Problems at work? Need advice? Our agony uncle ? and you, the readers ? have the answers
Should I take early retirement even if my pension won't be high?
I have been offered an early retirement settlement as I will be 55 this year. However, as I work part time, the work pension isn't high and I would need to find additional work to supplement, which isn't easy at this time. It is unlikely this offer will be given in the future, so it is a "one off".
As my birthday falls just outside of 31 March, it appears I wouldn't be able to request my pension at the age of 60 and would not be able to take it until I was 66 [because of the government's plans to equalise the state pension age for men and women]. It is tempting to have a guaranteed set amount of money for the rest of my life, but if I can't find additional work, finances will be difficult (though not impossible). I would be grateful for any advice.
Jeremy says
Pension rules and entitlements can seem all too complicated ? and changes are always taking place. So while protecting your identity, we asked the Department for Work and Pensions if they had any advice to offer you. Their recommendation was that you should go to The Pensions Advisory Service , an independent body providing free and independent information.
It's important you should know that you've acquired all the information and guidance you need before making what are bound to be important and far-reaching decisions. Martin Bamford, an independent financial adviser, adds that while the Pensions Advisory Service could put you in a stronger position to make a decision, it may not tell you specifically what you should do. In which case, it might be sensible to seek out specific and tailored advice from an IFA, based on your personal situation. So everything I say from now on has to be subject to what you discover from the Pensions Advisory Service and elsewhere (including DirectGov, see below).
I can quite understand the temptation to accept this retirement settlement, however small it may be. Any guaranteed income for life is to be welcomed, and 11 years would be a long time to wait before a better offer was available. But you're still relatively young and there are ominous inflationary clouds gathering. Without knowing the exact details of your pension scheme, it is impossible to say precisely what sort of protection against inflation you might have, but it's certainly something you need to establish.
My strong instinct is that you shouldn't accept this immediate offer (how long is it open for?) until you've acquired more confidence in your ability to find congenial work at a reasonable rate. And because I know nothing of your skills and experience, I can't make any useful suggestions. But you must do all you can to ferret out prospects. DirectGov could also help you with finding types of work too.
One last thought. If you're like a lot of people, after the first few months the reality of a life without work will be a lot less agreeable than it seemed in prospect. My guess, apart from the money, is that you'll want to keep that brain of yours engaged for quite a few years yet.
Readers say
? It would be interesting to know whether the settlement is part of a general cost reduction process, ie whether there is a risk you might refuse early retirement only to be made redundant with a less genial offer. If there is any kind of financial cushion, or it wouldn't be too unbearable to spend what might be significant time without work, it might be a good idea to take the offer. shirleyujest
? I don't think I would take it up. It might be different if you had a plan of what you were going to do ? but in my experience there is no reason why, in say a couple of years, it won't be offered again. I would also look into increasing your hours if possible, as that will increase your pension when you do come to retire. crw1234
I'm looking for work at 61 ? but not getting on to the shortlist
I'm 61 and retired just over a year ago after teaching for 25 years in inner London, the last 12 years as a head of department. After going on a couple of trips which I'd promised myself, I started to look for part-time work, possibly for a charity or in the public sector. I have applied for four jobs so far and not been shortlisted.
I have good people skills, am good at admin, report writing, training and am very well organised. I am still very active and quite dynamic and would like to carry on working, though not in the classroom. I have been told that "the trouble with teachers is they are generalists not specialists".
I have been doing a few hours' voluntary work but I need something to get my teeth into as I feel under-stimulated and bored. I would prefer some kind of paid work, if possible, as I still have a mortgage to pay off, but I would consider voluntary work that might lead to paid work.
Jeremy says
Let's start with this "teachers are generalists not specialists" belief. At one level, I suppose, there's some truth in it. Senior teachers have to be generalists. And interestingly, when listing your skills in your letter, you've chosen very general ones: good with people, admin, report writing, training, well organised.
But at a slightly deeper level, everyone with as much experience as you have is some kind of specialist ? in the sense that they've acquired specialist interests and certain abilities at above-average standards. And what I don't get from your letter is any sense of your own personal and individual enthusiasms.
You may believe that your outside interests have no bearing on the sort of work you might find; that they're exactly that ? outside interests. But if you come to think about it, they may be precisely what make you of particular significance to one or more particular potential employers.
Yes, of course, your general skills may get you on to many a long list; they're not to be scorned. But almost by definition all the other people on those long lists will possess those general skills as well. So your specialist knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, ceramics, gardening, antiques, drama, arts and crafts, home-brewing ? I don't know: just about anything ? may be exactly what differentiates you from the rest.
Each job, of course, is different. Do your best to work out which of your enthusiasms is most likely to be of relevance to each potential job. When the type of job matches your personal interests, two good things can happen. You're much more likely to be invited for an interview. And if you're fortunate enough to land the job, you'll be doing something that not only pays you to do it but involves you personally as well.
So don't put yourself on the market simply as '"retired teacher"; let yourself be seen as you undoubtedly are: an interesting individual. You won't be of interest to everybody ? but then you don't have to be.
Readers say
? In the past 18 months I applied for 196 jobs full time before I finally got one ? in Germany. I averaged a shortlisting about 10% of the time ? a shock to me as before it had previously been about 50% of the time on the strength of an excellent degree and a high quality, wide-ranging skillset and experience base.
Added to that, I had age on my side ? I'm under 40. You will have to apply for a lot more jobs than you think in this brutal economic climate.
My aunt has been in a similar situation. She was a head teacher at a middle school, before teaching abroad for a while. When she came back, intending to retire early at 55 (I wish I could even dream of such an idea), she struggled to find anything, as she didn't want to work more than two days a week. She had a couple of locum positions through teaching agencies to cover the odd absence here and there, but even that was piecemeal and she'd go for weeks at a time with nothing. She finally gave up at 60 and is full-time retired.
My advice is to throw those CVs in all directions to find anything and network like fury to boost your chances. The advantage is that both activities will keep you more than occupied for quite some time ? it'll stop your boredom for sure. Fwoggie
? In a decent past role, you must have got some contacts. Not many people get far applying "cold" at the best of times.
Your best option is probably the one you have not mentioned, though: self-employment. There's a big demand for private tutors and freelance adult/business trainers these days. And the market for that has the added advantage of being a self-selecting population of eager, intelligent learners.
It would be easy to build up by word of mouth, assuming you are in a decent population centre. You could try underpinning it with agency work, too, if you needed to. And the business side would certainly be something to get your teeth into. oommph
For Jeremy Bullmore's advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@guardian.co.uk. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally.
Read next week's problems on the Money blog from Monday and post your advice ? we'll run the best of it alongside Jeremy's in next Saturday's column.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/feb/12/dear-jeremy-work-advice
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