oldies and employment

I'm a black belt in origami . Try anything with me and I will fold you into a swan

 

I'm 51 and am looking forward to packing in work next year. I've done my bit paying taxes - it's time to ease back and enjoy the time I have left, doing what I want to do, not what my paymasters want me to do.

As they say, there are plenty of wealthy men in the graveyard.

Many people see their job as a status symbol (and the type of car they drive for that matter) - I'm paid more than you (I have a newer car than you) so I must be better person.

Cobblers!

 

Are you living in the real world?

I cant get my state pension until I'm 66.

 

Mr Kandy retired five months ago aged 65 having worked for forty seven years since leaving school at eighteen and now practically every week his ex boss is ringing and asking him about problems they are having at work and can he advise how to solve them The higher up boss plus Mr Kandy ex boss are begging him to go back for around a month working two days a week for Consultants pay because although they have replaced Mr Kandy with a chap that can do his job they still need what Mr Kandy knows as he has twenty five years of knowledge of how to do his job

Evidently,the lazy ones have gone on the sick due to stress and supposedly bullying because the boss has now made a firm stance and told them they have now got to pull their weight,but one has been on the sick for five months,and another one has finally got her hours reduced so is now part time,but since going part time has sent in sick notes

It is a shame that this company didn't worry about us when they gave Mr Kandy a £5,000 pay cut (spread over two years so that we could get used to less money coming in)We still had the same bills coming in so I ended up going back to working a twelve hour day to keep our heads above water

Anyway,if people enjoy their job and or haven't got any hobbies to enjoy in retirement then it might make sense for them to carry on working,but I think anyone that can possibly pack in work earlier like clanless is doing then Good Luck to them as life is short enough as it is without working forever and ever

 

But do you still find yourself competing for work? Or are you settled and confident in what you do?

Of course there are some 60 pluses that have to compete for work, but I think they're few and far between. That's not to say that few need to work, just that by that stage they tend to be very employable due to their experience and mature attitude.

 

It depends if you get made redundant, then try getting a job and competing.

I was last made redundant three years ago at at 58, it aint easy competing with 30yr olds when it comes to humping timber about.
Or for that matter keeping up with new ideas.

 

A couple of years ago I cut my hours by 50% - a bit scary as I wasn't sure that we could get by on half of the salary we had been used to.

The reality was it made very little difference - a few simple changes maybe but that's all. Being able to spend more time with family and friends - worth every penny. Best thing I ever did.

There's also a growing skills gap in Local Government - the experienced people are accepting redundancy - there's no succession planning. It's just going to get worse with continued austerity. In the Council I work for - we've cut back over 90 million with another 45 to go - coupled with increasing pressure on housing benefits; elderly care etc - something's going to give.

And on the cheery note - I'm off to bed - good night everyone

 

We were seriously thinking of selling up our little three bed and downsizing to a small bungalow so that when Mr Kandy packed in work we would have a bit of cash left over to live on.(We would have been ok if I had been able to claim my State Pension at 60 not 66)

It is only the fact that we had an unexpected inheritance from Mr Kandys late father that he has been able to continue to be retired and us stay in this house.

It was Austerity measures in 88 that caused Mr Kandy to have loss of pay due to misuse of public funds by ones higher up and when they left they were given six figure golden handshakes and the money had to be replaced somehow It is a shame that he couldn't have got redundancy out of them but they still haven't got a lot of money to splash around apart from Consultancy fees that is.People have told us that Mr Kandy would make a lot of money if he went back as a consultant. I think Karma has struck again

Mr Kandy pops in to see his work colleagues as he got on so well with all of them and we both have been invited out to their Christmas meal so it will be good to catch up with them again

I don't blame you @clanless for wanting to spend more time with your family and friends and you will feel a lot better for it.As we now say every day feels like we are on holiday,except the holiday is a nice long one

 

@shiney we already forget what day of the week it is and it is nice to know we don't have to cram everything in to each day because what we don't get done one day we can go back to it the next day.We also lose track of what time it is and while we were away we often didn't have lunch until around 1.30ish I am trying to get away now from cooking Sunday lunch every week as that chore takes up valuable time.Ive done it nearly every Sunday for the last thirty six years

We wish we could have retired a lot earlier but are now determined to try and cram everything in while we are still here,so have more time away booked,if my flipping broken toe is healed enough by then (bashed it again this week)

 

More like steel tipped slippers @shiney .I think I need to ask our PM where she gets her steel tipped shoes from or I need a suit of armour or get rid of the cat as I was carrying her at the time when I did it