I'm 55 with £1m - Can I afford to retire? (Real case study)

[@warrenthorp]

You’re good mate. I have done this (with a bit less capital) and now I sail my boat in the summer and work in the winter. Jobs a goodun 👍

[@JamesShack]

I'm glad it's working well for you! Was there any point where it felt like a leap of faith or was it a slow transition?

[@warrenthorp]

I had been planning for it for many years (with various scenarios factored in in terms of work-life balance) so I was very ready and very (mentally) accustomed to the idea by the time it came. As it happens, a bit like your man John, I got burned out a HAD to stop working at age 54 anyway. I will do something low stress in the winter from now on - because I can 😀

[@danh4859]

Why quit work completely if you enjoy bits of it, and can afford to career-downsize, delay eating into investments, pay more into pension, and “buy” back more time and less stress? No-brainer IMHO

[@user-lx6pk9os2d]

Yep, did it at 50. For us, it was about having more time to get outside up mountains etc while we're young enough. We live a modest but comfortable lifestyle, don't blow cash on pointless things, we both work self employed as and when it suits. Perfect!

[@tancreddehauteville764]

@@warrenthorp So, what was your job?

[@invisipics]

This whole video is not really about money but about something else which is only partially expressed. One of the most important things we need to do in life is to work out what belongs to us and what doesn't - in particular what voices in our minds belong to us and which don't. The voice telling you to climb the work ladder and become a "high-flyer," may well belong to your parents, for example, and not to you. Recognizing what isn't yours is really helpful in finding out what is.

[@JamesShack]

Very good comment - this should be the key takeway from the video.

[@stevegeek]

Very true. Great comment.

[@rockl085ter8]

It is the modern day Sword of Damacles story

[@smallbizdigitalmedia]

“I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants me to be just like them. They say sing why you slave but i just get bored.” Bob Dylan

[@CharlesSharpe-hw1zr]

This perspective resonates deeply, especially when thinking about retirement and financial planning. It’s not just about money but understanding what truly matters to you. Sometimes, the pressure to achieve certain financial goals or climb the career ladder comes from external influences, not your own desires. Working with a financial advisor can help you filter out the noise, identify what aligns with your values, and create a plan tailored to your goals. Retirement isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey-it’s about building a life that reflects what’s genuinely important to you.

[@maddog6278]

I did the same at 59. I have a final salary pension from my first job that covers the monthly bills, my 23 year pension is managed and invested growing nicely which I don’t plan to touch for the next 5 years and 100K savings for emergencies. I do 3 sessions at my local golf club, nothing remotely related to the work I left which covers holidays and other stuff. Hardest part is not seeing the large monthly wage coming in but after 6 months seeing everything is working I am so much more relaxed and happy with my life. Best thing I have ever done.

[@dawnmartyne]

This is what I did. I went part-time with my career at 55 yrs old..coasting into retirement. No need to save anymore , no need to withdraw from pot or if I do, very little.. I works for me..I'm 58 currently..

[@JamesShack]

Great stuff Dawn. Thank you for sharing!

[@dard683]

hi Id like.ro hear what.types of jobs you looked at

[@davidwasilewski]

This is my plan too. 3 years to go!

[@dawnmartyne]

​@dard683 I'm a freelance hairdresser so cut down on my clients. Just do the few I really like.

[@kateband8213]

Interesting viewing. I did exactly that, gave up a senior role which was very well paid but with huge responsibility, significant time away from home and staff management role. When I got to age 56 I was pretty much burnt out. I quit my job but my manager offered me a part time role which didn’t involve any people management or stress. I did that for 3 years and then finally took the leap into freedom aged 59. Life is short, particularly a healthy life. What I now realise that without the need to pile money into a DC pension or ISA I don’t need a huge income. I’m fortunate that I have no mortgage anymore but neither do I have expensive tastes. I’m now richer than I have ever been.

[@stevegeek]

Similar here. Like you, I don't have expensive tastes. I see a lot of neighbors with bigger homes / newer cars etc. than me, but they are still working while I've taken early retirement and loving it.😄

[@boyasaka]

Well done ​@@stevegeek Drives me mad when I read need £1 million bla bla bla I earn 50k.a year and usually only spend around £1000 a month I've no idea why some people need so much money or what they actually spend it on

[@openmind5973]

Nice one. A key point I took from this was, 'particularly a healthy life.' That is so important. No good having loads of cash if you aren't physically or mentally able to truly enjoy it.

[@lrac111]

I retired at 55yrs old with less than half that amount, with my tiny works pension and other investments and interest I can live OK. I don't have loads of money but can do everything I want and I would class myself extremely wealthy in LIFE because stopping being on the hamster wheel paying thousands in tax and enjoying life feels unbelievable, its like a dream and this next year my partner is retiring

[@lrac111]

@@GlobRes I'm spending around 1.5k to 2k a month

[@nimblegoat]

I retired over 2 years ago at 57 , was going to retire at 60, but Covid affected my business big time, so called it early. If it was only me could have retired much much earlier, but as sole breadwinner, family etc not so easy. In my country won't get pension till 65, and that we be just extra money. Currently just living off investment income . My wife now has a small business with a little bit of income . Will realise some more money at about end of this year, which though will invest as still 50% of money currently invested , it will be for travel, fun stuff. I think being modest helps big time , don't need a big house , more rates, insurance and assoc. costs, don't need an expensive car or cars , enjoy biking to gym . I think freedom was also paying off mortgage early , as then any income would mostly be enough. It's fun going to markets getting good quality fruit and veg for good prices and taking time to cook. When I was a student at Uni in the 80s we weren't rich, but still lots of happiness. I spent 11 years travelling the world when younger dirt cheap as well. The amount of money needed to have a good life is over-rated . My family will still get that investment capital and my house when I kick it. But still need enough for health , vet , to fix roof , get a quick flight etc

[@mrt1878]

Never ever trade time and health for money. Learnt this the hard way after an in my 50's, very poor diagnosis of blood cancer from no where. Had always placed my career first and never envisioned finishing work until into my 60's. I fought the cancer into remission and decided to retire at 57. The biggest challenge was the mental one. The responsibilities I held, status, importance to others and the organisation, making a difference etc. However, there is often a cost which comes with this, mine was brutal but there is always something. I walked and feel so much better in every way. Yes, I sometimes think about the money I gave up but I've been able to balance this in my head against the peace, time and health I now have. The average male has less than 1000 weeks to live once they hit 60....think about that when you perceive you have a long life to live once retired. You won't regret prioritising time and health.

