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Thread: Early retirement

  1. #601
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    But I am in Portugal!
    Hi Martyn

    Yes so I realise. I knew there was a place called Gale near Denia and I presumed that's where you are going.

    I got to be honest I have never been to Portugal so I know nothing about it.

    What you do hear on a regular basis is that the Portuguese are very civilised and more polite than the Spanish.

  2. #602
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mick P View Post
    Hi Martyn

    Yes so I realise. I knew there was a place called Gale near Denia and I presumed that's where you are going.

    I got to be honest I have never been to Portugal so I know nothing about it.

    What you do hear on a regular basis is that the Portuguese are very civilised and more polite than the Spanish.


    All is of course not straight forward with our property purchase. We got a note from the vendor they had built an extension to the porch which had never been an issue with the Council - because they never told the Council about it. So we are potentially looking at the implications of this illegal build. We have employed an engineer to determine if it can ever be made legal - or we may just have to adapt to the Portuguese way and buy a non-legalised property build. We just want to at least find out that it could be made legal. (In some cases it is never possible to make a build legal due to legislation constraints and land type.)

    We were looking at another property where the owners where trying to get a swimming pool legalised. It had been put in by the owner/builder who never had a permit to build for it.
    Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 2nd October 2020 at 18:14.

  3. #603
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    Good luck with everything Martyn. Sounds awesome

  4. #604
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    All is of course not straight forward with our property purchase...


    We once stayed (30-odd years ago) in a 4* hotel in an Algarvian resort which had an ancient chicken coop attached to one wall. It turned out (or so we were told) that the hotel was built as an extension to said chicken coop & therefore had no requirement for planning/development permission. Possibly a tall tale, but possibly not.
    ______

    ​Jim.

  5. #605
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    All is of course not straight forward with our property purchase. We got a note from the vendor they had built an extension to the porch which had never been an issue with the Council - because they never told the Council about it. So we are potentially looking at the implications of this illegal build.
    Frustrating. Not that it's any consolation, but this is also an extremely common issue / headache when buying in Italy. Good luck with it anyway.

  6. #606
    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    I spent the best part of 2 years commuting Mon-Thurs to your office, and surrounding Contractor offices.

    A lovely part of the U.K. for countryside, but the quiet life and weather (particularly in the summer) would always be a struggle for me.

    The opportunity to relocate wherever you please sounds like a great plan if you can get it to work for you.

    Best of luck to you too.
    How did you get on this week mate?

  7. #607
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom-P View Post
    Frustrating. Not that it's any consolation, but this is also an extremely common issue / headache when buying in Italy. Good luck with it anyway.
    And not exactly uncommon in Espana either to be honest...here there is often a work around, best of luck.

  8. #608
    Quote Originally Posted by JuanKing View Post
    How did you get on this week mate?
    I have been offered a role, in fact the same role I was already doing so no change. This is in P&O - Projects (formerly GPO).

    How about you?

  9. #609
    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    I have been offered a role, in fact the same role I was already doing so no change. This is in P&O - Projects (formerly GPO).

    How about you?
    Good stuff, yes me too, same role in I&E. If/when the option arises again, ideally in 3 years my hand will be up like a shot.

  10. #610

    Early retirement

    Quote Originally Posted by JuanKing View Post
    Good stuff, yes me too, same role in I&E. If/when the option arises again, ideally in 3 years my hand will be up like a shot.
    Well done you. No mean feat given the scale of the redundancies. Same here, if EOI is offered in 3 years+ I’ will have both hands up, even though the severance package will not be as good

  11. #611
    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    Well done you. No mean feat given the scale of the redundancies. Same here, if EOI is offered in 3 years+ I’ will have both hands up, even though the severance package will not be as good
    Absolutely, been brutal this one. There are some interesting rumblings about the/a grandfather clause which 'could' mean all accrued DERT would remain and changes could apply from that point onward. Best example for those who joined post 2009 on DC scheme get 4 weeks per year opposed to our 6. Either way well done.

  12. #612
    Voluntary severance just announced at my university. 10 months full pay for me (20 years service). I will be 52 im July next year when it could happen. Very tempted.

