[The Jester of Wibbly]

Well, got me thinking today.  I have a fair few customers who are retired and many seems very comfortable with their way of life, nice cars and seem to have many holidays.    Others are on the breadline and are always moaning.  The one I was chatting with today is really struggling.   A retired self employed builder. 

It seems us self employed have it the worst with no help from employer contributions, or those magical final salary pensions that see so many people retire comfortably in their early 50's.

The press always shows the pensioners who can't afford to either eat, heat their homes or have any social life.

So have you covered your retirement?   Are you stashing loads into a plan?  Are you just depending on state pension?   

I have been investing slowly in a pension over the years and paid my mortgage off, but with 15 years to go, I need to seriously up my game to enjoy retirement in the full.

Plan ahead chaps before it's too late.

[Splash & dash]

Well, got me thinking today.  I have a fair few customers who are retired and many seems very comfortable with their way of life, nice cars and seem to have many holidays.    Others are on the breadline and are always moaning.  The one I was chatting with today is really struggling.   A retired self employed builder. 

It seems us self employed have it the worst with no help from employer contributions, or those magical final salary pensions that see so many people retire comfortably in their early 50's.

The press always shows the pensioners who can't afford to either eat, heat their homes or have any social life.

So have you covered your retirement?   Are you stashing loads into a plan?  Are you just depending on state pension?   

I have been investing slowly in a pension over the years and paid my mortgage off, but with 15 years to go, I need to seriously up my game to enjoy retirement in the full.

Plan ahead chaps before it's too late.

Personally feel property is a better investment than a pension pensions can end up worthless depending what they are invested in . Property long term will always provide a significant increase in the amount invested most of my customers that are very well off have multiple properties and they live a very comfortable life style .

[windowswashed]

Paid mortgage off, pension starts in just over a year, totally debt free and almost grid free with electric bills, house insulated to the maximum. Trying to reduce unnecessary future expenditure through pre planning before the day.

[NBwcs]

What really annoys me most about saving for retirement is that there really isn't any "independent financial advice" , everybody wants a piece of the pie so its really difficult to be 100% sure your doing the right thing.

[dd]

In my experience it is best to be your own financial adviser. It is not overly complicated if you just choose to use tracker funds (or equivalent etf).

For most on the forum simply putting one or two days earnings each month into a pension/isa would build up a decent nest egg over the years.

[Shrek]

The recommended amount you should be saving is half your age as a percentage of your wage - as in , if you are 40 , then you should be saving 20% of your wage until retirement.
The people who struggle in retirement really haven’t planned ahead and not lived within their means , there’s no excuse really but it is very important

[Splash & dash]

Just been an interest bit on the news say the minimum pension pot is 14 k per year but to live comfortably in retirement you need 40k , but again that’s all dependent on the % rise of everything if bills increase 4x in a few months then all that goes out of the window

[DJW]

I’ve just retired 🎉🥳
If I had my time again I would have invested in property just so I could have more control. My pensions lost over £10k at the time Liz Truss got in charge. The state pension isn’t enough to live on. Independent financial advisors want up to 4% of your pension pot. You have several options depending on your health and needs.
Pensionwise are good to talk to but won’t advise.
Everyone is after your money especially the tax man.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Reading up on pension returns for every £100k in the pot will give you after 25% tax tree lump sum, approx £4k a year.   So add that to the 10k a year state pension you can see why the Self Employed are struggling after retirement.   I now see why I see so many elderly window cleaners out there working still.

[deeege]

Embarrassed to say I’ve never paid into a pension and done zero retirement planning until I hit 40.

Last few years I’ve started investing heavily into ETF’s and index funds in a  S&SISA. Probably not the most tax efficient way of saving for retirement but I like to have full control of my finances and ISA’s are tax free (on the way out) unlike pensions.

Play with  compound interest calculator and its unbelievable what compounding can do to investments over 10-20-30 years.

Will also be mortgage free by 45 and have the Mrs teachers pension, aswell as 2 x state pensions.

[DJW]

Return on Isas and savings is very poor, make better money in a pension …..usually.
So many people seem to bury their heads in the sand and think the state pension will see them out! It’s no where near enough.
Self employment has drawbacks and pensions are a major one.
I should have had a final salary pension from my printing days except the directors destroyed the pension with their selfish greed.

[deeege]

Return on Isas and savings is very poor, make better money in a pension …..usually.
So many people seem to bury their heads in the sand and think the state pension will see them out! It’s no where near enough.
Self employment has drawbacks and pensions are a major one.
I should have had a final salary pension from my printing days except the directors destroyed the pension with their selfish greed.

