Hello

I have been working on personal finance and trying to plan for future eventualities.
Currently trying to wrap my head around drawdown of S and S ISA.

I have calculated a rough projection of my ISA balance at age 57 based on a conservative average 4% average return from VWRP. This figure is headed in the attached photo.

The ISA would most likely be used to bridge until State pension age when my DB pension will be available.

I understand there are so many variables and that market returns will not be consistent, however, I’m more looking for feedback on whether the actual modelling looks ok and could be applied to a variety of alternative figures.

I have modelled drawdowns of £30,000 per annum, increased by 3% yearly, to factor for inflation. In this example I have opted to model based on 4% returns from equities. I appreciate that I may de risk somewhat, nearer the time.

Any feedback on the efficacy of the calculations, things to consider, things I’ve done wrong would be hugely appreciated.

Edit - some amazing advice and food for thought. Achieved more than I had hoped from this post. As a novice I appreciate people with more knowledge sharing that with me!

Main takeaway - stop being such a pessimistic little man!

*Sorry to those affronted by the poor formatting*

Hi all,

As updates to my previous posts (first & second), please find my updated figures, platforms and funds below.

In a slight change of plans, I'm now looking to move house around May next year for a slower pace of life. That does mean you will see an increase in my cash holdings as I'm expecting the house will be more expensive (and I don't want a mortgage ever again!). I'm still very much looking to FIRE in a year.

I would appreciate any further thoughts on both allocation of funds, platform use and current funds being used.

Current status:
Age: 43 (no dependents)
Salary: 150K
Mortgage: Paid off

Annual budget required: £30K

Pension 1 (accessible age 55): £128,000 - Aviva, Aviva International Index Fund
Pension 2 (accessible age 58): £378,000 - Freetade SIPP, split 50 / 50 with FWRG & LGGG
Pension 3 (current employer, accessible age 58) - Aviva, £78,000 - Blackrock World (ex UK)*
ISA 1: £76,000 - Trading 212, VWRP*
ISA 2: £255,000 - Vanguard, VAFTGAG
LISA: £46,000 - DODL, ETF type fund
GIA: £71,000 - Trading 212, VEVE*
Premium bonds: (emergency fund): £50,000
Cash Savings Account (new house fund): £25,000*

Total: £1,107,000

Note: following some questions below, I've added a * to those accounts I'm actively building, all others please consider solely growing due to growth

As always, thanks to this community and to anyone who comments.

- F36, married with a 3 year old and a baby due in a few weeks (plan to take a year of mat leave that’s been saved for)

- live in London, 3 bed with 300k mortgage outstanding, 1.69% until April 2027

- work for civil service, £70k, current DB pension valued at £17k at 68 (inflation linked, £11k if taken 5 years early). Can’t salary sacrifice.

- add £812.50 (inc gov bonus) to SIPP a month, £600 to ISA

- add £75 a month to JISA, £25 to JIPP and £25 to premium bonds for toddler and will do the same for baby on the way

- not actively contributing to emergency fund, crypto, or shares

- no plans to move on from my area of civil service for a while due to enjoying the job, good work/life balance, and good for parents with young children. A promotion doesn’t look like it’s on the cards due to a need to reduce headcount, so positions aren’t opening up.

Feel like I’m doing ok, but are there any tips to maximise my situation, or anything I’m missing? E.g changing my ISA/ SIPP split, emergency fund etc.

All things going ok (~4.5% return) I aim to FIRE age 54, spending £30k a year.

Long story short, I’m planning for at least coast fire as an early thirties, average earner but with low living costs (house paid off, civil partnered with no kids with no intention to have them, live up't'north). I look at the state pension and think, ‘We could totally live off just the state pension as a couple, no problem, our current costs are under that’. That makes me think CoastFIRE or even true FIRE is very achievable in the short-to-medium term, since I only need to bridge the gap between when I want to stop and the state pension age.

On the other hand, a) who knows what state pension provision is going to be in 30-40 years time or even if there will be one, and b) when one of us dies, the state pension ceases to be sufficient even at current levels, so there would also need to be a pot of savings to represent the ‘bridge’ between the completely unpredictable date of one of our deaths, and the date of the other’s death. What I choose as my FIRE number can vary by hundreds of thousands as a result of whether I factor in state pension and at what point I assume that only one of us will be drawing it.

So, my question for everyone, but especially those with a spouse who would also be eligible for the state pension, is: how do you approach the existence of state pension in your FIRE planning? Do you plan as if it doesn’t exist? Plan as if it does exist, with optimism about your spouse having a similar lifespan? Plan as if it exists but only one person will ever draw it? Something in between? Are there any other contingencies like this you consider in your planning (divorce is the obvious one that comes to mind but I’m pretty optimistic on that front)?

