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<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt was about 18 months ago that we decided on a schedule for retiring or, as I prefer to think of it, entering Phase 3 of our lives. The thinking was simple: this would give me over a year to continue to visit the places that I tend to go to from time to time and see many of the great people that I work with, perhaps for one last time. There is a song lyric that goes: \u201cIf you want to give God a laugh, tell him your plans.\u201d Of course, things did not go to plan. There are places that I will never visit again and people with whom I will never again cross paths. I appreciate that, when I complain about my plans being ruined, that so many people have suffered in much more profound ways over the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have an app on my iPhone that keeps me informed of the schedule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have plenty to keep me busy in my working life until 31 March, but it is the time thereafter that I need to plan for \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first thing that we needed to think about when determining a time to retire was whether we could afford it. We need money to live and asking one\u2019s employer to stop the paychecks is quite a drastic thing to do. We will not get state pension for another 2 years. However, we looked at the pension provision that I had made and the savings we had and considered our outgoings and believe that we will not be visiting the Food Bank in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thought was then needed about the process of entering retirement. Tendering my resignation was the first step and that was straightforward. The only thing that I needed to decide was how many of my leave days I would take and how many could be compensated for in money. I have a company cellphone, so I will need to put in place my own cellphone plan, but that seems quite straightforward and I should be OK to keep my number. The only non-salary \u201cbenefit\u201d that I receive is private healthcare cover. Will we want that when we retire? Can we afford it? We do not know the answers to this, but I am aware that we can get a plan from the company\u2019s providers without all the normal sign-on formalities. I have to return some company equipment, but that is only a laptop and a smart access card; a courier will collect those.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there is the question of the future. I have many interests and thought that I would draw up a chart of all the things that might be on my agenda going forward. The chart looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The details do not matter; the fact that it is so well populated is the main thing. Many people have asked if I have lots of travel plans. I have some, but that will not dominate my life. I have traveled a lot already – maybe I do not need too much more! Will I do more photography? Certainly, and I have a number of photographic projects in mind. My primary goal is to \u201ctake back control\u201d [I sound like a Brexit supporter!] of my time. I plan to be busy, when I want to be busy, devoting my time to things that I want to do. If that includes watching Star Trek TNG on Netflix in the afternoon, then that is fine!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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