Stocks and shares ISA’s are very different to cash ISA’s. My S&S ISA has returned 20.36% last 12 months. Whilst that’s obviously not sustainable it’s far better the the 3% or 4% that’s you’ll get in cash ISA. Not even beating inflation.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

After working all out lives, its so important to enjoy our retirement years without financial worry if we are lucky enough to get there.   Affording a nice car and having plenty of cruise ship holidays 🤣 each year is my dream and now is a target of mine.

[Shrek]

Return on Isas and savings is very poor, make better money in a pension …..usually.
So many people seem to bury their heads in the sand and think the state pension will see them out! It’s no where near enough.
Self employment has drawbacks and pensions are a major one.
I should have had a final salary pension from my printing days except the directors destroyed the pension with their selfish greed.

This is poor advice regarding isa’s - I presume because you don’t have one or you’ve only heard of cash isas’s maybe?
A stocks & shares isa can be invested in exactly the same fund as your pension and is tax free when withdrawing

[DJW]

Yes, I was referring to a cash Isa. Stocks and shares Isa although can give good returns puts your investment under similar risks to a pension. It could go up or down. Fine if you have the years in hand to wait for it to come back up.
Personally I hated paying fund managers to lose my money.

[deeege]

Yes, I was referring to a cash Isa. Stocks and shares Isa although can give good returns puts your investment under similar risks to a pension. It could go up or down. Fine if you have the years in hand to wait for it to come back up.
Personally I hated paying fund managers to lose my money.

There are dozens of funds now that are passive and track your chosen market, and charge less than 0.50%. You’d need a really good reason to be paying fund managers 3%+ these days as they very rarely beat the markets even before the charges.

It’s been a while since you researched ISA’s hasn’t it DJW?

[Dry Clean]

Pensions for the self employed are a waste of time, when I was employed I paid £100 a month into a pension got a £30 tax rebate and my employer also put in £100, they had to by law, also because it was a company pension I also saved on pension management charges, the growth  rate was as useless as most pensions but the £130 and no charges made it worthwhile.
For the self employed there are better ways to save for retirement.

[DJW]

Yes, I was referring to a cash Isa. Stocks and shares Isa although can give good returns puts your investment under similar risks to a pension. It could go up or down. Fine if you have the years in hand to wait for it to come back up.
Personally I hated paying fund managers to lose my money.

There are dozens of funds now that are passive and track your chosen market, and charge less than 0.50%. You’d need a really good reason to be paying fund managers 3%+ these days as they very rarely beat the markets even before the charges.

It’s been a while since you researched ISA’s hasn’t it DJW?

I was referring to paying fund managers every year to lose my pension.
When you get to retirement age it’s a matter of luck how well your pension is doing at that particular time.
Yes I know very little about tracking the market and am unlikely to start.
Fair play to you if you know what you are doing.

[dazmond]

The truth is none of us know how long we're gonna live!if we knew we were done for at 70 then there's no need for a pension.

The ridiculous amount of money the media bleat on about that you need to put away to get an even modest income is enough to put any young person off!

State pension plus savings and hopefully I'll be able to carry on working part time well into my 70s....

[dazmond]

The irony is that lots of people have put money away and been sensible all their lives only to get swept away by a malignant tumour in their late 60s/early 70s.....

My motto is save regularly,try and look after health and pace yourself(don't work too hard)and go on the trips,places you want to go NOW!don't wait til retirement......you might not reach it(or be in poor health to actually go!)

[DJW]

“The irony is that lots of people have put money away and been sensible all their lives only to get swept away by a malignant tumour in their late 60s/early 70s.....”


That’s the reason to retire. Quality time before it’s too late. What kind of idiot wants to work in the rain and cold well into their seventies?

[dazmond]

“The irony is that lots of people have put money away and been sensible all their lives only to get swept away by a malignant tumour in their late 60s/early 70s.....”


That’s the reason to retire. Quality time before it’s too late. What kind of idiot wants to work in the rain and cold well into their seventies?

No need to retire fully if you enjoy your job plus Ive never worked full time since 1992!🤣🤣🤣

The great thing about window cleaning is we can all cut our hours down to suit....

You give off the same vibes as stoots....you absolutely hate the job so I don't blame you wanting to retire early

[windowswashed]

“The irony is that lots of people have put money away and been sensible all their lives only to get swept away by a malignant tumour in their late 60s/early 70s.....”


That’s the reason to retire. Quality time before it’s too late. What kind of idiot wants to work in the rain and cold well into their seventies?

No need to retire fully if you enjoy your job plus Ive never worked full time since 1992!🤣🤣🤣

The great thing about window cleaning is we can all cut our hours down to suit....

