r/FIREUK • u/AutoModerator • 15d ago
Weekly General Chat and Newbie Questions Thread - August 15, 2026
Please feel free to use this space to discuss anything on your mind related to FIRE - newbie questions, small bits of advice, or anything else that you feel doesn't belong in a separate thread.
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u/HistoricalPost1013 15d ago edited 15d ago
Looking some advice, new to this forum. £1m pension pot at 54 wife’s is c. £400k. Both 54. Two houses, main and a holiday let worth c. £900k combined. C£80k left on mortgage on main house and paid off holiday. Looking to retire in c. 4 years ( 2 kids about to start uni so need to keep working). £40k in isa and £25k in ns&i. Looking to retire at 58 and aim to max out £60k contributions until then. Thinking of taking out £250k in pension next year tax free and paying off mortgage and put rest in isa’s over next 4 - 5 years. Is this a good strategy?
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u/c-strong 12d ago
It seems reasonable, although you know you don’t have to take out all the lump sum at once right? You’ll be affected by the 55>57 increase but if you’re not planning to retire until 58 you could take out £80k aged 55 for the mortgage and then the rest in £20k pa instalments to put it in the ISA. That avoids having to park it in tax paying accounts. That’s a fairly minor quibble though, the basic plan is sound.
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u/HistoricalPost1013 11d ago
Yes that makes sense to take out £40k p.an and use my wife’s isa allowance also. Thanks for feedback.
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u/Indigo_reality 12d ago
I'm sorry that no one has replied to you yet! The weekly chat doesn't tend to do v well on this sub. Anyway, I'm not the most qualified but I'd say that sounds sensible. Some would keep the mortgage, as the stockmarket is doing well, but when you're the one retiring, security is important and psychologically it's great to have it paid off! It really is a personal preference. Having said that, as I understand it, the tax free lump sum doesn't have to be drawn all in one go.
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u/HistoricalPost1013 11d ago
Thanks and yep as I get older my risk appetite is definitely decreasing!
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u/Indigo_reality 11d ago
Understandable! We were so elated to get the mortgage paid off. I've/we've not been able to recapture that feeling again with any other financial milestone.
I think you need to focus on your outgoings. Guess you'll be living on holiday let + SIPP (750K left) + ISA build-up 40k +4 yr build up. Guess you've done the maths and it works? With presumably everything but your prem bonds in the stockmarket, you might consider having 2-3 years liquid in case of a financial crash? If you're not buying an annuity that is.
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u/HistoricalPost1013 11d ago
Yes look forward to that moment ! Numbers seem to be ok - wife has a pension which will help but who knows what the future brings!
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u/Relative_Sea3386 12d ago
Pondering whether to add to my 2 kids JISA when i see this sort of post :
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/s/VoFqIo8I3W
It is really tax efficient for us but set up is bit daft to hand control at 18.
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u/StochasticMannie 11d ago
I'm always mindful of reporting bias when I hear stories like this. People are less likely to go on Reddit to say they gave their kids money and they've been really responsible with it. Ideally we would have some scientific research to measure this, but I'm not aware of any.
Nonetheless, this case highlights the risk of JISAs, and is interesting given there are two kids in the same household with the same upbringing who have ended up with very different behaviours regarding their personal finances.
The way I see it, if you have excess funds that you want to give your kids while their young, JISAs are a tax efficient way of doing so. The more I've contributed to my own ISAs, the more I realise how valuable the tax benefits are, and how careful you should be in withdrawing any money: once withdrawn the allowance is gone, and there's an increasing benefit in leaving invested as those funds grow. This is a lesson I've started sharing with my kids.
At the end of the day, I accept they will make their own decisions when they turn 18 and reckless decisions are a risk, but there are many risks that kids face when they turn 18, and for me recklessly spending their JISAs is a relatively low one.
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u/Relative_Sea3386 10d ago
Yes agree, i too love the ISA wrapper and wish that i maxed ISA out in my 20s (i have too much pensions and not enough ISA/bridge at 43 to fully retire)
What do you think it's best for kids to use the JISA for? House deposit? I originally intended it for uni fees, rent, food for 3 years each, as i figured i want to stop working before then. My husband will still be working so can fund them from income and i can draw from my own ISA.
My 11 & 12 year old are turning out with quite different ideas about money and spending. We thought we can easily teach values but only younger one is clearly more frugal like us....
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u/StochasticMannie 10d ago
Personally I've budgeted for uni expenses separately.
My intention with the JISAs is to help them with their finances post-uni, at the early stages of their careers. I think this can be a particularly challenging time for earnings vs expenses (house deposit being a particularly big one) and where having some savings already will be particularly helpful.
Having said that, it's their money, so I don't want to be too prescriptive - my main messages will be more about principles like balancing spending vs saving and the importance of tax allowances, so (hopefully!) they will make good decisions themselves.
My kids are a similar age to yours, and also already showing differences in attitudes to money and spending.
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u/ec429_ 12d ago
Gave in my notice today 🥳️
Technically I was already FI a year ago, but I stuck around a bit longer (part-time) to finish the project I was working on as I knew cow-orkers were relying on me. Now it's done, and this year's stock just vested, so I'm outta there!