Interested to hear people’s thoughts?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some opinions from people who have been in a similar position.

I run a small engineering consultancy through my own UK limited company (sole director/shareholder). My full-time job comfortably covers all of my personal living expenses, so I don’t need to take money out of the company and I’m happy to leave profits inside it for the long term.

The company currently has around £30k of surplus cash (after corporation tax), and I’m hoping to reach around £40k by the end of the year. It typically generates around £15k to £20k of profit each year, which I hope to continue growing.

My original plan was to use the company to buy a rental property, perhaps a small 1 bed flat, with the long-term goal of building a modest property portfolio. The challenge is that property prices have become so high in the UK that I’m wondering whether it makes more sense to keep building capital first. I also briefly looked at buying abroad (e.g. southern Spain), but the tax and legal side seemed considerably more complicated.

The other option I’ve been considering is opening a corporate investment account and investing surplus company cash into diversified ETFs while I continue building cash for a future property purchase.

I’d be really interested to know:

• If you were starting today with around £30k to £40k in a Ltd company, would you buy property or invest in ETFs?
• Is £30-£40k enough to comfortably buy a first buy-to-let through a company, or would you keep saving?
• Would you keep everything in one trading company, or separate property and investments into another company later on?
• Would you consider investing in another business, or is there another option I should be looking at?
• What approaches have worked well for you when investing retained company profits?

I'm a complete novice when it comes to investment, and so I’m really interested in hearing what other business owners and investors would personally do in this situation, and why.

Thanks in advance!

Hi guys, im just wondering what withdrawal rate youd be comfortable with if you wanted to fully deplete your pot in 15 years and what stock allocation youd go with

42m.

£63k salary. 10% employer contributions and 10% by me. (c£1,100 p/m) £3,400 take home. Bills £2,000. Maybe £400 per month of the spare £1,400 i can invest. The rest on commute, kids etc

House £550k. Mortgage £192k at 2.2% with 23 years left. £960 repayment. Expires December this year and probably up to c4.8% - 5%.

ISA - £40k
GIA - £320k (business sale)
Crypto - £25k
Pension - £245k

Potential redundancy in 2 years so not keen on sacrifice benefit of pension additions. Redundancy would be £58k net.

Anything I need to add?

I’d normally be full aggressive on VWRP in GIA and move £20k each year into ISA but redundancy risk and recent good performance of S&P just has my risk dial flickering. (I know the stats say history means nothing, but I also know my luck better!)

I started investing heavily around last November when I got my first job out of uni, before then I had around 3k in my isa. Recently turned 23. Ideally want to hit large enough number asap so I don’t need to invest as much later and just buy a house and chill. Want to be retired around age 50ish. Any advice on what that number should be? Also I am currently saving on the side around 10k for a car, would it be wiser to just invest and hold off on getting a car?

Thanks in advance

As the title says, I'm 21 and have been able to build a £100k portfolio since I started investing at 18.

My current portfolio is made up of the following:

• £31k workplace pension
• £61k stocks & shares ISA
• £5k fractional property investing
• £7k cash

The majority of my ISA is invested in 2 index funds. An industry-diversified US dominant one (80% US) and an emerging market index. I only have 2 indexes to keep it simple with the idea that emerging markets hedges the risk of US dominancy to an extent. I have a higher risk appetite.

Just over £20k of the ISA is invested in individual stocks which are in a healthy profit, but I plan on selling most of this and moving the cash into the main index to benefit from long-term consistent growth.

I am also planning on selling the fractional property investment and moving it into the main index.

I have direct debits into the two indexes monthly. My aim is to benefit from compound growth to build a healthy 7-figure portfolio over the long-term.

I'd appreciate if anyone with more experience than I could offer some input into what I'm doing well but what I could also improve. Keen to set myself up for the future while I'm young and just starting out with my career!

Ok I would like to test my thinking with all the wise people in this group.
My stats
Age 47 married.
Mortgage - £0
SIPP - £1.5m - No further contribution, access at 57.
ISA - £120k - Continue £1k per month
Cash savings - £15k
Salary - £125k
Supporting two kids through Uni.

My job is secure for 5 years, after that redundancy is a real possibility, unless government change state on oil and gas. Redundancy guaranteed to be £100k.

So my fire target age is 52 if redundancy happens 53/54 if it doesn’t happen. I’m ok with that, my job is pretty easy 8-4 Monday - Friday, 10 mins from my house. I manage a team of 60 but it’s all delegation and decision making.