[@crispyduck1706]

wish you well buddy enjoy the time you have

[@simonwl]

Good luck to you. You're doing the right thing. Stay positive and enjoy the love around you; from family, friends and what nature gives us. That's all so much more important than chasing the ££.

[@user-lx6pk9os2d]

People are bonkers. Retire as soon as you can. Sell the house, downsize. Bank £500k. Don't spend £5k a month, be a bit more sensible! And yes - I retired at 50 by doing this. I'll tell you what success looks like - getting up and doing whatever you want without having to answer to anyone. Forget the holidays - you soon get bored of them anyway! If you really want to do something, maybe look at NED roles?

[@porschecarreras992cabriole8]

Changing your lifestyle to accommodate your pension pot does not suit everybody! To me this is failure! You just gave up on life on the skills you went to university to get and then did you postgraduate as well. Unless the job is not of professional capacity.

[@uncountableuk]

I did the same at age 51. Allocating my own time is the most important asset I have. My life now is way, way richer than when I worked. None of the things I do during the day involve spending a dime (except a bit of petrol). It's not like I don't have resources ... I could easily spend 3x what I do at the moment. I just can't think of anything to spend it on though so I just let it compound while I enjoy my days on my local projects.

[@jamesfraser1622]

I was thinking the same. Who is spending 5k a month (not including standard bills)?

[@user-lx6pk9os2d]

@@uncountableuk I think the difference is not trying to impress anyone and realising "success" isn't a pile of pointless toys.

[@user-lx6pk9os2d]

@@porschecarreras992cabriole8 You're just not there yet. I found my attitude changed dramatically in my 40's as I watched people "ahead" of me collapse with stress, heart attacks, divorce, burnout. And watched them get replaced as though they never existed - sometimes by me. All for what?

[@alastairkeith8553]

James - cracking video - I can relate to this so much - you work hard to get to the top only to find it’s not a sustainable place to be. I decided to have a life over a lifestyle and cut my expenditure to suit using the money I had available.

[@JamesShack]

I'm glad to hear you've made that realisation and been able to make changes.

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

That is what happened to me (also in IT). Was pushed and promoted into management and I hated it, everyday the first and last thoughts were work related. I switched back to a non-management senior role that I was much happier in. My plan is to retirement and occasionally contract to fill the time in between travel and relaxation.

[@uncountableuk]

Yep, spot on. I stopped four years ago aged 51 after a 29 year career. I now have embarked upon what I hope will be my second 30 year career. I volunteer on 5-6 nature recovery projects (a totally new area for me). This has given me purpose, structure and identity. I can't imagine living any other way. I have a bigger pot than your couple, but my expenses are way, way lower. I literally can't think of anything to spend money on beyond essentials. If you find your passion you don't need to spend £5k a month.

[@davidt208]

Oh my god, this video plays like it was made for me - and my wife would doubtless be delighted to know that I've watched something like this. The conversations you have with your clients makes your role sound like it's half financial planner, half therapist! It also makes me wish I had followed a career path towards being a financial planner instead of taking a similar route to John the CTO.

[@JamesShack]

It is. The output of a good financial planner should not be a return or a tax saving, although those things are part of it. The output should be the client living the most fulfilling life that they can. So we have lots of conversations like this!

[@markdavis2097]

Your best video yet James👏👏👏you have so struck a cord with my 52yr old self. Third time watching and your words and statements are ringing in my ears and brain. I am one of those always chasing the next dollar or the next step up thinking that next bit will be better or clearer future pathway. Well done JS❤great advice

[@RJC10101]

Wow! Their expenses are colossal.. The most I ever earned was £80k and I retired last year at 41 with > £1.5m. The key is being sensible with your expenditure and investments. People always seem to be too keen to keep up with the Jones’s and being extravagant and that is what keeps them a slave to the system regardless of how much money they earn. So many people succumb to lifestyle inflation

[@stevegeek]

Haha...exactly what I was thinking. I didn't understand the bit about £10k / year for kids to go to Uni. Do they not know about student loans?! No way I was going to stump up for that.

[@pilkers745]

How much did you inherit ?

[@xxwookey]

A money moustache acolyte. I agree this is the right approach. I have no idea how I would go about spending 5K month! It's very hard to spend a lot of money without having an unreasonably large carbon footprint.

[@dubsdolby9437]

Yes, why do people load themselves with financial burdens🤔 intellect and intelligence are 2 different things . Seems the guy is obsessed with work and status. 🙄

[@jocar-1735]

A £1.5M "pot" after around only 20yrs work in a PAYE income job given pension and isa annual input limits is quite impressive and would require an investment return far in excess of the long term stock market average. Since a pension has an age related access point, substantial monies would be required from other sources to retire at age early 40's. Government statistics indicate only one UK ISA millionaire in their 40's, this being most probably through investment luck being in the right place at the right time. The average age of a UK ISA millionaire is in the mid 70's this reflects the amount of investment time and compounded retuns required to attain a pot of that magnitude.

[@jassonsw]

They could also retire immediately by selling their property and downsizing. If they sold their 1.4million house, bought a two bedroomed flat for about 600-800k and banked the remaining 600-800k that would work.