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

  13. #613
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    As someone of a similar age but self employed and a director of a 20 yr old business the idea of a paid year off (ish) to decide what next must be very appealing. Clearly not an option for me but I accept that my business has a value, and one that I have factored into any ongoing plans which of course is not relevant for the employed. But it would take a while to realise said value. Swings and roundabouts.
    Clearly it isn't that simple but sometimes the flexibility of being employed must be nice. If you feel you can find a similar position in a year, assuming you want to, then why the hell not. A year of diy, long weekends, open air and leisurely lunches, what's not to like. The only thing is you might get too used to it to go back to work!


    And I realise Spain is not Portugal but it seems in Spain the culture seems to be do/build what you want and if necessary just pay the fine to make it legal. It's more cost effective than doing it "properly".
    Last edited by DavidL; 21st November 2020 at 19:52.

  14. #614
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    Quote Originally Posted by jpjsavage View Post
    Voluntary severance just announced at my university. 10 months full pay for me (20 years service). I will be 52 im July next year when it could happen. Very tempted.

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    Same here, 35 years service, 55 yrs old, very tempting?

  15. #615
    Quote Originally Posted by g40steve View Post
    Same here, 35 years service, 55 yrs old, very tempting?
    What's the potential severance package they are offering staff at your place?

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  16. #616
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    Quote Originally Posted by DavidL View Post
    And I realise Spain is not Portugal but it seems in Spain the culture seems to be do/build what you want and if necessary just pay the fine to make it legal. It's more cost effective than doing it "properly".
    As here, they can still insist you tear it down on top of the fine. People do it, but it's not something to undertake lightly especially without friends in the right places...

  17. #617
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    Quote Originally Posted by jpjsavage View Post
    Voluntary severance just announced at my university. 10 months full pay for me (20 years service). I will be 52 im July next year when it could happen. Very tempted.

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
    Circumstances are different for everyone, however I had 10 years service with my previous company and a decent pension pot, so I decided to take voluntary redundancy 4 years ago (I was 56). Honestly the best decision I have made in the last 10 years. I say do it if you can and start a new 2.0 life, in the knowledge you have a safety net.

    Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
    Friedrich Nietzsche


  18. #618
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    I have been thinking about early retirement, I turn 55 in May this year and have a decent pension pot with Standard Life. The conundrum for me in these uncertain times is protection against companies going bust. I believe pensions are 100% fully protected by FSCS but once you move to drawdown it's classed as an investment and only covered up to 85K per provider.

    I guess the chances of one of the larger companies going pop is remote but may be worth spreading the drawdown across a number of providers.

    Anyone any further thoughts or experiences.

  19. #619
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    Quote Originally Posted by wotsthecrack View Post
    I have been thinking about early retirement, I turn 55 in May this year and have a decent pension pot with Standard Life. The conundrum for me in these uncertain times is protection against companies going bust. I believe pensions are 100% fully protected by FSCS but once you move to drawdown it's classed as an investment and only covered up to 85K per provider.

    I guess the chances of one of the larger companies going pop is remote but may be worth spreading the drawdown across a number of providers.

    Anyone any further thoughts or experiences.
    That FSCS guarantee if for deposits, assets such as equities are held in client accounts and so not at risk if your provider goes bust. That my understanding.

  20. #620
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    Quote Originally Posted by Montello View Post
    That FSCS guarantee if for deposits, assets such as equities are held in client accounts and so not at risk if your provider goes bust. That my understanding.
    Thanks for the info. Am I understanding correctly, if I drawdown with HL as an example, the equities/funds/assets are held by myself as an individual?

  21. #621
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    No real risk

    https://www.apjsolicitors.co.uk/what...der-goes-bust/

    My draw down is from a Personal Pension rather than a SIPP which I believe has a little more protection, but most main stream providers will be fine.
    There are cheaper providers than HL though.

  22. #622
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    Quote Originally Posted by craig1912 View Post
    No real risk

    https://www.apjsolicitors.co.uk/what...der-goes-bust/

    My draw down is from a Personal Pension rather than a SIPP which I believe has a little more protection, but most main stream providers will be fine.
    There are cheaper providers than HL though.
    Cheers, was just using HL as an example. Time to look at options.

