The Retirement Newsletter: One hundred weeks out

Issue Number: -100 — One hundred weeks until I retire

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Welcome

Welcome to issue -100. Yes, only 100 weeks to go until I retire and next week, I drop from minus triple digits on the newsletter to two. It feels like retirement is getting closer.

Recently, I complained to a friend, who has been retired for six months, that I still had 100 weeks to go until I retire. They assured me that the time would fly by. But, having sat through six hours of back-to-back meetings and calls this week, that 100 weeks can't go by fast enough.

Well, 100 weeks seems like a long time, but also a short amount of time.

Two weeks ago, I realised that I had entered the "penultimate" and "final" stages of my career. I was doing some things for the penultimate time and some for the final time.

A few weeks ago, I was setting up some teaching, and I realised that next year would be the last time I delivered the material.

The students who started this academic year (2021), I will not see graduate. My last 'class' was the class that began in 2020, and some of them I won't see graduate if they go out on placement. (Side note, undergraduate degrees in the UK are usually three years. The class that started in 2020 will graduate in July 2023. My last graduation?)

Last week, I was doing some training that I have to take every three years. Halfway through the course, I realised that it was the final time I would have to recertify. That is, my new 'certificate' would not expire until after I retired.

It feels like my retirement is getting closer.

So, what are my plans for the next hundred weeks?

Planning

Well, I have written a lot about planning for my retirement:

• Issue -135: Do you have a plan?

• Issue -133: Making plans….

• Issue -132: Starting to plan for your retirement

• Issue -131: What do I need to do to retire?

But what will I do between now and when I retire?

There are some obvious things that I need to keep an eye on, like health and finances.

Health

I want to start my retirement with no serious health issues.

So, time to shed those extra pounds that I gained during the pandemic, and it might be time for a health review. Last year, I did have a review — see How is your health? — and things weren't too bad.

But I should do something about my weight.

I'll start the diet next month.

Finances

I need to look at my spending and start trimming some unnecessary expenses.

Do I need some of those magazine subscriptions? Do I have too many streaming services — TV and music? Do I need super-fast broadband, or could I use something slower and cheaper? And then there are club subscriptions. Do I need them?

I also need to reduce my exposure and risk on some of my pension pots. Time to move into less risky investments?

National Insurance (UK)

I did have a bit of a panic this week over my UK National Insurance contributions (these pay towards your state pension). I thought I might not get my state pension when I turn 67.

I will say more about this next week.

Holidays

I am still thinking about narrowboats and holidays.

And, I have written about narrowboats in:

• What am I going to do once I retire?

• How is my retirement plan going?

• Do I need to practice at being retired?

And I am still thinking about retiring onto a boat.

I keep catching myself watching 'boats for sale' tours on YouTube. I keep looking at narrowboat holiday sites. But, I can't find a time to go. I can't commit. And all the hire boats are getting booked.

Nostalgia corner

So far, it has been an odd winter. Very dry and no snow — well, dry and no snow where I live. And signs of spring are being to emerge.

The first thing I always look for are the Snowdrops, followed by the daffodils and crocuses.

Photo by Author

And the Snowdrops have been out for a couple of weeks where I live, so spring must be on its way.

(Now that I have written the above, I bet we have 2 feet (ca. 61 cm) of snow later this week. We didn't get snow, but storm Dudley blew into town two days after I wrote the above. Two days later, storm Eunice Dudley followed Dudley. Of the two, Eunice was the more powerful and caused many problems across the UK. Yesterday I was out for one of my favourite walks in a local wood, and I was shocked at the number of fallen and damaged trees.)

Useful links

UK Government Website:

• How to avoid pension scams

• Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances

• National Insurance

• Check your National Insurance record

• Estimate your Income Tax for the current year

• Check your State Pension forecast

Next week

Next week, I will be looking at what sort of pension income I would need for a comfortable retirement.

I have written about this before:

• Money — how much do I need to retire?

• What will be your type of retirement?

• How much money will I need for an Essential, Moderate (Comfortable) or Luxury retirement?

• How much do you need to retire? The maths!

But it is time for a revisit.

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter, and please don't hesitate to share it with your friends or on social media using the buttons below.

If you would like to say 'thanks' for the newsletter, why not buy me a cup of tea?

Until next time,

Nick

PS, If you have something you would like to contribute to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.