[@jerry680]

Absolutely brilliant video. I pretty much did this, moving from a director role to a zero hours contract consultant with the same company. It has to work for the company as well, which it does. Best thing I have ever done.

[@chuckmurray1825]

Wow! James, this is right on point for me. I'm at that stage as well. I've already retired from 30 years in law and then went back to work full time in property management because I got bored and got an offer I couldn't turn down. Now I'm thinking that I need to cut back to about 16 to 20 hours of work a week with enough freedom to travel when I want to take a trip. I also need more time for the gym and a reduction in stress. I've been told by my current employer and one other that they want me to work with them as long as I want to work and in whatever capacity I choose so I'm going to put that to the test at the end of next year. I think I'm going to transition into full retirement slowly. I'm too active to just not do something productive but I don't want the level of obligation and stress I'm currently carrying. I think that as long as I have good health, I will want to work in some capacity. Also, the extra income will allow me to coast without taking deductions from my retirement account except for overseas travel. I might be hitting you up again for good places to eat in my next trip to London.

[@truthseeker8524]

"You need to retire to something" wise words and something that a lot of people don't factor in when starting their retirement journey. It is critical.

[@owensmith7530]

I haven't worked that part out yet, and I'm 57 so behind on it really.

[@bjorn2625]

Of all the great videos you've done James, this one is the most thought-provoking. "You need to retire TO something" is a great way of looking at it; as a transition, not a threshold.

[@jocar-1735]

Not so much a financial advice video, but more of a be careful what you wish for in terms of a career video. I decided that climbing the slippery career ladder beyond a certain point was just not worth it given the additional stress, higher levels of taxation and especially since the company I worked for stopped the DB pension scheme, so a higher salary would not be reflected every year in a pension at retirement. I retired at age 55. Best decision I have ever made. You can't buy time. If however, you enjoy your line of work and want to work as long as you can then carry on, that is your choice.

[@nocathedral]

Each to their own I suppose, but I struggle to work out what a retired couple plan to spend £5k a month on without a mortgage and *before* their £10k travel budget..

[@NeillTurner]

should go contracting. He can earn in IT £500 to £800 a day and then flexibility to have breaks. Generally after 50 if you have alot of experience and skills and are not interested in management, share options and big payoffs its much better to go consulting/contracting as you earn more per day and can have breaks between contracts, no people to manage and you can stay out of the politics, and you get variety working for different companies (good and bad -)). in last 15 years I have worked at 17 different companies on contract. Ofcourse it helps to live in London and be an hour commute to a large number of potential clients but with WFH now its possible to do 3 days home and 2 days in a company office further from home -)

[@Themanincumbent]

You don’t retire. You buy your freedom.

[@StepDub]

At fifty, my retirement prospects were dismal, and retirement was compulsory at 60. So I just kept working. It hasn’t all been rosy, and I’ve had to jump ship a couple of times in the interim, but I’m still sharp, happy and ready now for when I’ll have to stop. Much better than eking out an idle existence and feigning happiness.

[@tomwestcott4036]

Hi James. Could you please do a video covering DB pensions, their pros and cons etc. And how to best plan for retirement using these along side private pensions. I think this would be very useful for millions of public sector workers in nhs, police, civil service, and the armed forces. Keep up the good work as always Cheers

[@davidjcallen]

I'd really like to watch a video on DB pensions. The options are perplexing.

[@kw8757]

Are there any cons to having a DB pension? Mmmmm...I can't think of a downside to having a guaranteed income for life.

[@tomwestcott4036]

@kw8757 I can't take my pension until state pension age of 68 (maybe 70 by the time I get there) without paying a huge penalty. Sounds like a con to me. All I'm saying is it's a big topic which effects millions of people in the uk. james hasn't addressed the topic on his channel, and I would love to hear his perspective

[@nocathedral]

@@kw8757 They are usually index-linked, so my two small pensions worth about £6000/year will only ever be worth that in terms of spending power, whereas you'd expect an equivalent lump sum in a DC pension to grow much more over a long timeframe. Still, it's nice to know that I have that solid baseline guaranteed income in retirement and now I can work on building up a DC pot over the next couple of decades.

[@kw8757]

@@nocathedral There’s no guarantee of a DC lump sum growing, so it’s good to have both the guaranteed income and the anticipated income of a personal pension, probably unwise to even assume you’re even going to get a state pension so it’s good to have multiple income sources.

[@leighgoodwin1726]

Very good blog. “Downsizing” job wise is quite difficult for many professionals though. If can go part time that’s usually the easiest way. Keep status (let’s face it, important for guys in this category) but hopefully not the stress!

[@davem.4003]

Going part-time can also be very difficult unless you are able to control your own work volume. You can easily end up with compressed hours, or less pay for the same work.

[@stevegeek]

This was close to home. I worked in a well paid management role for the last 18 years but didn't really enjoy it. Turning 55 this year, I looked at my finances and realized that if I was careful with my money, I no longer needed to be part of the rat race. 2 weeks ago I left my job and it has been like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I may take on some part time work at some point next year, doing something without too much stress, but for now I'm just enjoying the time, being with my family and doing things I like. Having a fat paycheck each month is nice, but it doesn't always bring happiness. I'd 100% recommend early retirement if you can do it. It's funny how different people react when they find out...some are happy for me, others think I'm crazy. My father-in-law is unimpressed, although he hasn't said so directly it's obvious from his reaction. I guess he's worried that I won't be able to provide for the family, but he doesn't know about our finances and I'm not going to tell him.

[@warrenthorp]

Some people think it’s ‘odd’ (because you’re too young), some people think you’re lazy (stop WORK?!) and some people, I have found, seem to be jealous.

[@stevegeek]

@@warrenthorp Yes, it's interesting seeing people's reactions. I'm not bothered what others think.

