Early Retirement

Before we answer the question, we need to know if you have decided when you want to retire? Many of us have been reassessing our lives and priorities in the wake of the pandemic and there seems to have been a seismic shift to achieve more balance in our lives, possibly through early retirement. This needs a plan which can adapt and flex to changing aspirations – it’s become more about living life rather than going through the motions of the daily grind.

With earlier retirement a serious consideration for many seeking balance, a quarter of Brits who aspire to retire early feel that age 60 is the optimum time to do so. Whether or not 60 is your magic number, we’ve come up with some useful guidance to help set you on the right path.

Taking positive steps to a new lifestyle

When you think about what really makes you happy, have you thought that this could be early retirement? If you’re planning to celebrate your 60th birthday by saying ‘goodbye’ to working life, it’s good to know that 68% of people report an increase in overall happiness due to retiring early, with 44% of early retirees reporting their family relationships improved and 34% citing improvements in their friendships.

And it could prove to be a boost from a health perspective as well – 57% of early retiree respondents reported a boost to their mental wellbeing, with 50% believing their physical wellbeing has improved since retiring. Sounds good to us!

Putting yourself in the driving seat

The most popular reason (32%) for wanting to retire early is a desire ‘to enjoy more freedom while still being physically fit and well enough to enjoy it.’ We totally get that and hear this a lot from our clients!

Other factors driving people to pursue early retirement include financial security (26%), reassessing priorities and what’s important to them in life (23%), wishing to spend more time with family (20%) and finding they are either ‘tired or bored’ of working (19%). Stress is also a contributing factor that 19% of respondents are keen to eradicate.

Getting in the driving seat could simply mean having a greater understanding of what you’ve got, where you want to go, and identifying any gaps. This is where good quality financial advice can help.

An important decision

Early retirement needs careful consideration, particularly with regard to finances – a sizable 24% of people returning to work after retiring did so because of financial issues. Interestingly, 47% of retirees found that their finances worsened, and women are likely to have felt this more than men (50% v 44%). Across both genders, only 22% felt they benefited financially from their decision to retire early.

As with most important decisions in life, it’s a wise move to take advice and guidance on those tricky areas where you might be less confident navigating your way through.

Do you want to make early retirement a reality?

It’s not just about paying as much as possible into your pension; other factors can help you make early retirement achievable, such as paying off a mortgage, saving little and often and saving extra if you receive a pay rise, bonus, or inheritance.

If you’re considering early retirement, our retirement experts would be delighted to have a conversation with you about how we can help. The first meeting is with our compliments, so please get in touch today. In the meantime, you might want to take a look at our video on cash flow planning which is some clever wizardry used by our retirement experts to visualise and plan ahead your future financial position.

We’re here to reassure you that happiness doesn’t need to come at a cost when retiring early. Although it’s very important to be realistic, with meticulous planning and careful consideration, we can assess and develop a robust plan to align and flex with your changing requirements and priorities.