How did this happen?

[The Accidental Mustachian]

Hi, thought i'd say hello,

I've been lurking a while. My user name sums it up really. I'm in the uk and ive ended up FIRE at aged 47 without any real planning at all, just two extraordinairy peices of completely unplanned (ie: Lucky) good judgement on my part.

I'm in the UK and joined the Navy when i was 17, (good decision 1) served for 5 years and then joined the police (good decision 2). I then spent the rest of my life living as unmustachian lifestyle as one could imagine. Loans, CC, no savings, every new toy and useless gadget you can imagine, a couple of new cars (i dont even like cars!!) and a few years with a manic gambling addiction! Throw a couple of divorces in the mix and i really should have the biggest house on skid row! But.........

by pure luck i chose jobs which came with absolutely gold plated pensions. (the navy one rolled straight into the police one) Even as a huge spendy pants i recognised this and didnt opt out of them.

Fast forward to last year when i developed a heart problem and the police offered me early retirement 2 years ahead of my planned retiurement age. In return for the 11% i have paid them every paycheck i was given £160k cash ($230k) and an annual pension of £22k per year ($29k) which is index linked. If im around when i hit 67 i also get the standard state pension of currently £6k per year.

Now holy crap i realise that i have lucked out with this. I have a tiny mortgage, guaranteed income and no money worries, without any real effort. I feel a bit of a fraud really.

Since retirement i have had to curb my spendy ways as i carried on living the ridiculously extravagant and wasteful lifestyle of my full employment days. It was this that led me to this site and the MMM lifestyle, and since finding this site i am working hard on my Badassity. To that extent i'm going to University in September to do a 4 year degree course, i have been able to choose a subject im really interested in without any regard to future employment prospects/usefullness. (oh and the way student loans are structured in the uk all my tuition is paid for and i'll get about £9k to live on which i'll never have to pay back as my pension is below the level that repayments kick in. Or only pay a tiny amount of about £100 per year)

Am i completely undeserving of this tiny fluffy attempt at joining the ranks of the mustachiod clan?

Andy.

(I have just read this post and realise that i have managed to sound unbearably smug! I try not to be but i am extremely grateful for my largely unplanned good fortune.)

[The_path_less_taken]

Welcome.

And...congrats on the good luck, and sorry to hear about the medical condition.

Sounds like you are in an awesome position to roll into whatever suits your current fancy. And I'm glad you found this site to help ease you away from the spendypants crap.

Everyone in the US envies you the educational perks though!

[Retire-Canada]

Am i completely undeserving of this tiny fluffy attempt at joining the ranks of the mustachiod clan?

You worked. You paid money into a pension. Now you are getting the benefits. So you are deserving of them.

[The Accidental Mustachian]

Welcome.

And...congrats on the good luck, and sorry to hear about the medical condition.

Sounds like you are in an awesome position to roll into whatever suits your current fancy. And I'm glad you found this site to help ease you away from the spendypants crap.

Everyone in the US envies you the educational perks though!

Thank you, the medical condition is fine, it causes me no problems.

i am an anomaly in regard to the student loans by being a mature student with no plans to increase my income. Kids finishing a standard 3 year degree are typically coming out with between £40-60k in debt. They pay 9% of everything they earn over £21k which is causing real problems when it comes to buying (hugely overpriced) uk housing.

You have set my mind at ease that i may belong here a little bit!

[2ndTimer]

Hi and Welcome:

Life isn't fair.  If it was I wouldn't be nearly so well off either.  When you joined the police you sort of bought a lottery ticket.  Rejoice that your's said you would get to collect on your hard work instead of leaving a mourning family when some loser ran over you while you were trying to arrest them.

[Gone Fishing]

There are many people who think that most retirements should work in this manner.  Get a job, work for 25-35 years, spend your money as you see fit with no worries about saving, then retire off of money that has been socked away behind the scenes. 

Many attribute the US retirement "crisis" to the decline of pensions in favor of 401(k)s:  http://www.ebri.org/publications/benfaq/index.cfm?fa=retfaq14

While not perfect, the beauty of the pension is that is pretty hard to screw up (unless you opt for the lump then blow it) as opposed to 401(k)s where the uniformed participant can make countless errors: not contributing, poor investment options, poor investments choices, attempting to time the market, panic selling, loans and distributions for non-retirement purposes, penalties, etc.

Glad it worked out for you, and glad that you have the initiative to manage it well and make it last!

[StockBeard]

Am i completely undeserving of this tiny fluffy attempt at joining the ranks of the mustachiod clan?

I'd say "undeserving" is a bit of an extreme statement.
Yes, you were "lucky" in some aspects. But the fact that you're on this forum also proves that there is more than luck in your situation IMO, you're lucking in the right direction on how to use the money wisely, etc...

[mozar]

I'm not pro-military, but I understand why they have great benefits. You risked your life for your country so you're lucky that you survived to tell the tale!

[EricL]

Welcome! You aren't the first (and won't be the last) to stumble into FI.  I did similarly, lean on an Army pension, and found MMM only in time to tighten my shot group.  This month's article is devoted to a guy who also stumbled onto the path. 

[2lazy2retire]

There are many people who think that most retirements should work in this manner.  Get a job, work for 25-35 years, spend your money as you see fit with no worries about saving, then retire off of money that has been socked away behind the scenes. 

Many attribute the US retirement "crisis" to the decline of pensions in favor of 401(k)s:  http://www.ebri.org/publications/benfaq/index.cfm?fa=retfaq14

While not perfect, the beauty of the pension is that is pretty hard to screw up (unless you opt for the lump then blow it) as opposed to 401(k)s where the uniformed participant can make countless errors: not contributing, poor investment options, poor investments choices, attempting to time the market, panic selling, loans and distributions for non-retirement purposes, penalties, etc.

Glad it worked out for you, and glad that you have the initiative to manage it well and make it last!

Interestingly  the UK is currently allowing people much more access to their pension funds which many believe could allow the "uninformed" to make many of those errors you mentioned.

With recent news headings like
"Cash-strapped trying to bend pension transfer rules" and "UK pension reform sparks big dash for cash" - what could go wrong?