[@warrenthorp]

@@stevegeek me neither. In fact it amuses me if anything

[@n.s.5278]

I'm an academic and l don't plan to retire until I'm 75 in 2050

[@sweetsweet3753]

nice one. i retired at 42 (now 56) but never indulge anything about my finances to anyone and i live a very humble life (do i have a lot of money or not? who knows - who cares as i never talk about it/reference it). i was recently back home on holiday (lived overseas for 33 years) and friends/family were kinda dropping into the conversation what they maybe owned/earnt etc which i found weird as none of that is important to me nor should what i have/have not be important to them. people certainly are strange...

[@terryjones9987]

Watching your videos is like NLP, I'm just about to reach 55 and trying to sort my next ten years. You are helping more than you can imagine

[@conorturton]

Agency work fills all the boxes. I drive lorries, the average working week in the job UK is 55hrs, the maximum is 84hrs. I got sick of that a long time ago so I signed up to agencies. The one I'm at has a client that books on a daily basis and because its the market leader in it's sector and a FTSE250 company there's pretty much work every day if I want it. So what happens for me is I get a text on Monday asking me for my availability the next week, I tell them what I want to do. Then daily for the days I'm available I get texts offering me work for the next day so even if I've said I'm available for that day I can still say no if I don't want to work.

[@mattroguesmith]

Don’t wait like I did. Just when I was near the point where I was ready to retire early (at 53), I was diagnosed with two major medical problems. If you can engineer yourself an early retirement - do it…

[@lilsaint91]

53 is early...

[@fuzzblightyear145]

sorry to hear that mate, hope it's fixable. that's the problem isn;t it, you just don't know what's coming in the future. You can make all these plans for the future then something unexpected happens.

[@mattroguesmith]

@@fuzzblightyear145 Thanks for the kind reply - not fixable, but I’d love others to cease the moment. I appreciate you taking the time to reply. Happy new year!

[@Shortcuts2185]

I retired last week at 55. I will miss what did in the IT field but just couldn't keep working 60 plus hours a week. So sorry about your bad news. I has lost 6 co-workers in the 28 years at my company that never got the chance to feel life outside of work. I decided that was not going to be me so I pulled the trigger and it feels great.

[@latorregolf]

I live in UK and my personal rate of price inflation over last 3-4 years is 12-18%. Anything to do with running a car, decent food/restaurants, dentist visits, fees for this or that, etc. That's a pretty high bar of currency depreciation and don't see it coming down anytime soon

[@mkdons22]

Wow those guys have a massively monthly expenditure. Im so glad my hobbies and interests are literally free activities. All i need is a campervan my surfboard and my health and happy retirement for me

[@Paulie44]

You must be loaded! Have you seen the price of campervans since 2020? VW California now approximately £80k 😱

[@mkdons22]

@@Paulie44 Only an idiot would buy a new one. Rip off those are. Mines 10 years old

[@andrewcarter7503]

There's an interesting point here regarding what a top job can demand of someone and what it takes out of you. And a £200k salary is great but not indicative of a top, top job. It's been said that those top jobs demand 100% dedication to the job, to the exclusion of many other things in life and also an almost sociopathic personality so that you don't dwell on tough decisions that can affect other people's lives or let those tough decisions affect you. There aren't that many people who have those traits.

[@MrDuncl]

There seem to be plenty who think they have. Where I work one guy rose to CEO, "right-sized" the company then left under a cloud just two years later. Six years on we are still seeing the adverse effects of his brief tenure.

[@parkmantle489]

Good video James, I can relate to this! I had a senior position with plenty of responsibility and a big team for a number of years but decided to stop in 2015 due to not enjoying the corporate culture and the associated pressure. However, it was too early to retire (I was 53 at the time) and so after taking the summer off that year I decided to look for another role and joined another corporate but with much less responsibility and carried on working until May this year when I left that world for good. I’m now 61, have a pension a little bigger than your example and intend to do 2/3 days a week consultancy from the beginning of next year and stop completely and start drawing down on my pension from 2025. I’ll then make of the most of the years I have left whilst I am (hopefully) still fit and healthy. It’s always difficult to know when you have enough pension/capital to stop completely. It’s almost like you never have enough!

[@simonwl]

£5K a month on general expenses! That's quite some lifestyle!!

[@hitchjack]

Not including mortgage either!

[@ADHDNurse79]

Wow this is another world 😮

[@tubemunkytoast7760]

Easy to get through if you live in the South East!

[@AgileSnowWeasel]

Two nice "CTO level" cars on HP is £2k+ straight off the bat (perhaps they get a good deal from work of course). Then the power bills for a £1.4m house. Downsizing the car is often the most sensible way to retire earlier.

[@andrewm9484]

Caviar has never been cheap.

[@antonyjscott1]

So many parallels for me in this one, I'm a little behind John & Jess, but fortunately I have already come to the same realisation as John. I like to build stuff and would like to continue doing that to (a) keep my mind active and (b) work on things I am interested in and/or will leave the world a little better than when I arrived.

[@mcconchied]

Brilliant video! I wish this had been available a year ago when I was working through a similar situation on my own. For me the hardest part was not the financial maths, it was/is the psychological shift. If you have been a career striver for decades and your career success is a core part of your identity, it is hard to let that go and pursue a different path and cultivate a new identity. I would strongly encourage people to think about what success is for them (rather than pursuing societies definition of success) and lay the groundwork ahead of time to make this transition easier. I was totally unprepared when I unexpectedly found myself in this situation and I am not ashamed to say that I struggled with the loss of identity and deciding what to do next. The other part that is tricky is feeling comfortable that you have enough. It is very tempting to keep moving the goal posts to give yourself greater comfort (bigger budget or more contingency) but I suspect that comfort may be illusory. Thank you James.

