[bottle~rocket]

I know I could have posted this in "managing money" but it is a broad kind of question than a specific money issue.

Now that the pension age is being raised to 67, I have started to think about retirement and how to plan for that. I went to a seminar in which it was said that something like 88% of people retire earlier than planned, for a variety of reasons including redundancy, ill health and having to care for elderly relatives.

Ideally I would like us to choose to retire at age 60 but I think we will need some sort of strategy if there is any chance of that happening.

Has anyone else started thinking about this (I realise the EB demographic might be a bit young!)

If so when do you want to retire?
Would you and your partner retire at the same time?
Do you have a strategy for saving for retirement?
WDYT about the whole issue?

This post has been edited by bottle~rocket: 14/11/2012, 09:53 PM

[*LucyE*]

If so when do you want to retire?
DH is planning on semi retirement by our mid to late 40's. I am currently a SAHM and intend on some sort of 'career' after I've shipped the kids off to boarding school

Seriously though, I doubt either of us will ever stop work. We will always stay active and useful in some way.

Would you and your partner retire at the same time?
Sort of. We want to do a lot of traveling together. These days, we don't have to be in the one place to 'work'. He will probably spend a lot of his life in 'semi retirement' while I'll probably spend the same time working part time. It's all a matter of perspectives.

Do you have a strategy for saving for retirement?
Working like crazy now?

WDYT about the whole issue?
I think many people are under prepared for retirement.

[Overtherainbow]

If so when do you want to retire?
I work with a wonderful lady in her late 60's. She knows so much about our career and is as bright as a button. I have spoken with her and she agrees that working in a career she loves and is passionate about, keeps her young. I want to be her. Still working part time up until 70 but only if I still love my job and am contributing. If I stop learning, I want out earlier.

Would you and your partner retire at the same time?
Who knows? I had time off when the kids were babies and DH is older than me. If it's viable financially and it's what he wants, I have no issue if he retires first.

Do you have a strategy for saving for retirement?
We have put extra super aside. We are working on debt reduction and we have looked at number of years post kids when we can really hit saving. Knowing the impact of investing long term we have been putting aside for the future but not a lot.

WDYT about the whole issue?

I am frustrated with peoples attitudes towards retirement (MIL and FIL). That whole attitude of spend super with no frugality and then jump on the pension is just wrong to me. I understand those who are older will not have super for long term but retiring early and spending your super quickly is not sensible either.

I think most of us are so focussed on today, we forget to plan for tomorrow.

[JRA]

I think the pension age is less of the issue, but more when you can get your super. The pension is becoming more and more of a "only if you have nothing", it is far from the norm for people.

DH will be nearly 60 when DS finishes school, at that stage certainly neither of us will be working. We are both meant to be only doing minimal work now, but I seem to have ruined that and am working too much.

When this project finishes I intend to go back to a lot less work.

Yes we have saved, not necessarily "for retirement" but for life.

[HollyOllyOxenfre...]

DH and I have thought about it and discussed it a little, although I think I've thought about it more because I've worked in super and had a bit more exposure to how important super and investments will be for our generation.

We haven't discussed specific ages because I don't think you know until you get there. I don't think DH will ever completely retire because he likes to be busy. Even in our pipe dream discussions where we win $40 million lotto draws he still sees himself working part time. I'm a SAHM and probably will be for many years to come, ideally combined with some sort of volunteering work once I have more time during the day, so I don't really think about retirement in terms of leaving work at the moment. If and when I return to paid work I'll probably think about it more.

From a financial point of view, we have a plan that's not so much just aimed at retirement, but more aimed at work income not being our only source of income. We're on track to pay off our mortgage pretty quickly, and in the next few years we'll be looking into investment options to help set us up.

[tothebeach]

Yes we have saved, not necessarily "for retirement" but for life.

We have the same strategy as JRA. We are very focussed on savings and investment and live much more modestly than our income allows. This will enable us to choose our retirement age or to work in stop starts through our life. I imagine that DH and I will be doing some sort of work till quite old so keep active and engaged. However, this will be interspersed with periods of semi-retirement, not working etc. For example, next year we are both planning on taking the year off work to spend more time with the kids.

