Retiring - but not shy!

[BarryW]

Depends on the individual and their circumstances. What tiny bit of works pension I accrued is just pocket money on top of my state pension, all taxed of course. However, for me, it was the best thing I could have done. I hated my job and I now realised I was suffering a lot more stress than I thought I was. Always had a 'who cares' attitude when the shite hit the fan at work but it has taken me over six months to finally relax. It would be nice to earn more money but I have no thoughts about returning to work. I value my health and what is left of my sanity too much.

Graham and others affected - you should only pay tax on gross income above £11,000 this year. If your pension is being taxed at source without any other income then check to make sure the total gross amount takes you over £11k, if not then you should claim back overpaid tax. Also make sure you are only taxed on the surplus above £11k at 20% (or 40% over gross income of £43,000, higher taxes are payable at £100k at an effective rate of 60% initially). As you are probably aware no N.I. is payable on pension or investment income.

Whatever you do dont use the tiny amount of interest on bank savings as income in retirement. Apart from it being a very small amount the capital will be losing purchasing power steadily as a result of inflation. Even if the interest is not spent and rolled up your savings will still struggle to hold it real value. You do need these accounts for accessing capital and emergency money so they do have a place. There are ways to get a decent income from investment plus capital/income growth but I am afraid you need advice for that and regulations prevent me from saying more on here. You could see an adviser local to you who can understand your circumstances.

Sorry - I dont mean to do an advert, just trying to help.

[tanktrack]

Dave -relax and chill out , for a while anyway

[tr1ckey66]

Enjoy your 'retirement' Dave.

Cheers
P

[colin m]

Nice one Dave, I hope it all works out. Just promise me one thing please, stay away from day time TV. It rots the brain, allegedly.

[Gern]

Ian - I can't say I didn't suffer with stress at times but it was never so bad that it outweighed the benefits of working.

Tony - my stash wasn't THAT big! What caused my 'puter to crash was a so-called security program I downloaded to try and stop some bugger who'd hacked my email account. I did it on the advice of my email provider and it not only didn't cure the problem, it 'blue screened' my computer so I had to reset everything to factory condition losing all my files.

Barry - it's not tax that's the problem. During the last few years I've had a succession of teaching jobs through agencies. These jobs only pay for the time you're actually in a classroom, so in between jobs I had to claim unemployment benefits (except for the 9 weeks each year when colleges were shut for half-terms, Easter etc when I was neither paid by the college, nor in receipt of benefits because I had an employment contract and was technically unavailable for work and therefore couldn't claim benefits either).

Due to my age, I couldn't claim Job Seeker's Allowance and Universal Credit had not 'rolled out' into the Midlands. I was therefore forced to claim a thing called Pension Credit. This is paid at the same rate as the State Pension but is means tested. The rules also state that I must claim any private pension that I have, and income from this is deducted from my Pension Credit. If I hadn't got a Private Pension, I would receive the full amount of Pension Credit.

The other issue is that as I'm claiming a Teacher's Pension, I am no longer allowed to work as a teacher. So between the government's rules on unemployment and the pension company's rules I have effectively been forced to retire 12 months early. So not only are they taking money away from me, they're also stopping me earning any!

Happy days!

Steve, Paul and Col - as far as I'm aware the situation I'm in will only last 'til next March when I can claim my State Pension instead of Pension Credit. After that, I'll have no stoppages and should get the full income from both my pensions. Meanwhile I have enough to pay my bills with a tiny bit left over for hobbies so no worries!

As for daytime TV - I only watch a couple of hours a week at night - when the theoretically 'good stuff' is on - so the naff daytime stuff won't be a problem!

[Guest]

Enjoy all that model making time in a nag free enviroment!!

[Gern]

Enjoy all that model making time in a nag free enviroment!!

I'll be doing just that David!

[Gern]

I don't know if this makes me a certifiable eejit or not ....

Had a call from my agency yesterday. One of the colleges I worked at last year has a short term vacancy for a maths tutor and specifically wanted me to have first refusal - I start on Monday.

Back to the 12-hour days .....

PS It turns out I misunderstood the rules about working now I've claimed my private pension. I can work but there's a limit to how much I'm allowed to earn before it affects the amount I get. On current figures, I can earn about £32000 a year before that happens so no worries about a short term contract!

[spanner570]

Judas!.....

........anyway, what were you doing staring at a computer screen at 2.08am this morning!

[bazers]

Hi Dave
Sorry to here about your work problems, but while you are off enjoy the time.

[Gern]

Judas!.....

........anyway, what were you doing staring at a computer screen at 2.08am this morning!

Just chillin' as usual Ron. With no timetable to stick to, I tend to sleep for 3-4 hours twice a day at times to suit myself. That means I can be up and about - doing very little of course - at any time of the day or night.

I can't be doin' with all that "Early to bed, early to rise" c**p! That's for folks with jobs and commitments.