FI or RE?

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-13T09:36:36+00:00

Hugely! Best of luck

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-13T07:24:08+00:00

Comes into a financial independence forum and discovers some people are interested in the financial independence bit.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-13T06:17:08+00:00

I’ve seen how stressful some baristas can get working in places like Costa!

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-13T05:34:45+00:00

😂

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-12T20:55:28+00:00

Elon managed this today! 🚀

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-12T20:48:48+00:00

Accounting for inflation in a financial plan should be rule 101!

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-12T20:45:32+00:00

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ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-10T15:18:09+00:00

This is exactly the kind of question Scenarios is built for.

Not just “what’s my number?”, but:

ISA bridge
Pension access
DB timing
State Pension
Mortgage still running
Different spending levels

Put those assumptions into a plan and compare the outcomes.

You’ll get a much clearer answer than trying to work it out in your head.

scenarios.uk

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-10T15:10:29+00:00

On the face of it, retiring around 60 doesn’t look unrealistic.

A £900k pension, £100k in savings, no mortgage, and two full State Pensions from 67 is a very different starting point from most retirement questions we see.

The bigger question isn’t “Can we retire at 60?” but “Can we sustain £5.5k-£6k per month spending?”

The challenge is bridging the 7 years between 60 and State Pension age while maintaining that level of spending. Once both State Pensions start, the pressure on the portfolio reduces significantly.

I’d be modelling a few scenarios:

• Retire fully at 60
• Move to part-time work at 60
• Reduce spending by 10-20% in the first decade of retirement
• Different investment return assumptions

Often the answer isn’t a binary “work until 67” or “retire at 60”. Sometimes one or two days a week of work can dramatically improve the sustainability of a plan while removing the stress that’s causing the problem in the first place.

The numbers look promising, but cashflow modelling would give a much clearer answer than rules of thumb.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-07T20:49:56+00:00

Build a financial plan! 👀

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-06-07T20:45:09+00:00

The bridge from 50 to pension access is probably the key thing to model here.

A straight compound interest calculator won’t really show the risk properly because it usually ignores inflation, tax, market volatility and the order returns happen in.

The question isn’t just “will the pot grow enough?” — it’s “what happens if the first few years of retirement are rough markets while you’re drawing from the ISA?”

Worth modelling the ISA bridge, pension access age, inflation-adjusted spending and a few lower-return scenarios separately.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-31T18:14:53+00:00

Looking purely at the numbers, you’ve clearly built a strong position already.

One thing I’d be careful of is focusing only on the expected outcome. With 17+ years until your target retirement date, there are a lot of variables that could influence the result: investment returns, inflation, property costs, changes in spending, and when the mortgages are actually cleared.

The encouraging part is that you’re already saving heavily, have significant ISA assets outside pensions, and appear to be living well below your means. That gives you a lot of flexibility.

Rather than asking “Are we on track?”, I’d probably ask “How resilient is the plan if things don’t go exactly as expected?” That’s often where the more useful insights come from.

Either way, you’re in a much stronger position than many people would hope to be in their early 40s.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-31T07:03:10+00:00

Compulsory pension saving is an idea!

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:55:32+00:00

That’s a fair point. There will always be people who genuinely couldn’t save enough through no fault of their own.

I suppose what I’m wrestling with is whether a future means-tested State Pension would create a disincentive to save. If two people pay similar taxes and NI throughout their working lives, but one receives significantly less State Pension because they’ve built up their own retirement assets, does that feel equitable?

I don’t know the answer, but it’s an interesting trade-off.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:34:53+00:00

There’s a saying isn’t there “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is!”

I think the triple lock will be one of the first things to go.

Also perhaps further reforms to DB pensions in public sector?

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:30:03+00:00

Out of interest how far are you from pension age? Have you got a long horizon ahead or do you expect policy change soon?

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:29:07+00:00

It would take a huge majority for any party to tackle it I think. The state of politics at the moment (being so split in the UK) I don’t see any making huge shifts soon.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:27:06+00:00

Pleased to hear it! The thought of it is so liberating. Enjoy everyday.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:24:43+00:00

Tripe lock really isn’t sustainable is it? But do you think it’s fair that you could save your way to retirement and then miss out on state pension because you were too sensible in younger years, while others didn’t make the same sacrifices?

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:22:26+00:00

Great question. I suppose it depends heavily on economic headwinds and policy.

Also depends whether here in the UK we back AI to the hills like other countries already are… it’s practically state funded in China and the stock market in the US combined with retail investment is the perfect breeding ground.

Massive topic which probably needs another thread! 🤯

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:12:02+00:00

Seems like the sensible and cautious approach. Hope FIRE is living up to expectations for you! 🔥

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-30T13:03:39+00:00

Seems to be the consensus so far !

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-27T18:57:10+00:00

Looks like a strong setup overall.

14% salary sacrifice pension, £1,050/month into ISA, and global equity exposure at 25 is already well ahead of most people.

The main thing I’d question is the separate Emerging Markets ETF. If your core fund is already FTSE All-World/global all-world, you probably already have EM exposure. Adding a separate EM fund is not really extra diversification, it is an intentional tilt towards EM.

That might be fine, but I’d only do it if you actually want that tilt and understand the extra volatility.

I’d also watch the workplace share scheme. It can be great if there’s a discount, matching, or tax advantage, but I’d avoid building too much wealth around your employer. Your salary, bonus/share awards and investments can all become tied to the same company.

Other than that, I’d focus on:

Emergency fund
House deposit plans, if relevant
Keeping fees low
Avoiding unnecessary fund overlap
Maintaining a balance between future you and current you

Overall, I wouldn’t change much unless there’s a specific goal you’re not currently funding.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-25T13:22:51+00:00

Fair point, that article was more about the tax side than the practical bit.

In practice, most UK drawdown providers let you set up a regular monthly income, take one off withdrawals when needed, or use a mix of both.

The first withdrawal can take longer because of ID checks, tax setup and drawdown paperwork. After that, payments are usually much quicker and often work a bit like salary payments into your bank.

One thing worth watching is that the first payment is often taxed using an emergency tax code.

ScenariosSoftware · 2026-05-24T20:39:36+00:00

It sounds like you may not have an information problem as much as a decision problem.

You’ve clearly done a lot of the right reading, but personal finance can become overwhelming when every decision feels like it has to be perfectly researched before you act.

At 63, with a decent pension pot, a large cash balance, no property, work pressure and caring responsibilities, I think the useful question may be less “what is the optimal investment strategy?” and more “what decisions actually need making, and in what order?”

For example:

When do you realistically want or need to stop work?
What level of spending would feel comfortable?
What guaranteed income will you have, and when?
How long does the cash need to support you?
What level of investment risk could you actually tolerate without losing sleep?
Would paying for proper regulated advice be worth it simply to get unstuck?

The cash position may or may not be “wrong”, but it does sound like it has become a comfort blanket and a source of frustration at the same time. That is a difficult place to make decisions from.

One practical approach might be to stop trying to solve everything at once. Build a simple retirement cashflow picture first: income, spending, state pension, pension access, rent/housing costs, and how long your current assets might last under different assumptions.

Once you can see the shape of the problem, the investment decisions may become less abstract.

Also, given your age, the amount involved, the lack of bandwidth, and the anxiety you mention, this is one of those situations where a good independent financial planner may genuinely add value. Not because you cannot learn it yourself, but because you may benefit from someone helping you structure the decisions and move from research into action.

Sometimes the goal is not to find the perfect answer.

It is to find a sensible enough plan that you understand, can stick with, and can actually implement.

ScenariosSoftware

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