Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Targets

I'm very, very fortunate...

I work for a German owned multi national in a small team that looks at new business opportunities, new technologies and small acquisition targets.
That is a lot of fun and very stimulating. They are very keen to keep me on, perhaps because I have knowledge, experience but have no career ambitions, so am no threat to the egos of the up and coming young turks. A bit like Grandad...

I work from home, 4 days a week and will reduce to 3 days from 1st Jan. The days I work are totally under my control. So I can work a full week when needed, then take the "not working days" off when it amuses me. Some days I check mail, take the occasional phone call whilst working in the garden or out for a walk.

Working from home means no commuting, no office politics. The down side is there is no clear separation between work and not work. As an example today I started by checking my mail and responding at 7am, then breakfast, a bit of TM time and I'll pick up dealing with a couple of projects. Whilst I'm doing the project planning I'll take out time to make bread, but when I'm kneading the dough I'll be thinking about one of the projects.

So, have I already partially retired? One could argue so.

Do I ever need to really retire?

I can certainly afford to do so, but working 60% keeps our standard of living high, allows me to buy toys and generally behave like a 65 year old spoilt kid.
Is this having cake and eating it?

So next year I'm planning to spend 1 day a week volunteering at a local museum: they have already said they will take me.

One thing neither of us want to do is travel outside the UK. I've done enough and to be honest the world is becoming much the same. Ethiopia in the 1970s was different, as was Eastern Germany and Russia before the Wall Came Down. Recent trips to Moscow and Dresden showed the differences have dissolved. Same shops, cars, food...

So, perhaps my quandary is easy to understand.

Anyway, off to India tomorrow, thanks to the wonders of the "interweb" I'll take TM along for the ride. The first time I went in 1994 there was no reliable phone system, no internet, no mobile phones. Just an occasional fax....

So, end of the introspection and on with the day!

Yes. I had a boss once who was like you. He was 72 and simply continued working. He enjoyed working. It was his hobby running a multinational. And because it was his hobby he did it in a relaxed and more effective fashion.

If you enjoy your work why stop? You have to do something in retirement anyway so the only difference if you give up work is that your retirement activity wont generate any money.

My target is to wake up again tomorrow

Sounds to me Peter that you really have cracked the retirement issue - just keep doing what you're doing!

Yes, but use Caroline's accountancy expertise to determine whether it's better to stay PAYE or retire and get the company to re-hire you as a self-employed contractor. I know which I'd do...

We have discussed this.
Being employed has three benefits, above the monthly bank transfer....

1. Non contributory pension scheme that they pay into every month worth 15% of my pay.
2 . AXA PPP medical care plan as part of a large group scheme there are no restrictions or exclusions. BIK is less than £4K for the 2 of us. Talking to AXA a similar scheme, as a former employee, is simply unaffordable.
3. Life Insurance, 4X my pay included in the package.

I discovered that as an employee, once over 65 I pay NO NI contributions. Self employed Class 4 you do... Why????.

Peter, that sounds compelling:

1) As long as your pension is not already overcontributed against your Lifetime Allowance - otherwise you are mainly making a future gift to the Exchequer

2) The unaffordable personal HI scheme can become affordable. Like Sky, AA etc you never know what the actual best rates are until you give notice to leave. In AXA PPP's case, this is accomplished through a wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary who have access to - would you believe it - AXA's own underwriting department.

3) I wouldn't want my wife knowing I was worth this much dead

4) I had no idea - yet another tax on enterprise

The lifetime allowance on pensions is having unintended consequences in some areas.

Our financial advisor told us that he is getting an increasing number of NHS consultants (people who are scarce, valuable and hard to replace) taking early retirement because they have hit the lifetime allowance on their pension.

Have you looked into Abbey Pumping Station, huge great beam engines and social history stuff. Abbey Pumping Station