You give off the same vibes as stoots....you absolutely hate the job so I don't blame you wanting to retire early

Not everybody in life has that option of working hours to suit at retirement age to top up their pension. Some have been struggling for years after cancer or with arthritic disease, etc, dodgy shoulders. 

The older you get, the quicker the aches and pains set in. It's no pleasure fighting an illness or the pains and having to work to pay the bills. The least outgoings gives the best options, i.e. mortgage paid so no more dead end renting, pension to fall back on so no having to work to bring an income in.  Not everybody wants to work any longer than necessary to enjoy the rest of their life without commitments to customers to get by. Life is meant to be enjoyed at all ages of life.

[AuRavelling79]

I don't want to stop dead (pun intended) at a fixed retirement age. Personally I am already part time at an average 2 to 4 days a week.

A flexible round paying £3k a month for ten days a month is about right for me now.

Hopefully (if my health holds) when my state pension kicks in I plan on my round being £1500 a month for 5 five hour days of my best work.

A day a week seems perfect for me - exercise, routine, money, meeting people. I have no problem thinking of doing that until my late 60's. Maybe 70.

I have toyed with employing someone on my round as Mrs. Gold and I are good with paperwork, tax etc. but knowing my personality that would only happen if I was mentally able but not physically.

At the current state of the economy I think it would be difficult to find a reliable employee so I think that might be an outlier.

Selling? What might I get for a working van (value 5k) kitted out and a 3k a month round? £20K plus if I help with the handover? Not big loot but if I save it for pension I could pay myself £400 a month for five years if I got interest on the reducing balance.

The other I thought about was doing a bit of part time canvassing.

Just don't have a burning ambition to give up working on a certain date.

[DJW]

The problem for me was that if I cut my hours down to one day or two days a week, I’d still have pretty much the same outgoings as a full time job, same van costs, same insurances, maybe less fuel.
I enjoyed the banter but hated the job near the end. I think the climate change that’s produced storm after storm decided enough was enough.
Good luck to those who actually enjoy scrubbing windows though, seventeen years of brain dead scrubbing was enough. 🙂

[Shrek]

The irony is that lots of people have put money away and been sensible all their lives only to get swept away by a malignant tumour in their late 60s/early 70s.....

My motto is save regularly,try and look after health and pace yourself(don't work too hard)and go on the trips,places you want to go NOW!don't wait til retirement......you might not reach it(or be in poor health to actually go!)

Mottos are usually catchy, short phrases that you can easily memorize—if they're too long, it will be hard to remember them when you need them most. They can be famous quotes or general sayings, but the shorter the better—because that way, you can remember and access them any time you need them

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Avoiding retirement is not an option for most people as your body becomes tired. 

I work to live, not live to work, so full retirement it needs to be one day.  Already I see customers younger than me who boast they are now retired and enjoying it.   I refuse to be a slave to the rest of the country.   I want my time in later life to relax and potter around my man cave and take plenty of time whenever I choose to do some traveling, whether it's for just 2 or 20 years.

[dazmond]

The problem for me was that if I cut my hours down to one day or two days a week, I’d still have pretty much the same outgoings as a full time job, same van costs, same insurances, maybe less fuel.
I enjoyed the banter but hated the job near the end. I think the climate change that’s produced storm after storm decided enough was enough.
Good luck to those who actually enjoy scrubbing windows though, seventeen years of brain dead scrubbing was enough. 🙂

I've worked outside all my working life(36 years)and have no problem with  being outside in all weathers.its good for you IMO.

So many snowflakes in our society these days.i hate the ones wearing crocs/sliders and pyjama type clothing while their out in public glued to their phones....

Lazy,feckless people

[dazmond]

Avoiding retirement is not an option for most people as your body becomes tired. 

I work to live, not live to work, so full retirement it needs to be one day.  Already I see customers younger than me who boast they are now retired and enjoying it.   I refuse to be a slave to the rest of the country.   I want my time in later life to relax and potter around my man cave and take plenty of time whenever I choose to do some traveling, whether it's for just 2 or 20 years.

Some guys have no idea how to look after themselves when they get past 40....

They stop going to the gym,eat and drink excessively and wonder why they feel like crap....this is then when they put it down as 'getting older'.....its nonsense.its lifestyle!

The oldest local window cleaner I know is still working a few mornings a week...he s just turned 80!😃topping up his pension.he looks fantastic for his age!😎

[dazmond]

“The irony is that lots of people have put money away and been sensible all their lives only to get swept away by a malignant tumour in their late 60s/early 70s.....”