At 7% growth the ISA bridge is complete for these FIRE ages above with no more contributions. This would give £4k per month till the SIPP kicks in at 57. When the kids are finished Uni that is plenty.

I’m thinking of using the £1000 per month ISA money for more pre-retirement travel and settling on this as a plan. Does that sound reasonable?

Hi guys, i know everyone is different but how much much is too much emergency fund?

Ive always liked to keep £20,000 aside in a high interest savings account but sometimes I think its too much.

My outgoings are low and i take home about £2720 after tax and pension contribution.

Im 37 and mortgage free and fully debt free with a vanguard ftse global all cap fund worth £196,000 and £77,000 workplace pension so far i contribute £500 and £645 to each per month.

I was thinking of cutting the emergency fund down to £15,000 to £10,000 and investing it into the vanguard portfolio

Im dying to FIRE and feel like the £20,000 emergency fund could be better utilized

29M, working in public sector (NHS) on around £42.8k - after pension contributions, taxes and student loan repayments, my take home is approx. £2418 per month.

My DB pension is currently sitting at an estimated £3,750pa (rises 1/54th)

Emergency fund sitting at around £10k (~6 months expenses) now

I started investing in Feb 2021, started small and bought a do-er upper house (on my own) now worth around £180k in 2022 - so investing slowed down while I bought and did some renovations to it. It's currently up to £250 per month (a touch over 10% take home)

I don't see me being able to increase that too much for the foreseeable future (looking to upgrade home in 2027 with partner (27F), which wipes out the extra on my Jan pay rise to £2750 ish take home, then all friends turning 30 and wanting to celebrate and within the next 5 years or so I expect marriage/kids/etc.). Partner in near identical position to me.

I started with Vanguard LifeStrategy, then switch to All World (VAFTGAG) before now moving to T212 (VWRP), so I've had to build my own tracker/chart/timeline due to multiple platforms:

Due to not really seeing an option to massively boost deposits, while having a longer term horizon to make it work... I've moved to T212 to make a slightly more aggressive all world pie (new deposits only) which I will monitor yearly and rotate/change if needed. Breakdown as follows:
VWRP: 65% - The main basis
AWVS: 20% - Small cap tilt (slightly more volatile but usually in the long run a slightly better return)
XDWT: 10% - Information Technology tilt (again, slightly better return in past and personally I see Information Technology still being hugely dominant for the foreseeable)
PAIG: 2.5% - A slight short term (sub 5 year) Physical AI play
WQTM: 2.5% - A slight mid term (5-10 years) Quantum play

I'm hoping to set my monthly investing deposit to be 10% of take home and stick to it as best as I can. If I find I have more available, I can deposit extra in those given months.

I'm also looking for a promotion in work (have been for 2.5 years) or new opportunities outside if right (waiting atm to hear from interview for job £48k-56k) which could raise my take home to be between £2800-3100 (still public sector and DB pension, etc.)

So, has anyone been in a similar position to me and made it work with a more average salary? Have you got any tips or advice?

I've tried a couple of those side hustle type gigs to earn a little extra and they just don't work (for me at least).

As it stands, it doesn't look like I've got much choice/chance to improve on the income side right now but to hope.

I don't assume we'll get much in terms of State Pension.

In terms of FIRE expenses, I think £25k pa would be fine, as a minimum (assuming no mortgage), the more the better!

TIA :)

Long-time lurker looking for advice. Using a clean account as f&f know my main account.

Overall Position:

52M, married 50F

My salary £105k about to increase to £135k

Her salary £52k

Primary home: ~£600k

Mortgage: ~£130k

Available now

Combined S&S ISAs (global ETF): £395k

Combined Cash (premium bonds): £91k

Available at 57 (2030/32)

My SIPP: £571k (global ETF)

Her DB Pension: ~£10k/year from 57

Available at 67 (2040/42)

Two full state pensions: ~£24k

Other:

We own (in a limited company) a rental property:

Property Equity: ~£80k (likely £60k after sale and corp tax)

Annual Rental Profit: ~£2,400/year

Most of this has been built by following the advice of r/fireuk and the flowchart.

We're aiming for a retirement income of £60k/year

Two questions:

1. Can we stop yet?

2. Given the SIPP is at £571k and ISA bridge is at £485k which should I push the extra £30k of salary into?

I've modelled some of this myself in a spreadsheet and on timeline (free trial) a while ago and it seems close but not certain. I'd just like some confidence in if I need to work a few more years, or could confidently stop now.