We are in our 40s and have enough moneysaved to retire now but our lifestyle would have to be severly curtailed and there is no reason for us to do this.

[MrsLexiK]

[If so when do you want to retire?
I don't know if I ever want to fully retire. We have plenty of clients that are in their late 60's early 70's still working. I'd probably like to do part time work. I suppose when I can no longer function at work.

Would you and your partner retire at the same time?
Probably not, if we were closer in age then maybe but I'll only be in my 50's when he is 67. If he stays in the same physical field he would retire by the age of 67. However if he moved to a different area, or managed his own shop I could see him working into his 70s as well.

Do you have a strategy for saving for retirement?
Not really, we have a mortgage at the moment, by the time it is paid off I will still have at lest 20 years of work behind me in which case we could invest more money into our super or into investments or into property. The house we have will "do" us forever we would only move if we were going to be mortgage free OR be mortgage free on the principal house but have a mortgage on an investment place (our house rented out would bring in more than the mortgage is for instance.)

Our plan is that we will buy into a retirment villiage or a smaller unit or townhouse when we are ready and the house we have now could be rented (which would have no mortgage on it by that stage)

WDYT about the whole issue?
I am glad we brought when we did, as it still gives us 20 years plus to purchase and pay off an investment property which we could then live off when we are older. We'd then have 2 houses to be able to sell and or rent out. That is assuming that neither of us get an inheritance, that neither of us further our studies and therefor our earning potential etc. I'm only 24 and want to go back to study, if that happens and we will be able to afford an investment property earlier then in 20 years. Giving us more options.

This post has been edited by MrsLexiK: 15/11/2012, 09:56 AM

[Winterdanceparty]

I am one of the "not so young" people on EB and we have been through this. Because my husband was not in the era where superannuation was paid to the worker, until the last 20 years of his employment, he didn't get the full benefit. I was a SAHM until my youngest turned 18 and then I went back to work part-time and eventually full time, but again I was not able to avail myself of a big super pay-out, because of the time limit I was working, which was 17 years - so not enough money to keep me living until 85 or so. The money has run out for me and we are now adjusting our money by my husband paying all the bills, because he has more money than me and if we live too long, we may have to look at a reverse mortgage. The older people who will retire within the next 5 years, just haven't had the time to boost their super payment to live without the pension.

[emmafg]

We have the same strategy as JRA. We are very focussed on savings and investment and live much more modestly than our income allows. This will enable us to choose our retirement age or to work in stop starts through our life. I imagine that DH and I will be doing some sort of work till quite old so keep active and engaged. However, this will be interspersed with periods of semi-retirement, not working etc. For example, next year we are both planning on taking the year off work to spend more time with the kids.

We are in our 40s and have enough moneysaved to retire now but our lifestyle would have to be severly curtailed and there is no reason for us to do this.

This is mostly us, though we are still in our thirties. DH and I are not planning to ever retire, only stopping work when we are physically unable to. We enjoy working and staying active (mentally and physically). We are planning to have several stages of work as we get older, and will probably change careers multiple times over the next 40 years or so.

My inlaws are both retired at 60, mentally and physically fit, and plan on doing bugger all for the next 20 years. Partly self funded, partly funded by PS pension. Each to their own but I just could not do it.

My step mother is 70 and still works full time as a child psychologist. She has plenty of funds but plans to just keep going until she can't anymore.

[bottle~rocket]

We have the same strategy as JRA. We are very focussed on savings and investment and live much more modestly than our income allows. This will enable us to choose our retirement age or to work in stop starts through our life. I imagine that DH and I will be doing some sort of work till quite old so keep active and engaged. However, this will be interspersed with periods of semi-retirement, not working etc. For example, next year we are both planning on taking the year off work to spend more time with the kids.

I guess this what I see as being important - having enough savings that if we are forced to retire early for whatever reason, that we will have enough to live comfortably.

If we are able to keep working into old age on terms that suit us and then only give up work when we want to, that would be ideal. However in reality many people do not have this option. Age discrimination in employment is still pretty entrenched unfortunately. I think it is a good idea to be prepared financially in case this is not possible.