Life after contracting

[gingerjedi]

Lockhouse,

back to the numbers,

for sake of argument, leave IT at 52...

2k per month, let's say 25k per year, assuming you will live to 82 that means to service this you need... 750k gbp

the, you said, 'If you subsidise this by 20-40K per year in your late 50's either contracting for 6 months a year or running a small business you're quids in.'

being realistic, you think someone can leave contracting at 52 and then on demand get back into it now and again during their late 50's ?

if the average wage is 25k year, you think it is possible at 52+ to simply 'start a business' and make 20 to 40k per year profit ?

I think this part is more dream than reality.


as we are seeing, removing the day dreams from the equation, to retire at 52 on 25k a year you will need a pile of minimum 750k gbp

you want more than this, the numbers are easy to compute, which re-inforces my estimate...


I still think if you want to retire in your 50's and be comfortable you're gonna need a total pot of low single digit millions

Milan.

...Or adopt a Buddhist mindset and learn to be happy without expensive and unnecessary possessions.

Go for walks, drive a small car, go for 'early bird' specials, there's millions of happy pensioners who never had unrealistic expectations in the first place who are enjoying life without the millions you talk of.

[Fred Bloggs]

Fortunately, it seems that in processs engineering, age is certainly no bar and never has been. I have 2 x 67/68 year olds and 1 x 62 year old here in the team who have no intention of packing in. At 52 I plan to work fulltime till 65 at which point I will be getting 2x final salary linked pensions from pervious permie jobs plus state pension that will allow me to continue to work part time as I choose to about age 70. Presently, there's £12k a year going into the SIPP and this is set to increase greatly once I get the kids through university in about 7 to 8 years time. It isn't a pipe dream it is carefullly calculated and reality. But at the sametime it isn't retiring at 52 either is it?

[DimPrawn]

What's all this talk of being old and happy?

THE only point of being old is to whinge and moan about the cost of everything, how everything was better in your day, young people, the list is endless.

[Pondlife]

THE only point of being on here is to whinge and moan about the cost of everything, how everything was better in your day, young people, the list is endless.

Fixed

HTH

[Shimano105]

Fortunately, it seems that in processs engineering, age is certainly no bar and never has been. I have 2 x 67/68 year olds and 1 x 62 year old here in the team who have no intention of packing in. At 52 I plan to work fulltime till 65 at which point I will be getting 2x final salary linked pensions from pervious permie jobs plus state pension that will allow me to continue to work part time as I choose to about age 70. Presently, there's £12k a year going into the SIPP and this is set to increase greatly once I get the kids through university in about 7 to 8 years time. It isn't a pipe dream it is carefullly calculated and reality. But at the sametime it isn't retiring at 52 either is it?

Are you cofident that all these pensions that you have been promised will be honoured?

[DimPrawn]

Fixed

HTH

I'm not getting any younger.

[Lockhouse]

Lockhouse,

back to the numbers,

for sake of argument, leave IT at 52...

2k per month, let's say 25k per year, assuming you will live to 82 that means to service this you need... 750k gbp

the, you said, 'If you subsidise this by 20-40K per year in your late 50's either contracting for 6 months a year or running a small business you're quids in.'

being realistic, you think someone can leave contracting at 52 and then on demand get back into it now and again during their late 50's ?

if the average wage is 25k year, you think it is possible at 52+ to simply 'start a business' and make 20 to 40k per year profit ?

I think this part is more dream than reality.

I don't plan on going back into contracting but I have been doing this for 25 years and could go back if I had to.

BTL is the core of my retirement strategy. This is almost all in place now for 10 years time. BTL is the only way as far as I can see to acquire large amounts of capital over 15-20 years for a moderate outlay. I have other investments also. I am making big sacrifices now as I started from scratch in my late 30's.

I am planning on buying a business rather than starting one; I have several savings policies expiring in five years which will give me enough to buy a decent sized going concern. I have already done lots of research on the area I want to go into.

Plan, plan, plan. But as I said earlier, you need a bit of luck. I don't want to be rich - just happy.

[DimPrawn]

Swine Flu will resolve a lot of peoples retirement plans.

[milanbenes]

Lockhouse,

perfect, and Fred too.

Lockhouse if I may ask, what kind of going concern are you thinking about ?



Milan.

[expat]

At what point does age-ism prevent contracting being an option?

It's one thing to have to work until you die, but if no-one wants oldies then we're going to be in a depressing position before long.

Yup. At 58 I have been contracting for a long time. Now for the first time I am hearing agencies say "well, I don't think your age will count against you..." (means they do think that, of course). In a couple of years when the clock ticks over and it's not in my fifties but in my sixties I'm guessing it'll be <see the next quote below>

They don't know it yet but I suspect quite a few on here may have already finished contracting for good.

Ouch!

...then you said, 'If you subsidise this by 20-40K per year in your late 50's either contracting for 6 months a year or running a small business you're quids in.'

being realistic, you think someone can leave contracting at 52 and then on demand get back into it now and again during their late 50's ?

I think you're right, it won't be possible

if the average wage is 25k year, you think it is possible at 52+ to simply 'start a business' and make 20 to 40k per year profit ?

I think this part is more dream than reality.

I think you're right, if it were that easy then loads of peole would be doing it.

as we are seeing, removing the day dreams from the equation, to retire at 52 on 25k a year you will need a pile of minimum 750k gbp

I think you're right, those figures are spot-on.
...

I think a lot of people who have fallen into the sometime easy money of contracting suffer from the delusion that they could just as easily make money somewhere else. I don't believe it: the barrier to entry in IT contracting has always been high, so if you're in, it has been easy - until offshoring, and look how we squeal about that!

NB your £25k is before tax! It's quite liveable but not what you're used to. And any attempt to withdraw more than about 4% on a long-term basis ispretty much doomed.