The Retirement Newsletter: Into single digits — more advice on my pension and a change of plans
Issue Number: -9.5 — negative issue numbers, fractions, plans, and advice
Welcome
Welcome to issue -9.5.
I know… not only are the issue numbers negative — now we have fractions. Why? I will explain all below.
Also, this week, I got more pension advice from a company called Mercer, and I will explain why my retirement plans have changed.
Money — more pension advice — Mercer
This week, I had a telephone conversation with a pension advisor from a company called Mercer.
I must admit I had not heard of the company. I only took the call as I knew it wasn’t a scam because my pension provider arranged it as a free service.
As arranged via a series of letters, the advisor from the company called me at the agreed time. We discussed my pension options, such as what to do with the lump sum and how I could use other parts of the pension. The call was supposed to be on Zoom, but it ended up as a regular phone call.
The call was scheduled to last 45 minutes but only lasted 20.
My pension company recruited Mercer to give this advice as part of a pilot scheme. Mercer had full access to my pension records and had been briefed on the oddities of my pension (more on that next week in issue -9).
Several statements made by the advisor were incorrect or oversimplified the situation. My pension is a bit complicated. It started simple enough and then, after 20 years, became incredibly complex (more on that next week in issue -9). My pension is now fragmented into a weird mix of pension pots. Only someone with a higher degree in mathematics can understand the series of pension pots and how the maths works.
The advisor from Mercer offered no additional insights into my pension; apart from that I may be able to take one of the lump sums tax-free if I take it all at the start of the pension. But I need to confirm that with my pension provider. The call lasted 20 minutes, and I found the call with Pension Wise more informative and useful (see issue -19 — What did I learn from my Pension Wise meeting?).
I guess I now need to speak to my pension provider.
A change of plans
I had a plan, and I was determined to stick to it.
I planned to retire on the 1st of February 2024, but things have changed.
The original date was because it was just after a significant birthday, and reaching that age impacted part of my pension. Being over 60 meant that an actuary adjustment (an adjustment made to pension payouts if you retire early) no longer applied to part of my pension.
Removing the ‘early penalty’ means a significant bump in my annual pension. Hence, it was important not to retire too early.
Then, when I had a meeting with my boss to hand in my notice, she asked me if I could stay on until the end of the second term to complete my teaching and assessments. And me, having the backbone of a jellyfish, agreed. Hence, this pushed my planned retirement date to the end of March, plus annual leave owing.
But what is in it for me?
Why would I do this?
Well, I get a couple of months of pay, but more importantly, this pushes my retirement into the new tax year, which provides some tax advantages. Hence, I thought the eight-week delay was worth it.
Issue numbers
Most publications – magazines, papers, newsletters, videos, etc. – have issue numbers that indicate the number of times something has been published. However, the Retirement Newsletter issue numbers are a bit different. And across 128 issues, the numbers have been negative and slowly approaching zero — retirement day.
Why are the issue numbers negative?
When I started the newsletter in June 2021 (What's this all about?), I was counting the weeks until I retired. Initially, I was going to do one of those rocket countdowns that I enjoyed watching on the Apollo moonshots as a kid — 10, 9, 8… But I realised that once I got to 0 and blast off to my retirement – I would have nothing to call the first post-retirement issue. Hence, I decided on the rather bizarre approach of negative numbers. At the time, I realised there was a risk to the approach in that if I did not retire on my planned date – 1st of February 2024 – there would be a problem with the countdown numbers. I would run out!
Why are there fraction issue numbers?
With my retirement date changed to the end of March 2024, I had to find an additional eight negative issue numbers. I was going to count down to minus one and then go into fractions, but I thought the easiest thing to do was to change the countdown to a fortnight (two weeks), as then it was easier to work out the number of weeks. So, issue -9.5 is 19 weeks until I retire (2 × 9.5); get it? I know it’s a bizarre numbering system, but hopefully, it will work, and I will see you next week for issue -9, which will be 18 weeks (9 × 2) until I retire.
Travel — Nostalgia Corner
More stories from my trips to Singapore:
Singapore — Another visit to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore — Another visit to the wildlife reserve — I regret not discovering the wetland reserve earlier as it was astonishing. No crocodiles were on this visit, but I saw some fantastic spiders.
Singapore — Admiralty Park, Woodlands, Singapore — This was a pleasant surprise, a small suburban park/nature reserve with a surprising amount of wildlife
Singapore — Siloso Beach Resort, Sentosa, Singapore — Staying at Siloso Beach, Sentosa, Singapore. Another odd experience in Singapore.
Singapore — Coastes, Siloso Beach, Singapore — An evening at a beach bar. Well, not really.
Singapore — Imbiah Trail, Sentosa, Singapore — A well-managed woodland and some cheesy landscaping. And yet another odd experience.
Singapore — Imbiah Gun Emplacement and Lookout, Sentosa, Singapore — A military relic at the top of Mount Imbiah.
And next week, I round off my visit to Singapore trip with a visit to the beach, a fort and old Singapore.
Next week
Next week, in issue -9 (18 weeks until I retire (see, it does work — 9 × 2 = 18)), I will be looking more closely at my pension pots and wondering why they are not what I expected.
Thanks
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Until next time,
Nick
PS, If you want to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.