That’s the reason to retire. Quality time before it’s too late. What kind of idiot wants to work in the rain and cold well into their seventies?

I already spend quality time with my family,go on the holidays and have time for my hobbies NOW!

I'll only retire fully if I'm forced too due to injury or ill health.

[Slacky]

I’m being forced to ‘retire’ and move to a 4 bedroom home that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.






I’ll get a truck and probs two days a week pressure washing ocean view properties. Tough life 

Apart from that I’ll be kayaking, meditating, swimming, taking images of the night sky, gardening, and DIY. As well as lots of travelling (in Canada and abroad).

If I carryon like this I’m going to start sounding like Dazmondo the baked bean.  I’ll shut up 😀😀

[DJW]

I shouldn’t really stay on this forum but as long as Dazmond keeps posting it makes me chuckle! 😅

[Dry Clean]

Avoiding retirement is not an option for most people as your body becomes tired. 

I work to live, not live to work, so full retirement it needs to be one day.  Already I see customers younger than me who boast they are now retired and enjoying it.   I refuse to be a slave to the rest of the country.   I want my time in later life to relax and potter around my man cave and take plenty of time whenever I choose to do some traveling, whether it's for just 2 or 20 years.

That's what I have done, turned 60 odds and realised my time was slipping away fast so called t a day bought a campervan started to travel and see/ experience  bit of the world outside of the holiday resorts.
Lifes a very short experience and I can guarantee that nobody looking back on their death bed will wish they had worked more.

[Dry Clean]

I shouldn’t really stay on this forum but as long as Dazmond keeps posting it makes me chuckle! 😅

Dazmond is at that age when he thinks he will live for ever, he also started working late in life so probably thinks he needs to make up for that, when he has 50years of graft under his belt I'm sure his priorities will change.

[Stoots]

I think if you can get into a position where by say 60 you have the mortgage paid, kids flown the nest and no debts then you should be able to cut down to a couple of days a week window cleaning and survive just fine.

I think that's a more realistic strategy than pumping loads into a pension that you may never live to see.

[DJW]

The idea of a pension is that it could give you an income for the rest of your life. You could live for another 25 years.. you certainly won’t be working that length of time past pension age.
Savings don’t keep up with inflation so money not invested will actually lose value over time.
It’s quite complicated but depends on what your plans are and the tax implications of working and drawing a pension.

[DJW]

I shouldn’t really stay on this forum but as long as Dazmond keeps posting it makes me chuckle! 😅

Dazmond is at that age when he thinks he will live for ever, he also started working late in life so probably thinks he needs to make up for that, when he has 50years of graft under his belt I'm sure his priorities will change.

Dazmond (Mr Bean) reminds me of myself when I was in my early thirties. Healthy living, sneering at fat people and smokers then caught cancer.
He’ll change.

[deeege]

Strange when people say ‘live for the moment, take that trip, saving for retirement is a waste of time’ etc etc.

I have plenty of holidays, weekends away, meals out etc AND also put a good chunk into investments which will hopefully mean I can carry on doing just that into retirement.

Doing both is possible assuming you work hard enough and have good enough work.

[zesty]

We bought a pretty big house, for a relative bargain price in a very sought after area.

We’re not far off a 5 year renovation project.

We should make £250,000 out of it by the end of the 5 years.

I’ve done most of the work myself and added tremendously to the value of the house .

We have this to sit on, sell, or rent out for 2k a month in the current market.

We plan to clear the mortgage and if we stay here, we can downsize and put the profit into other properties.

That’s my plan, I prefer it to pensions.

There is no right or wrong, whatever works for the individual!

[cgh window cleaning]

I actually had a meeting with a pension advisor last week.
He was very knowledgeable and knew what he was talking about and I’m waiting for some final figures.

I find some off it a little hard to understand but I believe the earlier you start one naturally the better it will do.I’ve left it a little late but have other investments.

Pensions actually seem a good investment if you’re a higher rate tax payer as you’re getting more for your money you deposit then your tax bracket will likely drop when you retire.on exit you can also take 25% tax free at 55.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Investing for the future is not only for retirement, it's also for peice of mind and mental health for the present.   It also provides financial help to your loved ones if something awful  happens before retirement.

[dd]

I am 59 and if I had not made a good level of investment into my retirement planning, I would probably be dreading the years ahead with the financial pressures of pushing myself to work as I get older.

[matty72]

omg fair play to you all, I'm reaching 52, haven't a put a penny a side, didn't really even think about until last couple of years, now can't really afford it, mortgage, daughter and living expenses take it really, but I might look into buying a small amount of shares, least it's a start, I do remember speaking to this lady i knew 30 years ago she was a financial adviser I think, her advice was either be really rich or have nothing towards the end because the government takes it all  one way or another if your in the middle.

