This would save me...

I negotiated my way out at 56, with a number of occupational pensions due from 60 and after, and state pension from 65.

I had immediate offers from a number of sources of (very) lucrative consultancy work. (I could have matched my previous 'adequate' income with less than three month's work a year, albeit away from home, but largely UK-based). 

I took a short break to decide, and then rapidly came to the conclusion that was going to be the end of my working-life.

The main contributory factors are, of course, mindset and financial stability. My long-term planning had always been to retire at 60, and the finances were always going to allow. Negotiating my exit gave me (just) enough to tide over the extra 3+ years with little downside.

I've said before, I've enjoyed the vast majority of my career, but it had been "pressured" for a long time, and a change of management made the last couple of years less than enjoyable. 

So, almost 12 years on, was finishing entirely the correct decision?  Absolutely!

Re the "health permitting"  bit. Life will catch up at some time. Best not spend the last bit of good health still working if there are options not to do so. There is a world of enjoyment out there.

My ex-works colleague, who I regularly walk with, made noises long before I left about retiring early (but noises were all). After my retirement, he suffered a nasty TIA from out of nowhere, was off work for some time, and I recall a conversation at the time which went along the lines of "If that had been "it", would I have been happy to look back and see that I'd spent my last few years on this earth still at work (which admittedly he was enjoying at the time)?"

Not long after, and despite wondering what he would do with his time, he negotiated his way out. His wife still works; he's financially stable, but not as much as me; he has filled all his spare time, and though he misses the companionship of work, he couldn't find a spare minute to even do small consultancy jobs. (and he's had a couple of additional, unrelated, health scares since).

Don't fritter away your good health on working if you can make the alternative work......

I hate work. The sooner I can jack it in, the better. Too late for me to now "find something you love doing" or "you'll never have to work a day if you're doing something you love" bollocks. I always had to just take whatever work I could, based on my qualifications and experiences, in order to just stay afloat. Never had the time or energy or resources to rethink, retrain, start at the bottom again, whatever. I'm now getting quite impatient and irritable at work because it's just so much pointless toss, and so much bloody empire building and politics from the career-obsessed around me. The corporate environment is just so inhuman, and brings out the worst in people IMHO.

Balls to it all. In the bin with it, asap. I've never found a second's excitement or pleasure in it. I work to live. That's all it is to me.

Stick that on the CV, eh?

Also, winter tyres south of Derby?  Balls.

Winter tyre salesman.

...what discount could you do me on a set of Crossclimates?........

The real answer is IT PM.  It's the best paying thing I found off the back of my original educational qualifications and subsequent work experience.  The educational quals now count for nothing, however.

I suppose most people who live near the M4 have a high chance of being in some way connected to IT based employers. I can still only use a keyboard with my two index fingers and my thumbs, then only with the tip of my tongue hanging out of the corner off my mouth. Still have no idea what most of the keys do. Those F buttons for example, who ever uses those? What are they anyway, some increasing scale of swear buttons? Like F1 is just a mild curse up to F12 which is a full on sweary?
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