[@uncountableuk]

Yes, replacing structure, identity and purpose after you stop working is way harder than replacing the income. It took me a good 2.5 years after stopping work and now I have moulded the most fabulous lifestyle I could imagine.

[@terrybrown3486]

​@@uncountableuklove to know more about what you did. Feeling the same fear and thinking of retiring at 55 and 53 now.

[@uncountableuk]

@@terrybrown3486 it's obviously different for everyone. I have 5-6 nature recovery projects that I volunteer on across the Cotswolds. That means I have a minimum of three days in my diary each week (more if I wanted). I also have three projects in my local town that I organise. But I built up to that over the last four years. I started with one thing, totally out the blue (wildflower meadow restoration). Not working means you can allocate time exactly as you choose. I'm as careful as I can be to do that. You'll find your own thing as soon as you have the freedom of time to explore. You don't need to figure it out now! (In fact I can pretty much guarantee that you'll find new passions)

[@CrappyProducts]

That is my main problem, it's really not the money, I'm a simple person, but the loss of career strive and success, I don't really know if I'd cope with it well

[@uncountableuk]

@@CrappyProducts what I found was that all the status I had accumulated during my career just evaporated the moment I stopped work. I realised that no-one actually cares about your job once you don't have it. So now I get purpose and identity from the community projects which I decide I want to do. There are literally hundreds of them in the area where you live, you just can't see them when you're working.

[@sweetsweet3753]

i had a retirement plan i put together myself when i was 29. i retired at 42. now 56. got there by working / hard / smart and not being a silly consumer and making my money work for me as i worked for my money. i am contented (and a bit of a tight arse lol) . i just got back last week from my home country after my last visit 10years away (left 33 years ago though to work overseas) and so disappointing on how many old friends/family in their 50s still working and have NO plan (but most have some weight and health issues). ... its not hard to learn or implement. i think < 5% have a plan. weird!! i think one of my lucky differentiators is that i have always kept my hobbies - i play a lot of sport (trail run / cycle / swim / tennis etc) and i love adventure travel and as i lost control of my time (career overdose) my need for more hobby time became key. folks i spoke to back home couldnt list what activities they still do or would do in retirement other than "the garden". fxxk me!!!

[@andykeith1]

I’m a CTO of a small company and will be stepping down at the end of June to work on new things - tech projects I find interesting that hopefully I can build into something. There’s no real end goal and I have savings to live off if they don’t work out in the short term. If it fails I will work on some other ideas outside of tech or get a normal job. It doesn’t have to be “work an incredibly difficult job” or “retire”. There are other options.

[@wallace-bv4rl]

I’ve been lucky. My best job and main pension was gathered by 40. Subsequent kicks in the nuts (redundancy etc) enforced a sensible lifestyle (what a shame!). However my pension ended up massive v my income so I stopped at 54. Great silver lining and I’m very grateful

[@NickForest999]

His CV with a CTO role as the headline means he’d be able to find consultancy work or part time, maybe even a non-exec post or two on a couple of boards and most likely earn more than £60k for no more than a couple of days work a week. That’s what I did at 60… I didn’t want to completely stop work but as CCO I’d run out of steam after many years in the job. Had an open and frank discussion with my board colleagues and they were happy to accommodate me for a couple of days a week, help bed in a new CCO and lend support around the business where needed. Don’t underestimate a lifetime of work experience, it has a value and employers are often willing to flex to keep that access to knowledge available.

[@iainsear7830]

Good commentary, having had many roles, I would caution here, just because a role is less senior does not mean it is easier or less stressful. Its is entirely dependent on the role, your colleagues, company culture etc. I've discovered this the hard way, 80% pay cut resulting in 100% more stress, the same assumptions that roles in the public sector will be easier than in cut and thrust of commercial environment Ive found to be unreliable. My advice would be to look at other similar roles, consider non executive director roles and invest in himself, work on delegation skills and ask for help, if John is struggling many companies will support you in redesigning your role. Lots of options.

[@e.m.-lw1dn]

I gave up a 250k year job after 5 years because if I stayed one more year I would have deleted myself. Do what you need to do for your sanity folks.

[@atul9380]

This is a great video. It also highlights the importance of having good offensive (making money) and defensive (preserving wealth) strategies when it comes to retirement as well as your goals which are personal to you

[@hooksforestchin]

So, just need £1m invested at 55 and then coast the last few years in an easy position with no responsibility on double the average salary. Don't know why some people think they'll never be able to retire...

[@davidwasilewski]

Average salary here in the uk is around 35k. This guy is on over 5 times that. lol.

[@patmanrick]

But most people aren't trying to retire on the terms that this couple are. If you aren't wanting to maintain a £1.4m house, spend £70k a year and support two kids in addition, then you can retire on much less

[@stevefireblade6287]

@@davidwasilewski p

[@anthonymiller6234]

Excellent video James. I'm planning on retiring in about 7-8 years and I'm putting in place the necessary steps now in order to do this, but I think you nailed it for me with the comments about working on the things that are important to you - that really resonated with me. Thanks

[@MavericAvi8or]

This is amazingly similar to my actual situation. I literally ‘retired’ from a position like this 2 years ago. I’ve had a blast, helping entrepreneurs, the local tech community and last year, fell into teaching a single course at the local Polytechnic. I basically cover the shortfall between our expenses and my wife’s income (She loves her career) which allows us to sustain our lifestyle without touching our retirement investments. So our nest egg continues to grow, increasing the likelihood of never running out of money when we retire completely. I am much happier, and apparently easier to live 😊. For us, this is the perfect way to retire when you still have school age children.

[@bigslacker666]

This is something that I thankfully learned very early on before climbing too high in my career. You need to sit down and map out your north star values and then let those guide your career choices. Life is not "I have this job, this salary and these things", it is what you do day to day at your job, with your family, your health, your hobbies and passions, what kind of environment you live and move around in. So decide on that and then make the career and money work around it. This is doable and heads off so many of the problems and crisis that people run into in life.

