Retirement Oz - How do I choose when to retire

How do I choose when to retire - would £400,000 be enough?

I want to retire at 55 and live abroad, probably France. How much savings should I need to retire if I live to say 90? www.whentoretire.co.uk

Public Comments

i would not personally say that 400 grand would be enough purely due to the fact that you are going to have to invest in a property and pay off a mortgage or pay upfront then your gonna have to keep on top of bills for the next 35 years, then you will need luxury items around your home. and the list just goes on
lets think about it this way: 90-55= 35 years 35 years more or less is close to 40 years 400,000/40= 10,000 Pounds per year (it would be slightly higher though, like 11K). Could you live on that much per year? Or what if you live longer? or shorter? The nice thing about that much is atleast (unless I am wrong) you may not have to pay that much in the way of taxes on those savings.... plus alot of expenses will already be paid off.
impossible to answer you have to think of moving cost property cost the cost of living would you have a pension or not
$1,000,000 (Canadian Dollar)
If you retired in 2007, four years ago the value of the pound has dropped 30% since. What do you think it will be worth when your 90?
The usual way of investing retirement funds is via annuities. These are done via insurance companies and the idea is that you give them the cash and they give you an income. If you die young they win and if you live longer than average you win. I think the average now is about £6000 per annum income per £100,000 invested - it comes down a bit if you want to put your spouse into the equation for a half pension, since women live longer. Annuity rates are basically tied into interest rates and are low at the moment - once you take one out you are into a "fix". Buy a decent Sunday paper and look at annuity rates in the money section. If you want to do it all via your own savings than you take the risks on the investments and the responsibility for getting the best rate. You might do better or you might not.....