  23. #623
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    A J bell are pretty good

  24. #624
    Regarding early retirement- I was once told
    ‘ if you can afford to give up work but choose not to
    it proves nothing but a lack of imagination’

  25. #625
    Master valleywatch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by farmkid View Post
    Regarding early retirement- I was once told
    ‘ if you can afford to give up work but choose not to
    it proves nothing but a lack of imagination’
    My favourite post of the year!..............so far!

  26. #626
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    I’ll definitely be retiring early. I don’t have any final salary pension but set a target for my defined contribution pension for aged 55. I’ll hit that target this year aged 50 so the pension is sorted (I can’t pay any more in anyway after this year due to lifetime limits). Just need a couple more years to clear the mortgage on a property overseas and three years to clear the UK mortgage and I’ll be be financially ready to stop at 55. Only real concern is my kids are 13 and 11 so will be hitting university around the time I want to stop working. Not sure how uni works these days and whether parents are expected to fund everything. In my day I received a full grant as we were poor. I actually quite like my job, it’s a good fit for what I am good at and I enjoy it most days, plus it pays well. However, I have no problem thinking of better ways to spend my time.

  27. #627
    Quote Originally Posted by PipPip View Post
    IOnly real concern is my kids are 13 and 11 so will be hitting university around the time I want to stop working. Not sure how uni works these days and whether parents are expected to fund everything.
    It is strongly recommended you don’t pay to get your kids through uni because the debt only becomes payable once they earn enough and then gets wiped after 30 years. It’s also capped at equivalent of 9% extra tax when they do earn.

    That said interest rates this year are 5.8% and if you do have a successful kid they’ll bee paying extra 9% tax for 30 years. That on top of higher rate 40% is a lot.

    I chose to pay for my oldest as he is doing maths at a Russell group uni and already has an internship at a London bank. It’ll cost me nearly 60k. Plus I have another son coming along, but he is doing arts and his prospects are not nearly as good, so I may get him to take the loan, but pay the loan off for him if he does become a financial success.

    I’d have my older kid load up on debt if the rates were lower. 3%+RPI compounded is a lot.

    It is up to you. You can pay the their maintenance grant and tuition fees. Two kids £120k. Or pay minimum maintenance only for two kids which is £24k for a three year course (assuming you are fairly wealthy).

  28. #628
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    Quote Originally Posted by wotsthecrack View Post
    Thanks for the info. Am I understanding correctly, if I drawdown with HL as an example, the equities/funds/assets are held by myself as an individual?
    Check with your provider, I’d expect your assets would be held in a separate client account which is ring fenced from their operations.

  29. #629
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    Quote Originally Posted by farmkid View Post
    Regarding early retirement- I was once told
    ‘ if you can afford to give up work but choose not to
    it proves nothing but a lack of imagination’
    Very true, to say I am looking forward to it is a huge understatement.

  30. #630
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    Quote Originally Posted by Montello View Post
    Check with your provider, I’d expect your assets would be held in a separate client account which is ring fenced from their operations.
    Pension DC currently with Standard Life will ensure when I drawdown the assets are held in my own client account. Thanks for the help.

  31. #631
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    Quote Originally Posted by wotsthecrack View Post
    Pension DC currently with Standard Life will ensure when I drawdown the assets are held in my own client account. Thanks for the help.
    There is no client account as such but, your investments are ring fenced from the providers operations so are safe. This gives some more detail.


    https://www.onlinemoneyadvisor.co.uk...or-protection/

  32. #632
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    Quote Originally Posted by farmkid View Post
    Regarding early retirement- I was once told
    ‘ if you can afford to give up work but choose not to
    it proves nothing but a lack of imagination’
    Word

    Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
    Friedrich Nietzsche


  33. #633
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    Quick update.

    Well that went t@ts-up. Still here in the sunny UK.

    Good news was in March various items completed

    Our lawyer gave us a rent free address in Portugal.
    We now have a Portuguese Tax ID,
    Registered as a tax resident in Portugal,
    Registered as Non Habitual Resident (before they changed to 10% tax on income, including pension income),
    EU Bank Account.
    Various FX accounts setup for low rate transfers from GBP-EUR - we have enough in EUR for any deposit we need for a property.


