I’m 53. How do I know when to retire?

The timing of retirement is possibly one of the hottest topics within my WhatsApp group of 50-something friends.

We are not alone - an array of YouTubers create reams of videos on the topic, attracting millions of views. Some of these content creators take a cynical slant, working out how to perfect ‘quiet quitting’ before escaping the rat race.

Others are more thoughtful. Financial adviser James Shack talks through the more emotional dilemmas pre-retirees must grapple with, alongside the all-essential sums.

And that is the point. We often focus on the amounts we have, the saving that is yet to come and the crucial calculations. But this is sometimes at the expense of considering the more philosophical questions about our lives and how we want to live them.

To this end, the latest episode in the ground-breaking and enduring ITV documentary series Up carried some searing reflections. For those unfamiliar, the programme interviewed 14 seven-year-olds in the 1960s and revisited them every seven years.

This one - 70 Up - is the final visit. At age 70, the focus is on reaching retirement. Andrew Brackfield, a commercial solicitor, had an epiphany moment at retiring: ‘Looking back, I would have liked to spend a bit more time with the family rather than giving so much priority to work.

‘When you’re young and trying to make your career it all seems terribly important to spend those few extra hours in the office. But in the scheme of things, it would have been better to go to the school play or sports day.’

A growing sense of what has been missed may spur on many to seek the freedom of retirement.

Jackie Bassett, another of the Up 70-year-olds, retired from Glasgow to the Norfolk coast in her 60s. ‘Since I’ve moved here, life has been easier. A lot easier. I can do what I want, when I want and how I want. I think I’m living my second childhood.’

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At 53, I find myself thinking more about the decades ahead and the eventual transition into retirement. Yet stopping work is too often considered a silver bullet. I have often urged in this column for a re-think on the rush to retire early. The evidence suggests people are happier and healthier if they remain active, stay socially connected and retain a sense of purpose. Staying in the right job increases the chances of all the above.

The ‘FIRE’ movement has led the charge on early retirement. They seek Financial Independence to Retire Early, dialling back spending (and enjoyment) to save up to 70% of income. I have playfully developed an alternative CHILL approach - Career Happiness Inspires Long Lives. This advocates a gentler approach - saving sensibly, thinking mindfully about navigating toward fulfilling work and directing money to accessible pots which can perhaps fund retraining or career breaks.

There is also the danger of forced early retirement. A recent report from Fidelity highlighted the extent of the problem. The Longer Working Lives Index featured analysis of a range of criteria, including whether over 55s are able to work and whether they are able to find rewarding work. The UK ranked last among the G7 countries for supporting longer working lives.

Working lives are being curtailed for a variety of reasons. The development of AI is an oft-cited fear. It is worth being prepared, making sure some of your savings are accessible, perhaps prioritising saving into an ISA rather than making additional top-up payments into a pension. You could also consider training that could take you into alternative careers.

This is all fodder for the ‘when to retire’ debate. Below, I offer a range of considerations and the questions I’ll keep asking myself in the years ahead.

How far will your money go?

Pensions have been super-charged by an incredible rally in stock markets. A £100,000 investment in global stock markets three years ago could theoretically have risen to around £160,000 (based on the MSCI World Index) before charges, although many pension pots will hold other assets. Please remember that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Retirement savers must also begin to think about how they will become retirement spenders. How will you create your retirement salary? I would expect to split my money between an annuity, where you hand over a lump sum in exchange for a guarantee of regular income payments, and keeping money invested, allowing me to draw an additional income.

Those buying an annuity are possibly in a sweet spot. Not only have stock markets surged but the rates on annuities - which are linked to the yields on government borrowing - have pushed higher and higher.

Today, £100,000 spent on a single person annuity at age 60 could provide income of around £4,400 a year, rising with inflation.¹ That scales up to around £22,000 for those with a £500,000 pension. Retire at 55 and the annuity income only falls to around £4,000 - or £20,000 for those with £500,000. Remember that access to a personal or company pension will rise from 55 to 57 for most people, affecting those born after 5 April 1973, including me.

• Read: Which 50-somethings must wait longer for their pension?

Could you downsize?

The sums could be transformed by tapping into what is probably your most valuable asset: your home. This is already part of the plan for many - clear down your possessions and buy something smaller. That releases money to fund a better retirement and may even yield house deposits for your children.