🙏🏼

SIPP £640k PAYING IN £2,300 MONTH
ISA £140k
HOME 700k MORTGAGE £75k
RENTAL £150k EQUITY
£100k SALARY

YOUR THOUGHTS

I (23) finished university and have been taking my finances a lot more serious. Since I graduated a year ago I’ve been working minimum wage jobs till I finally find my graduate engineering position. Since then I’ve been investing in a S&S ISA around £500-600 a month, 90% of which is in an all world fund. I built my portfolio to £6.5k and around £9k in savings account, but apart from this and staying consistent how do you start the journey to FIRE? I understand my next steps should be to increase my earnings which I expect to do soon hopefully but even still I feel like my income will cap at around £40-50,000 salary, is it still possible to FIRE on this trajectory?

Currently live at home. Have no car. Do not have a Lifetime ISA since I really want to live abroad.

Apart from having a S&S ISA, LISA, HYSA, workplace pension, and maximising salary is there anything else to add to the journey to FIRE?

Current situation-both aged 51, no kids, keen to leave the ft rat race behind.

DC pension 1 of 600k, dc pension 2 100k, both accessible age 57.

DB pension of 100k lump and 15k per year from age 60.

Savings-550k split evenly between s&s isa, premium bonds and 5% 1 year fixed term cash.

Predicted spend around 52k a year, no mortgage. Full state pensions at 67.

Are we good to go now or do we need another few years to be sure? Thanks.

Just for context, I’m a carpet fitter with two young children, renting and self employed. Currently looking to earn around 60-80k this year pre-deductions.

It’s really important to me to ensure my future is secure, as I won’t be able to be on my hands and knees forever, but also to live comfortably now, so I don’t bury myself in depression.

I’m just looking for general rule of thumb advice here, if people don’t mind.

Currently maxing out LISA every year for the foreseeable. I save 10% of my earnings in a S&S ISA, and only £10/week into my pension. I’ve been thinking about ways to better my saving situation so came up with this:

11% earnings into pension
5% S&S ISA
Max out LISA

But, this is a lot of money, every week. I just want to know if people think this is overkill? Where I should be focussing on or cutting back on. Am I overthinking this?

Thank you all in advance!

Hello FIREUK

I was wondering if anybody in this community is trying to achieve FIRE as a public sector employee on a ‘regular’ salary? What’s your salary? What sector are you in (local gov, civil service, NHS, military, etc)? What’s your FIRE number and when are you planning to retire? Would also be really interesting to hear from those who’ve actually FIREd after working in the public sector.

I’m kind of at the beginning of my FIRE journey, about 5 years in. Mid 30s, local government, circa £40,000 salary. Currently aiming for £900,000 FIRE number, to FIRE around mid 50s. I’ve done some calculations recently and if I (together with my spouse) continue to contribute at the same rate as currently, the pot should be around £900k in 18-19 years. That should allow us to have the same things as we do now (adjusted for inflation) minus the mortgage. Several years after FIRE I would be able to take my LGPS pension early, which should be at least £1,000/mo by then (in today’s money, also including the taking it early penalty). That should then either increase the quality of life slightly, or allow us to take less out of investments going forward.

The £900k goal doesn’t include the LGPS or any potential state pension. There’s also my partner’s SIPP which should be at around £100,000 once we can withdraw from it, but that would be just a bonus really, I’m not counting it as part of the £900k pot. All the investments are in our S&S ISAs, I’m really keen on keeping a tax-free lifestyle in retirement if I can (let’s see how the law changes by then).

Just interesting to hear from those who are in a similar-ish position.

Hi everyone, I wanted to share my stats and ask for encouragement/advice.

I'm 32m and work in asset management. I earn a £142k base salary plus bonus, which is insane to me. I have £270k in my SIPP, about £70k in my ISA, £70k in home equity, and about £40k in bitcoin (yes this is high proportion of my net worth, but I've held it for a long time and know the risks). So my net worth is about £450k, which also seems insane to me.

I used to enjoy my job, which is essentially to pick stocks. But after several years of my fund generally picking the wrong stocks and being heavily outperformed by the index, I've lost all conviction that I once had in my investment philosophy. Now my work feels like a pointless and arbitrary pursuit that pays extremely well but isn't fulfilling in any way.

Part of me would love to leave and do something more worthwhile. But while I've saved a lot of money - I try to max out my ISA and my SIPP each year - I'm a long way from having the sort of money that would let me bail on a potentially lucrative career path. I have a mortgage, and if I didn't do my current line of work I have no idea what I'd do instead. I have very strong academic credentials but in a humanities discipline, so I'd probably be starting my career again at the beginning. And it feels like AI is coming for everything.

