expecting is post tax. (You'll not get all of a large redundancy fully tax free).


  • #27
    sbsquarepants
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,810 ✭✭✭✭sbsquarepants


    I'd jump at it. Live a bit before you die. I would if I could.

    Your house is paid for. Take a mortgage out of the equation and you'd be surprised how little money you can get by on. 150k plus whatever the state will give you, you'd get by perfectly happily. I would anyway - but maybe you like champagne and caviar more than I do:D


  • #28
    Permabear
    Closed Accounts Posts: 38,989 ✭✭✭✭Permabear


    This post has been deleted.


  • #29
    FTA69
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,252 ✭✭✭FTA69


    Don't think I've ever agreed with Permabear on anything but he's spot on above. Work is important for a man, it gives him structure and a sense of accomplishment. Now, I'm very, very lucky to be doing what I do for a living and I know that being stuck in a sh*te job can also be soul destroying. However, I also believe that the one thing that is more soul destroying is lounging about the place doing dick f*ck all and counting your pennies and that's a position you'll be in very soon along the line if you pack in work completely.

    You'll be getting a big lump sum soon which is fantastic; you could use it to put down a deposit on your own gaff or pay off some of your mortgage. You could invest it in a night course or even go back to college and get a new degree in something.

    By the sounds of it you are p*ssed off with life in general but there are things you can do to reboot yourself. Use your holidays to take an unconventional trip that will see you discover more about yourself, take up a music or language class in the evenings, get into a fitness routine etc etc. Life is what you make of it.

    I think you need a career change and to get out of a boring routine, jacking in work and staying in bed all morning isn't going to do anything for your happiness long term.


  • #30
    maudgonner
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,455 ✭✭✭maudgonner


    Definitely sounds to me like you should take your redundancy, have 6 months or a year off and then reassess.

    Bear in mind that you won't be able to just stay on the dole for the next 20-30 years. You'll more than likely have to do some courses/internships designed to get you off the dole. (Yes, I'm sure there are ways to get around this, and this being AH, somebody will be along promptly to laugh at me for suggesting this is the case).

    Take a break, enjoy your time off, do stuff you've always wanted to do and get your energy and enthusiasm levels recharged, then you might be in a better position to figure out what to do next. Putting a time limit on it (even a rough one) will mean that you won't sit on your arse at home for months on end, you'll spend the time more wisely.

    (But do burn the alarm clock, or better still, blow it into smithereens)


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  • #31
    etoughguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 344 ✭✭etoughguy


    You have zero plans on how to make 165k last until say 70 which is about 6k (ball park) a year. I would put alot more thought and planning into this if I were you. Sure take loads of time off but that money will run out long before you do without growing or being added to in some way
    Boredom is another thing to contend with so stay busy and good luck!


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