You said it.......Originally Posted by frequent
Although I guess if Im being entirely honest depending on the circumstances I might well think something similar - BUT - the intent is right and I'm sure you understand ( rightly) what I'm getting at......
My view - borne out by research - is that far too many people have utterly pointless jobs. I was reading an online article only recently that said that roughly 10% of people say their job has no value and another 20% (I recall) say it has little value. We're stuck in the backwash of the Protestant Work Ethic, where everyone must work because it's "immoral" not to. I'm a great believer in "work smarter not harder" so although I put in a standard working week when I was employed full-time, I only worked about 50% of the time because I'd organised my own processes so they could be the most efficient possible. If anyone gave me a task and asked for a delivery timeframe I always estimated it at two to three times what it would take me, as I knew my colleagues would take that long. Thank god for the Internet
I recall reading a management guru once who advised always to give a convoluted process to the laziest person on the staff, as they would work hard at finding ways to do it in the least time possible ie. efficiently, by simplifying it. Apparently natural processes and structures such as honeycomb are always the simplest because that is the most efficient https://www.jw.org/en/publications/m...omb-structure/
One inevitable conclusion is that many people have pointless jobs because that's all they're capable of
NIrish I suspect it’s a compromise you are looking for. You cannot have it both ways. In simple terms either one leaves early with a smaller pension or one works until one drops for a larger one.
When I reached 50 I was advised that I could take a pension from a previous employer, who I had left 10 years earlier, and had been with since I was 18.Sure enough when I contacted them they said yes, but if you leave it another 10 years you will get double. There was also a lump sum which I wanted.
My policy after that decision was to take anything you are entitled to straight away as you have no idea what may happen tomorrow.
As I continued to work for my new employer, I paid additional voluntary contributions into their pension fund. A Big Mistake as when it came to pay out ( I got made redundant at 54) I got a pittance for those extra payments. I would have been far better off keeping that extra money myself.
It wasn’t all bad though as the redundancy money, the lump sum and the pension were all very acceptable.
So a few things:
I assume you own a house without a mortgage, or can pay it off when you cease work. If so that’s a big plus, no renting. If not then there’s a problem.
Secondly, work out if can you afford to stop working early, if so great. My redundancy at 54 was the best thing ever...
Finally,as you own a business, you will probably be able to meet my final point which is to have either a part time job or a good hobby. I’m fortunate in that I have a part time job for 1 or 2 days a week and can leave it for 3 months in the winter to stay in Thailand. The income from that little job pays for my recreational activities in Pattaya.
If only they knew!!
Thanks Gerefan, a very level headed answer and one that I was sort of coming around to myself actually re the can't have it both ways thing.
Like you I'm being given a similar option re you can NOT put into your pension and stick that cash away in an ISA's etc ( earning fuck all just now) and the smaller pension I do have I can lift at 55 plus lift the ISA's and have plenty of cash - for a while ! BUT the gamble then being that not enough cash to last until you're 70/80 etc etc to live as you might want or pay for a reasonable nursing home etc ( god forbid). So, really is and was a decision of live well at say 55 but perhaps find things tight as getting older, or stay at the level I'm at now for maybe 10 years ( if i can manage that) but then continue to will at that level for the rest of my days and just hope my health holds out. Damned if you do and damned if you dont eh !
So, yeah I'm defintely coming down as somewhere in the middle I think and this year perhaps I think WILL go the full pension contributions route, tax efficiency wise if nothing else as just now in life I dont need to dont much else that I'm not or cant afford already so I guess this year is a no brainer and then just make that same decision this time next year and every year there any after I guess.
And yes thankfully own home and what not sorted and yes some form of running one of my companies on in some small way to "keep my hand in" and get SOME small income still tricking in to offset the beer money going out sounds like a very sensible plan and again if I can manage it is on my "to do" list too ( easier said than done something though). I actually sat down the other night and wrote out a "what it costs me to live" and it was actually quite eye opening / scary just in terms of the daily amount of money you live just to live even in a basic every day king of way. Likewise when I planned and costed out the "keep my hand in" company structure that too was quite eye opening /scary once you added in perhaps two other staff as needed plus SOME rented place, some IT, some accountancy, a van to deliver stuff" etc etc, it all soon added up.