[Shrek]

Retirement age to raise to 71 by 2050 to get state pension

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1860556/retiring-71-experts-react-proposed-change-pension-age

[Shrek]

What I didn’t realise was that the private pension age is linked to the state pension age and also rises before you can access it.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/minimum-private-pension-age-could-be-rising-58-ii526874

I will stick with my S&S isa & rental property

[NBwcs]

I am 59 and if I had not made a good level of investment into my retirement planning, I would probably be dreading the years ahead with the financial pressures of pushing myself to work as I get older.

I have made as much provision as i can but it heavily relies on my being able to carry on working for the next 10 yrs and im already starting to fall to bits. Id be lying if i said it doesn't concern me a bit. Those  in government  live in cuckoo land if they think those in physical jobs can work into their seventies and ours is no where near as demanding as some jobs. We cant all push supermarket trollies about.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Thanks to the Government ignoring self employed labour intensive jobs.....

[dazmond]

I shouldn’t really stay on this forum but as long as Dazmond keeps posting it makes me chuckle! 😅

Dazmond is at that age when he thinks he will live for ever, he also started working late in life so probably thinks he needs to make up for that, when he has 50years of graft under his belt I'm sure his priorities will change.

Dazmond (Mr Bean) reminds me of myself when I was in my early thirties. Healthy living, sneering at fat people and smokers then caught cancer.
He’ll change.

You ve knocked 20 years off me!thank you sir!!😆😆🤣....I'm 52!

[dazmond]

I shouldn’t really stay on this forum but as long as Dazmond keeps posting it makes me chuckle! 😅

Dazmond is at that age when he thinks he will live for ever, he also started working late in life so probably thinks he needs to make up for that, when he has 50years of graft under his belt I'm sure his priorities will change.

Wtf are you on about?I've been working outside since I was 16 years of age

[Dry Clean]

I shouldn’t really stay on this forum but as long as Dazmond keeps posting it makes me chuckle! 😅

Dazmond is at that age when he thinks he will live for ever, he also started working late in life so probably thinks he needs to make up for that, when he has 50years of graft under his belt I'm sure his priorities will change.

Wtf are you on about?I've been working outside since I was 16 years of age

Back in the day there was a member on here who talked about instead of working in his twenties and early thirties spent it drinking, drug taking and bedding women, he then went on to tell us about how he turned his life around sobered up concentrated on his work and never looked back, for some reason  I thought that was you Dazmond. Apologies.

[Scrimble]

I have already starting buying buy to let's, should have at least 100 by the time I retire, pensions are for mugs

[dd]

I have already starting buying buy to let's, should have at least 100 by the time I retire, pensions are for mugs

Why do you need a 100 properties before you retire?

There would be a lot of work involved in managing/maintaining properties and dealing with tenants.

[Slacky]

He’s joking.

[Bungle]

I have already starting buying buy to let's, should have at least 100 by the time I retire, pensions are for mugs

Good for you. It sounds like you've got your head screwed on.

[Bungle]

I have already starting buying buy to let's, should have at least 100 by the time I retire, pensions are for mugs

Why do you need a 100 properties before you retire?

There would be a lot of work involved in managing/maintaining properties and dealing with tenants.

He's already got 10. I'd get rid of the window cleaning side of things if it were me.

[dd]

He’s joking.

I thought jokes were supposed to be funny.

[Bungle]

He’s joking.

I thought jokes were supposed to be funny.

Scramble is an inspiration as is splash and dash.

[Scrimble]

I manage 5000 window cleaning customers so 100 properties no problem, its shocking to me that most people in general have no financial planning for the future.

[Splash & dash]

I manage 5000 window cleaning customers so 100 properties no problem, its shocking to me that most people in general have no financial planning for the future.

I wouldn’t want to own 100 properties but 3-4 is a very good earner and a solid investment for the future

[robbo333]

Embarrassed to say I’ve never paid into a pension and done zero retirement planning until I hit 40.

Last few years I’ve started investing heavily into ETF’s and index funds in a  S&SISA. Probably not the most tax efficient way of saving for retirement but I like to have full control of my finances and ISA’s are tax free (on the way out) unlike pensions.

Play with  compound interest calculator and its unbelievable what compounding can do to investments over 10-20-30 years.

Will also be mortgage free by 45 and have the Mrs teachers pension, aswell as 2 x state pensions.

Did you know that, in the USA, you can now get a Bitcoin ETF, not sure if you can get it in the UK yet, but it won't be long and I think it's performing very well at the moment.