[@ThermoMan]

Excellent video. So many good points. My take away is the need to retire “to” something. I think I have a financial plan but not so much what I’m going to spend my time on.

[@pistopit7142]

For me the 'to' part is to play video games.

[@jonmarx7882]

I did something similar, leaving corporate life to become a contractor doing electronic design and software development; this allowed me to pick and choose contracts to suit me and my lifestyle, zero staff responsibilities, and still earning a reasonable amount. I just wish I'd done it sooner!

[@johneakinuk]

How do they "run out of money" if they still have 2 full state pensions coming in and no more travel, kids to pay, mortage. At 77 I don't see myself spending much. Prob be sleeping all day

[@JamesShack]

They have depleted all of their liquid assets.

[@Underdog40]

Great video. So many people so unhappy in ‘prestigious’ jobs. I used to make 4X what I do now, but not nearly as I am happy today. Plan your savings well > don’t take on debt (unless you have too) and focus on what you’re passionate about.

[@MrDuncl]

My Father got fed up with having to outsource work from the large engineering company he worked for and managed to get "early retirement" at 59. The companies he was outsourcing to then started offering him consultancy work. He did that until he was 70. He said that a big benefit was being able to choose which contracts he worked on. Being a railway enthusiast it was no surprise when he got the chance to work on the design of a real railway train (Networker) he jumped at the chance. I still have the Hornby model that was made of it.

[@xxwookey]

I worked out that aspiring to more responsibility was a mug's game a long time ago. So I've rigorously avoided that in my career. I've still ended up with the same sort of money pile as John, but no kids or mortgage, which makes the retiring numbers look a lot better. On the other hand there is less incentive to quit because the work is still quite enjoyable.

[@br5380]

With no kids you’ve also no reason to not spend every penny, including the house value while you can - no pockets in a shroud

[@xxwookey]

@@br5380 Very true, but we are way better at saving it than spending it. It's quite hard to spend a lot of money in a low-carbon way (although trains work OK for that), and I don't want to be a high-carbon person - that's just not right in 2023. We are trying to replace our 25-year old camper van at the moment and that's an excellent way of getting rid of some of the money. An electric one even more so! I'll probably get a new bicycle too.

[@br5380]

@@xxwookeyremember with bicycles the correct answer to how many you own is n+1, where "n" is the current number 🙂 Opposite here, always earned very good money, and while we are well pensioned-up we do enjoy spending it (me on cycling, OH on her horses), plus kids & grandchildren.

[@MrDuncl]

Watching this I couldn't help thinking about "The Dilbert Principle". After 44 years at work I definitely think it is true.

[@gambiarran419]

I retired at 40 with 1M. My plan was 50k per annum, as I had also purchased a duplex condo in Turkey, so we retired there. 1 year later, my wife (10 years younger than me) announced she was pregnant! I am now back in the UK and working part-time from home to keep my option open in 10 years when my kid is 18/19 we shall see:)

[@sak079]

How did you make 1m by 40? Impressive.

[@seismic6402]

£5000 per month general expenditure, I'm just trying to think about the wage required to satisfy that alone.

[@shaungregory1789]

Had to comment, retired at 55 and keep the 20% tax band and partner to 0% so 63k ish per year. We're getting 16% on our pips or 16p for every pound invested, which easily replaces our drawdown and compounds interest for us. Don't wait to retire, life is more busy and more interesting than staring at computers and phones.

[@navigatornick]

Excellent framing of the financial pressures on the work-life balance relationship. I had my retirement activities set up before I left the business world and was able to negotiate a 3 day week for my final year while I brought on my replacement. Kept the money coming and made the transition super easy. Really enjoy your videos James

[@daviddean6032]

You're wonderful, James Shack! Thank you.

[@Crazy_Ivan-UK]

Great video James, great timing too. I think one of the hardest things for me will be changing my mindset from saving for my retirement to spending what has been put away for it. My father was always very prudent during his working career but never felt comfortable spending what he had saved all those years for. I wish he had.

[@jocar-1735]

A DC pension pot drawdown strategy such as Guyton Klinger methodology helped me to switch over to spending in the decummulation phase without worrying about drawing down too much. Lots of information on Google about the background to this which provides for a dynamic maximum annual pension drawdown. Spent it sensibly, time is running out !

[@edwardhughes1075]

This has really struck a chord with me James - great video, alternative thinking about leading into retirement, exploring more than the obvious options.

[@ianwall9152]

Interesting video. The couple have only four times their annual income in assets excluding the home. This simply isn't enough. You need at least eight times . He has three choices. 1. Dramatically change his lifestyle 2. Work loads longer or 3 sell the house.

[@youview5023]

Agreed, and that lifestyle change will not likely be upscale. Also the two kids college tuition !

[@AgileSnowWeasel]

I think from an IT perspective, getting a nice overwinter contractor role just developing code, and having the summer off, would be ideal, once you can live on half a year's salary. It might be something I move onto from 55ish, perhaps 3/4 of a year of work and lots of time off to start. The issue is the mortgage having just moved, and I'm kinda hoping to "inflate those payments down in real terms" to rapidly pay it off in a decade, but nothing is guaranteed. Also the pension needs some work in the next ten years, it's not bad, but it's not 600k like this case!

[@MrDuncl]

In the early 1990s software contractors where I worked were still bemoaning the loss of earnings linked unemployment benefit explaining that it meant they didn't have to work through the summer.

[@mikeh9882]

James, this is a really good explanation. One other option was that John could benefit from some work/life coaching to help him re-frame his role as a CTO and how he deals with the stress of that position. Thanks!

[@adrianellis2433]

If I had that kind of money I’d be gone like the Darkness at Dawn

[@Leebobs1983]

I find these videos exceptionally interesting. Both a financial adviser and a lifestyle coach... also making tax planning seem simple.