The system doesn’t help in this regard. Stamp duty tiering racks up and can be costly for those in hotter property areas. It will cost £5,000 on a £300,000 home, £15,000 on £500,000 and £25,000 on £700,000. Those are large chunks to take from any equity gain. And there are other considerations.

Laura Whetstone, a chartered financial planner at London-based Lathe & Co Wealth Advisers, said: ‘I have clients who thought downsizing was the answer but then find themselves short of space when they want family to stay and they come with grandchildren.’

For me, downsizing is appealing. Once I passed 50 something switched, leaving me wanting to own less and generally declutter.

How much will you need to live on?

You will need to provide enough income, after tax, to cover costs of £45,400 for a ‘comfortable’ retirement, or £62,700 for a couple, according to the industry’s Retirement Living Standards guidance. For a ‘moderate’ life, it would be £32,700 for one person and £45,400 for two.

These figures are based on so many assumptions that it’s almost certain your own numbers will differ. A problem financial advisers constantly encounter is that clients don’t know what they spend today and can’t work out what they will need once retired.

Lathe & Co’s Whetstone said: ‘I find that only around 25% of clients have worked out what they need, and the reality is that for some it takes three years of retirement to really work it out accurately.

‘Importantly, you need to identify the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’. The need will cover running the household and day to day expenses. Then work out the ‘want’.’

If you can separate the two types of spending, it helps with financial planning. I envisage eventually buying a fixed income from an annuity to cover the ‘needs’ and keeping money invested to fund the ‘wants’. How much income can that second pot produce? The ‘4% rule’ retirement is often cited, which suggests you can take 4% in income in year one from a balanced portfolio and then increase this each year by inflation. Historically, based on US data, the pot should last at least 30 years although investment income and returns are never guaranteed.

Whetstone says the 4% rule is a useful guide, but real life is more complicated; it can’t be relied upon in isolation. Retirement spending tends to be u-shaped. You may need a lot more at the start - for dream cruises and the like, less in the middle when you become less active, with the risk of a lot needed at the end for care home costs.

How long will you live - and what is your healthy life expectancy?

Without a single grandparent to have made it beyond their early sixties, I wonder about my own durability. The Office for National Statistics’ longevity calculator suggests my, er, final withdrawal will be in 2056 at the age of 83. But its average stats take no account of my genetic legacy - but also ignore my obsession with long-distance swimming. It also suggests I have a one in three chance of living to 90.

Perhaps more sobering are the stats on healthy life expectancy. This stood at just 61 for the UK in 2024, having slipped from 63 in 2021. I was diagnosed with a severely arthritic knee at 51 and I wonder how many more mountains I’ll climb and lakes I’ll swim. Money is finite but so is time.

When will enough be enough?

This is perhaps the most difficult question to answer. For our parents, the prevalence of stable long-term jobs with final salary pensions mostly solved the conundrum. For Generation X, we must be more deliberate with our saving, fumble with the sums ourselves or employ a professional adviser to help.

We know under-saving is a major problem, but over-saving is also now a thing. I increasingly encounter retirement savers who don’t know when enough is enough. The switch from saver to spender is not always easy.

Making the ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ split can help. With the basics covered by an annuity, the ‘wants’ can vary based on how well your investments perform. If markets rally, you can book that dream safari, if they don’t, you simply cut your cloth. And then at 66 or 67 the State Pension kicks in, providing another chunk of guaranteed income, although the signs are that this may rise to 68 by the time I get there.

For now, I have no intention of retiring. I want to work all the time I enjoy it and it gives purpose. I have two colleagues approaching their mid-sixties who are thriving and role models for this. It may be that, like them, I improve my work-life balance, perhaps working fewer hours.

And when I’m ready to retire, I’ll embrace the new phase. As Up’s Andrew Brackfield said, aged 70: ‘We had our lives ahead of us, now we have our retirements ahead of us.’

The government’s Pension Wise service offers free, impartial guidance to help you understand your options at retirement. You can access the guidance online at www.moneyhelper.org.uk or over the telephone on 0800 138 3944.

Our retirement specialists can provide you with free guidance to help you with your decisions. They can also provide advice and help you select products though this will have a charge.

This article was originally published in This is Money

• Read: How to retire at 45, 50, 55 or 60
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• Read: How to trace old pensions

Source:

¹ Legal & General, 12 October 2026

Important information: - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. Eligibility to invest in a SIPP and tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. Withdrawals from a pension product will not be possible until you reach age 55 (57 from 2028). This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.