The one thing it did all show me was like it or not I'm no where near to hanging up the boots yet ( much to my disgust) so I'm better knuckle down and get on with it and put another few (10) years of work in yet :-(
Thanks for the solid reply,
nIrish, sorry I didn’t make myself clear one one point. The one about a small job or hobby. The prime reason for having this is to avoid boredom. I know quite a few people who get gored shitless and one has even gone and got a part time job driving a minibus. It’s not for the money ( but obviously that helps too) but for an activity to fill the time. A good hobby would do just as well, but you’d lose out on the dosh!
The other thing that I remembered after posting is the cost of living after retirement. My job was based 133 miles from home so too far to commute daily. I stayed in a B&B during the week at about £35 per night (would be a lot more now) and I was having to pay for a lot of petrol and car maintenance as you can I imagine.
I was doing just under 30,000 miles a year. Since retiring I have never done more than 1700 miles a year...and that’s been for some time now. Hell of a difference. This low mileage also saved me buying another newish car at about £7000 or so. This may not apply to you of course but I’m sure there are other factors where you can save money.
After retirement my income from my pensions was probably only half of my take home when at work...HOWEVER my running costs were vastly reduced as above AND I didn’t have to lift a finger. I was more or less just as well off.
Don’t forget you will pay less tax (reduced income), no National Insurance and no more Pension Contibutions. It all adds up. Then,when you get to the magic age. (whatever that may be for you) you will get the State Pension. More beer money for Pattaya.
Oh and don’t forget the bus pass!
Nirish guy (January 15th, 2019)
Funny you mention NIC contributions.......as part of my "overview" the other day it was pointed out that there had been no NIC contributions taken from my bank account in a while by D.D. ( as that was something I'd set up on day one of starting my business 20 odd years ago). So I rang HMRC and asked them to check and yes they told me that it seems I'd changed banks 2.5 years ago and the "switch" service hadn't seemed to have worked, so they just "stopped" taking anything ( without telling me !!).
So, says I |ok, fine not wanting to be short of contributions come D Day I'll happily pay back what I owe, I see I have already paid 30 years worth so can you tell me the magic number of years needed to qualify for my state pension please?" And the answer I got was "no, sorry, I won't tell you that number" ! WHAT say's I !! ?? Only to be told - well you don't need to know as we'll just keep taking payments and you can keep paying your NIC until you retire as I mean you DO know Sir that that money goes towards the NHS and for paying fr peoples Benefits !and the like. - FUCK THAT says I just tell me the number of payments needed and you're not getting a penny more !
I think I must have had a labour activist on the other end of the phone who hated their job and also hated self employed people as she was one cheeky bitch and tried to give me a whole lecture about social responsibility - needless to say and after me considering my yearly tax payments already she got a VERY short answer !
Eventually thankfully I was transferred to a different department as "she just couldn't deal with me anymore" and a very nice older man came on the phone, got the point instantly and happily told me I required just another 5 years of contributions to meet their requirements. That bitch would have happily had me paying in to the system for another 10 years - and that being from my very own hard earned Pattaya beer money too had I not bothered to ask them and just so that people could get their "benefits" - as I said fuck THAT !
So, for anyone in the same boat, do be sure to ring the Govt pensions line ( and not HMRC - who blatantly LIED !) and if self employed find your own "number" to ensure that YOUR pattaya beer money isn't being spent supporting some family of 6, neither of whom's parents have ever worked a day in their lives, just so that they can keep themselves up in the manner to which they're accustomed i.e their 40 cigarettes a day (each) plus having the latest X boxes for their kids and to ensure that THEY get their 2 x 2 weeks holidays a year to Play Del ingles as they definitely need it due to their stressful lives as their crisis loan was a day late last week and so she couldn't go to the bingo !
And for those about to tell me off and say I've no heart etc - you're right - fuck 'em I say !
Ha ha ok ( light hearted) rant over :-) OK Frekky - off you go now, capitalism at it's worst etc etc, I could care less .......
gerefan2 (January 15th, 2019)
There’s enough here to make the silly bugger freak out mate!
Expect the works, orgasms and all. If he can still get a hard on!
Answer is, start saving toward the day you will retire and have plenty of income to last you till the end, which if 50 yo now, you should have 30 more years.
To increase your chances of a long life, switch to a healthy lifestyle when you can, meaning now.
To increase your chances of a long life, switch to a healthy lifestyle when you can, meaning now.
Not if you are talking about smoking.
Someone who has smoked until they are 50 has already done serious damage, which will soon present itself.
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