[@pz0lfs]

A 200k job means a whole of lot of tax to go along with the additional stress - i'd agree with ditching it and going down the consulting route via a Ltd company - 750-1000 per day achievable in the right tech space.

[@nicke6394]

OMG I’ve just listened to a complete facsimile of my working and home life. I decided to retire at 56 for exactly the same reasons. My wife was worried I’d be dead by 60 due to the stress of running my own business.

[@neilb8822]

Great video and in terms of job satisfaction being 55 with kids yet to go to university or do an apprenticeship I felt it talked to me. My issue is working out how to get over mindset of ‘golden handcuffs’, with unsatisfying mgmt role, redundancy ever a threat but have v generous package which would mean me throwing away 2 years salary and shares if I left of my own volition. Be great to see an analysis of ‘golden handcuffs’ situation.

[@thepropertyflipper]

Similar situation - major expenses still to come - both kids in Uni for next 3 years at £180pw accom each to pay, but nearing 57 and want to go at 60. I think at my age you start to assess what's important in life.

[@jocar-1735]

With such an enhanced redundancy package which is after all designed to make you stay working at that company rather than leave, my experience of watching this situation over many years is that you will need to be either very lucky or a very "naughty boy" to get the enhanced redundancy package. Probably best to set a retirement financial target / age and stick to that, the earlier the better but likely dependant on finances ? I opted for the "naughty boy" approach in my planned last year of work as I had reached my financial target. This worked a treat as I upset enough senior executives to be made redundant 2 months before my 55th birthday. Mission accomplished 😊 Retired happy, never looked back.

[@MrDuncl]

@@jocar-1735 I have seen the very lucky. The top engineer in our department got paid 18 months money to retire two years early. Of course to the HR people on another site he was just a number on a spreadsheet aiming towards their "right sizing" target.

[@jocar-1735]

@@MrDuncl I have also seen the very lucky. These persons tend to be well known by and well liked by HR department and company management and are rewarded by enhanced redundancy only a few months before normal retirement date.

[@MrDuncl]

@@jocar-1735 In contrast, at a different company, I saw the very unlucky. A married couple who asked HR about early retirement and were told "just sign this form". Before they had even left the same HR department announced a big wave of voluntary redundancies, but said couple were told you can't apply as you have already said you are leaving. Between the two of them I reckon they missed out on £100000 in redundancy money. Someone else mentioned "Golden Handcuffs". Mine are a DB pension scheme worth 30% of my pay and the potential for the traditional 68 weeks redundancy payoff.

[@dubsdolby9437]

I retired at 53 900k,ish portfolio returning 50k annual income tax-free without any drawdown and no debt. 😊

[@blahmaas]

Jesus Christ, John's life sounds like mine right now. Great video as always James.

[@markcarter9476]

My heart sank when I read the title, however, with no kids and having paid off 3 mortgages over 26 years (I was very focused) I am in the clear. Thanks for a clean bill of health.

[@uncountableuk]

Not having kids is the surest way to build wealth. The average cost of a child is something like 150k over 20 years. That means I could easily point to 450k that my friends with three children don't have. More once you factor in compounding. Most people with children though wouldn't swap that lifestyle for financial freedom. So everyone's happy all round really.

[@bobbyboyderecords]

Not if you put them to work@@uncountableuk

[@markcarter9476]

Another major plus in my book is that population reduction will reduce the impact of human activity on the planets ecosystem.@@uncountableuk

[@pistopit7142]

@@uncountableuk my friend would swap his kids for financial freedom if he could.

[@uncountableuk]

@@pistopit7142 ha yes, one way ticket unfortunately. He'll just have to convince himself that financial freedom isn't all that

[@sir-chat-a-lot]

I had an almost identical conversation with one of your colleagues earlier today … sadly not with the same sized portfolio, 😊 but the themes are consistent. After landing a CEO role I’ve got more of what others want and less of what I enjoy. Time to plan an orderly, early exit

[@garyshaw3748]

Its not the life , it’s how long have you got , these people will have you save till you die

[@marklydon435]

Buy an index linked annuity to take care of household bills. Invest the rest in dividend paying stocks. Live off those dividends and only ever touch the capital in an absolute emergency. You will properly never run out of money and have plenty to give on when you die.

[@magicker8052]

Annuity never seems to get mentioned on this channel

[@robinkeck9950]

Fantastic clip. Particularly the point about partners holding us to account.

[@carguyuk7525]

I'm 55 and have a little more in my pension than john and jess. Every year I work I put £40k extra into my pension. I think I want to retire in 2 years but I don't know what to do with myself if I retired. Great video to help me think about options, targets etc.

[@kenrehill8775]

Yes, that’s absolutely the number 1: to be free to only deal with and speak to the people that you want to. To be free to simply ignore time bandits and energy suckers. I’m not sure you can put a value on that.

[@simonallum5328]

Great video James - I can certainly relate! I somewhat reluctantly gave up being a partner at a law firm a few years back. I'd worked really hard to get there and there was a lot of prestige (and personal self-worth) attached to it - but it was brutal and harming my health and relationships. Am now working in a much more balanced role that I really enjoy, for less money and less prestige, but massively less stress. It's probably pushed retirement back a bit, but at least I can now be confident I won't drop dead before getting there!

[@HexBore13]

This video spoke to me. Thank you!

[@areyoutryingtosay]

I'm late 30's, I have what most people would consider to be almost zero (couple of modest properties up north more or less mortgage free). I started with nothing and have never been paid particularly well. But still! I could have retired years ago and made it work (without taking any money from the state), I'd simply make do with what I had and, be frugal. Yes there'd be stuff I wouldn't be able to afford, I wouldn't be able to go on a cruise every year and have a private jet but I'd be happy to live a good enough life with no worries. The only reason I don't is for my child - I'll go on working and doing all I can to make sure that my child doesn't have to do the same. The amount of money people 'need' to retire is insane

[@tancreddehauteville764]

So, basically they had over £2M!!! Well, they can certainly retire, especially if they are willing to downsize or move to a cheaper part of the country. Pretty obvious really!!! How about doing a couple in their early 60s with a £500k house and funds amounting to, say, £600k? That's rather closer to reality, even still rather higher than average I'd say.