    The bad news -

    The property we wanted was built not to plan, it was not located on the land where it should have been. It's not possible to fix this under current legislation, but that may change. So we are not proceeding on that property.
    Oh - COVID-19 means travel is complicated and flights cancelled
    Brexit - may slow things down if we do not complete before end of year.


    Better news
    We found another property in budget! But the pool is not legal (what is it with this country), but this is in process of being made legal. We haven't seen it in person - but hope to soon.
    Update: Jan 2021

    We did not complete by the end of the year so certain things become more complex after Brexit. But a lot remains unchanged as we became resident in 2020.

    Our UK property now has plans submitted (by our developers) to the local council. The council has three months to agree or reject planning permission and hence puts a firm time frame on when we may or may need to look to complete on our UK property. This in turn firms up plans for Portugal.

    We have some properties to view (virtually) but will wait until March / April to taking further action when we hope to have exchanged on our UK property with a completion date middle of the year. We may most likely rent in Portugal for 12 months (we already have permanent residency status) before committing, unless we really find a property that is exactly right for us.

  34. #634
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Update April 2021

    Offer pending on this one - has everything we want!


  35. #635
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    Including a boat


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  36. #636
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    Update April 2021

    Offer pending on this one - has everything we want!

    Wow Martyn, that looks great! And big enough for TZ guests :-)

  37. #637
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post

    ...seen a small place in Portugal- 2 bed ‘farm’ with own water well and solar heated water tank.
    That appears to have escalated since your original post Martin!

  38. #638
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CatalystGuy View Post
    Including a boat


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    contents included. Here’s hoping!

  39. #639
    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    contents included. Here’s hoping!
    Looks amazing! Not jealous. Much. Dare i ask what this would cost 🙈

  40. #640
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    Wow. Good luck!!

  41. #641
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    Looks amazing!! Fingers crossed it all goes well for you.

  42. #642
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeti View Post
    Looks amazing! Not jealous. Much. Dare i ask what this would cost 
    It’s about 550.000€ - rather more than we were looking to spend, but you only live once.

  43. #643
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    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    It’s about 550.000€ - rather more than we were looking to spend, but you only live once.
    Blimey that's a lot of house for the money. There's a 1 bed flat 20 metres away from us with a higher asking price than that!

  44. #644
    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    It’s about 550.000€ - rather more than we were looking to spend, but you only live once.
    Amazing value...I couldn’t get a 3 bed terrace in my next of the woods for that! Enjoy! One day I may just cash it all in and live the dream myself!

  45. #645
    That’s fantastic news!

    Very pleased for you, and the place looks incredible :)

    Always liked Portugal, and one of my clients lives between Portugal, Spain and the Isle of Man.

    & travel restrictions pending, I’m looking forward to my next short stay in Portugal in the not too distant future.
    It's just a matter of time...

  46. #646
    Quote Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK) View Post
    Update April 2021

    Offer pending on this one - has everything we want!

    Lovely. Did you have your heart set on a particular part of Portugal or did you find the house first then check out the area?

    What’s the wooden building off to the left and is it part of your property?

  47. #647
    Looks amazing, congrats. How does it work now with brexit. Do you have to apply for residency

  48. #648
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Case View Post
    Lovely. Did you have your heart set on a particular part of Portugal or did you find the house first then check out the area?

    What’s the wooden building off to the left and is it part of your property?
    wooden property is the neighbours plot. They built a temporary building.

    we had a specific area we were searching and this was within it. We know the area well after visiting for a few years. And we have friends living nearby. The great thing about Portugal is the small size. From here you can get to the west coast for surfing or the nearest beaches are 10minutes away. You can get to Lisbon in a 3h drive if that’s what you like - and the roads are so quite!

    Quote Originally Posted by awright101 View Post
    Looks amazing, congrats. How does it work now with brexit. Do you have to apply for residency
    we got our residency last year, it took 30 minutes in the local town hall and 15€ each. Our local accountant helped immensely - this has been a long term plan.

    This year would be more complex.
    Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 19th April 2021 at 09:44.

  49. #649
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    Nice work, that's exactly the way to do it imho.
    Sounds like a very smooth road to residency.

    Lovely looking spread, enjoy.

  50. #650
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    Martyn that looks fabulous. Fingers crossed the move goes smoothly.

    We are going to miss your Honey!

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