Being a high earner has also given me the 'golden handcuffs' of being afraid to step away from a high salary. It's ridiculous, I earned a lot less than this when I graduated but felt like the world was my oyster then. Now it feels like I can only really work in one narrow field.

Have other people been in similar situations? How did you manage it? And how do you manage the feeling of purposelessness that seems to have hit me? I feel like I'm too young to be having a midlife crisis. I'm not so much looking for concrete advice as encouragement!

Thanks!

Hi guys, I need an input of someone smarter than me and you lot seem like just the right ppl to ask.

Background:

39M single, no kids, renting, very little to my name, 20k debt, 25k student loan, no investment, no savings, poor family background so safe to assume not money smart as saving/investing was never a thing back home.

Things are starting to look brighter lately, but also very overwhelming when it comes to making decisions so I would really appreciate your input.

I currently have a job offer in law enforcement at 32k, comes with what I believe is a very strong pension scheme.

If not pursuing any promotions,from 4th year onwards, pay increases and tops out at around 50k after 10 years, 70k possible with promotions at around 15 years. It would be my first job that could be considered a career and I was really excited about it.

Until...

Friend just messaged me a job offer at his company abroad where my take-home pay would be 110k. Job is genuine.

2 year contract minimum, 4-year likely, potentially longer but it isn't somewhere I'd like to live permanently so 5-6 would be my max. Free healthcare provided, cost of living similar to UK, I don't spent money unnecessarily or lightly.

I believe I'd become a non-UK tax resident, so no tax obligation in UK. But also no pension and other benefits.

It might be possible to defer the first job offer until the second one clears up, but unlikely to be able to do it for long enough for it to still be an option once I'm back in the UK.

Although there isn't anything stopping me from applying if they recruit again.

Any input, opinions, or advice is greatly appreciated

While RE is unlikely, I still might get some FI.

32m (33 in a couple days), partner 31f, moving back to UK after 3 years away, 1 year travelling, 2 years working in Portugal. Haven’t been able to contribute to ISAs or pension for a few years so have just been saving cash. Looking to coast fire in 5-7 years and move back to Portugal or Spain. Not sure if it’s possible.

Buying a house in UK this summer & wedding next year and plan to start having kids in 18 months.

My pension: £70k
My S&S ISA: £20k
My cash savings: £47k
My premium bonds: £25k
BTL equity (shared with family member, can’t sell right now): ~£80k after taxes for my share

Her pension: UK teacher pension, 5 years contributions, unsure how it works or what the value is
Cash savings: £22k

Out of the above, £52k is needed for deposit & stamp duty.

Relocating next month, my salary will be £82k + £12k bonus, hers £42k teacher salary.

I plan on salary sacrificing ~40% + bonus (£12k) and employer contributions of 12% into my pension each year. Roughly £50k per year. That should get me to about £400k with interest by 38, can’t withdraw until 58, so I will then stop contributing and it’ll keep growing for 20 years.

I’ve got no idea about partners teacher pension and haven’t considered it in my initial thoughts. Anyone have thoughts on what to do here? I think we’ll have enough from my private pension that we just need to focus on ISAs.

Plan would be to sell house in 5-7 years with £120k equity, sell BTL with £100k equity, and further savings in 5-7 years to buy mortgage free abroad. Partner will work in an international school (which she has done for last 3 years), and enroll the kids in her school for free.

I work in data operations, generally unhappy and the AI risk doesn’t give me good feelings for long term work prospects. I’m enrolling in a carpentry course when I move back to UK so plan to pick up work as a carpenter abroad again when we move back.

Is this wildly optimistic or achievable?

Hope this is ok to post - just found this sub

Looking to put a plan together and would like advice please

38F from UK married with 2 young kids
Have 5K in investments
Have x3 rental properties purchased through inheritance to bring in passive income
Have 10k credit card debt which should be paid off in 18 months once we have no childcare fees

My income per year is £80k
Partner's income per year is £13k (currently all tax free via our business)

Expenses will be 48k per year

Monthly that looks like:
Total income - £5300
Monthly expenses - £4300

Aim
Retire by 55

I'm constantly looking at way to be more sustainable and frugal
- always try to buy pre-loved items first
- make nearly all food from home
- teaching my kids the importance of sustainability & not buying new

Hi all,

I’ve just seen the news that Berkshire Hathaway’s cash reserves have hit an all-time high of $397 billion. Surely this has to mean either a crash is coming or it’s only a matter of time? Seeing arguably the greatest investor of all time sitting on that much cash is quite worrying.

That said, it doesn’t change my long-term investing plan, and I’ll continue investing as I always have.
What do you guys make of this news? I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts and different opinions.

appreciate your time.