[@bobbyboyderecords]

"£500k house and funds amounting to, say, £600k" - what average is this? Us people us in the north have houses that are 60k and 10k max in the bank. :(

[@tancreddehauteville764]

@@bobbyboyderecords When I say 'average' I mean the average middle class person who has a white collar, office based occupation. I don't mean average in terms of the whole country. Sorry, I should have clarified this.

[@markware85]

It’s a rare breed that wishes they’d spent more time at the office when on their deathbed. I gave up the rat race at 45, had a complete change of direction and set up a small business. Happier and healthier than ever 9 years later, looking forward to the start of drawdown next year. Damn nearly killed myself on the hamsters wheel, but the pension pot was the upside of it all. Do what you want to do, as soon as you can. For me that’s spending as much time as possible with my little grandson.

[@jocar-1735]

I couldn't agree more.

[@CrappyProducts]

I identify with John so much. Worked so hard all my life, reached C level and frankly it's not worth it. It's just too many headaches and even the money doesn't pay off if one just goes contracting, the difficulty is always taking the step away from this life and stature

[@skylineuk1485]

I had this discussion with a few friends and it’s a shocker for them realising they can’t actually just step away from work and still have the lifestyle they have now. It’s doable with either not being crazy on the lifestyle front, or as you said and I told them get a part-time job you enjoy as it’s better for your health anyhow. Someone else just stepped back from working and lived off the interest alone from a substantially large bank account at 6% interest without touching the initial base account money.

[@benhall8152]

Great video. Kinda bonkers how tapering invectivizes people away from high paying jobs

[@JamesShack]

The craziest thing was last year when Doctors were leaving work or reducing hours because they were getting handed huge tax bills for overcontributing to their NHS DB pensions. £40,000 was the annual limit, but because their DB pensions got uplifted by inflation, it started tipping people over the allowance. That's why they increased the maximum allowances to £60k and tapering has now moved up to start at £260,000 and cap out at £360,000.

[@Oxers-KO]

Great video as always James. I am happy to work as hard as I can between 50 and 60 to grow my pension pot, knowing that if anything happens to me, I can pass on to my kids with no inheritance tax to pay, which is probably the best chance they will have to get on the housing ladder. The only downside is, depending on who is in government at the time when I retire, there could be a lot of tax to pay if they reintroduce a maximum pension pot allowance. I suspect it is all going to come down to timing and investment returns.

[@MrAndrewjdavis]

"no inheritance tax to pay" any drawdown will be at their marginal tax rate though, which may well be 40% so the same as inheritance tax. There is no easy way to avoid tax!

[@Oxers-KO]

@@MrAndrewjdavis As I understand it, pensions sit outside of your estate, so if I leave my pension to my children, they will have the option to take as a lump sum with inheritance no tax to pay.

[@roberthodgson3574]

Excellent video, good combination of graphics and voice, more please James!

[@MichaelATH]

I should certainly hope so, if you can’t , then I’m screwed.

[@grahammills5707]

I really think (hope) this video will help some people as it is so true. I have taken a similar path when I hit a crossroads where I had a heavy hitting opportunity on one path or a small backwards step on the other - feeling burnt out I opted for backwards step and have not looked back - I now have a life outside of work. The only other opportunity I did not take full advantage of was realising the full efficiency of salary sacrifice, but got there in the end. Great video James as ever!

[@garyr1522]

Fantastic advice, and food for thought indeed

[@grantross1360]

Wonderful video, James. Currently going through this crossroad and it’s really helped with framing. Thank you.

[@eddied112]

Another great video - and others have observed, this is more about life choices than investment and definitely something we should all think about. The mindset in this country (and much of the west) is definitely about career first, sacrifice and then retire - but to what? Some great points in this video, James. I can also recommend the book 'Die with Zero', which elaborates on some of the ideas here.

[@davidbrett2117]

What are the assumptions you use for these models ? eg Inflation on outgoings/living costs and Investment returns ? It’s a good well presented video but without knowing the assumption you use in your model hard to gauge how good the advice is.

[@openmind5973]

2.5% CPI and 6% return in a growth-type fund. EDIT: I assume that's 6% after tax and fees.

[@ttrjw]

Your spreadsheet is a good starter here - gives a rough order of magnitude in terms of decisions...

[@Underdog40]

@james - surely one thing your missing is the option of equity release of their property? If they have 2 years left of their mortgage they are 95% paid off. A modest £50k a year withdrawn from the house to supplement income will be outperformed by the value appreciation of their house? Wdyt?

[@joey009100]

Excellent episode James I think you just changed my life

[@continuousself-improvement1879]

I also would like to have this problem. 😅

[@GavinLawrence747]

I really love this channel and I do agree that the principle at work here has some value for everybody, I do feel this is very, very much a "first world problem". This just sort of suggests to me some very affluent people deciding whether they can stand being a little less affluent to actually have some time free of work obligations. Its not rocket science - either give up some of the expectations of what life in early retirement might look like, or sacrifice another 5/7/10 years of work to the company, and then take the chance that you are still in good health/still here to enjoy the increased quality of retirement that the extra years worked will provide?!

[@robinkeck9950]

Great video James. One question - your example at 10 mins on the clip… why is the higher rate tax relief that they claim via their tax return only £2k? Wouldn’t it be 20% of £48k ie the difference between higher (40%) and basic rate (20%) tax? Thanks for all your generous advice… it really helps.