What happened when the ‘Quiterati’ woke up to the reality of life after work

Like millions of us, Shany Hagan would sit at her desk fantasising about spending her days flitting from one holiday destination to another, cocktail in one hand, artist’s paintbrush in the other.

The idea of being able to quit the rat race years ahead of the national pensionable age of 66, was thrilling. 

So much so that in December 2019, Shany, 54, did what most of us can only dream of: at 51 she took early retirement from her 20-year career in electronics.

‘I sold my four-bedroom, three-storey house, paid off the mortgage and bought a gorgeous cottage on the outskirts of York mortgage free,’ says Shany, who is divorced with a grown-up son. 

‘The day I left the office for the final time, I had no intention of ever working again. Since my divorce 16 years ago, I had been adamant I’d work and save like mad to retire after I turned 50 — and I made it happen. 

‘I did so with a terrific financial cushion made up of savings, a pension and the proceeds of my house sale, and immediately filled my days with my artwork, charity work and travel.’

So why, almost four years on, does Shany once again find herself on the treadmill of working life? For all her savings, she hadn’t foreseen that the cost of living would skyrocket and squeeze her out of early retirement — and she’s far from alone.

According to new data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), what had been a growing trend for early retirement — 300,000 did so during the pandemic — seems to have slammed into reverse with soaring bills driving many back into the workplace. 

There were 1,083,000 under-65s recorded as being retired in the three months to March 2023, 93,000 fewer than a year ago.

In March 2022 ONS figures revealed that record numbers of women in their 50s such as Shany were retiring early. 

But there’s already a new trend to counter that — the women who are unretiring. It will be music to the Government’s ears as they try to encourage the over-50s back to fill a national skills deficit.

Shany took a job with a data protection company last year, earning £6,000 less than she did pre-retirement.

‘I went to the supermarket yesterday for a few basic bits including fruit and veg and was horrified when the cashier told me they came to £42,’ says Shany, a talented artist who is a finalist in an awards scheme for painting and donating her art to charity.

Kiran Ram, 51, took early retirement from her 20-year career with British Airways, but found that the initial gloss soon began to pall

‘My utility bills have trebled, my weekly food bill used to be around £40 and is now always over £90, and petrol costs have made me selective about how often I use my car. Even the price of my art materials have shot up.

‘I managed trips to Majorca, Greece, Portgual and Belgium when I retired, but a year ago, I noticed my savings were dwindling faster than I had budgeted for and thought, that’s it, I’ve got to put a stop to this. I’m going to have to get a job. It’s not what I wanted to do, but it’s necessary.

‘Now I balance work and painting for charity, but I’m terrified I’ll be working till I’m 80 with no hope of ever retiring again.’

Early retiree Kiran Ram, now 56, is delighted to be back in the office, though it’s certainly not what she had planned.

In 2018, aged 51, she took early retirement from her 20-year career with British Airways, latterly as a member of the fraud investigation team. 

The adventures that featured so heavily in her daydreams about retirement beckoned for real and, with a financial cushion in the form of her pension and savings — including her husband’s investments — she was cock-a-hoop at clocking off for the last time.

‘For years I’d worked shifts, day and night, often seven days back to back and I was exhausted with no time for myself,’ says Kiran, who has a 27-year-old daughter and lives in Berkshire with her 63-year-old husband. 

‘I longed to travel to far-flung destinations, take yoga classes, and sit by the sea with a good novel.

‘My husband had retired in 2010 aged 50 after selling his luxury car business and was happy living a slower pace of life, and I thought I’d be OK with that, too. So when my dad became ill in 2016 I thought more seriously about retiring early and I’m so glad I did as it gifted me a few months with him before his death in May 2018.

‘That first summer of freedom was lovely. I enrolled at the Institute of Nutritional Endocrinology and Functional Medicine University in the U.S. to study women’s midlife health and nutrition online, joined the gym, went to hot yoga and pilates classes, cooked, gardened and read. 

‘I visited a friend in America, let my hair down on a trip to Florence with four old school friends, and holidayed in LA and San Diego with my daughter.’

Kiran found that the initial gloss of her early retirement soon began to pall. With her friends still working, there was nobody to call to meet for coffee or a walk midweek, so she began to retreat.

‘I’d spend hours watching Netflix and, as much as I loved gardening, it was solitary. It affected my relationship with my husband — two retired people sitting at home all day wasn’t healthy. I began to crave the sense of purpose, structure and human interaction that working life brings.’

In January 2022, Kiran found a customer service manager role with Crocus, the online garden firm.

She works 35 hours a week alongside hosting a Make Menopause Easy podcast and building a private health practice (kiranram.com), having qualified as a functional medicine health coach. 

‘Early retirement seemed so alluring when I was bogged down in my old career, juggling home and work, but the reality was very different from the daydream. I just wasn’t ready to stagnate and quit yet.

‘Even though financially I was in a position to remain retired, having a regular income again now —even though it’s half of what I used to earn — gives me the freedom to choose how I continue to invest in my personal development and to splash out on more holidays.’

Kim Ovenstone, 62, decided to resume her 20-year career as a private maternity nurse after six years out of the workforce because she was worried about being lonely

Research by financial services think tank The Wisdom Council revealed 24 per cent of people are worried about being lonely in retirement — and it’s what prompted 62-year-old Kim Ovenstone to resume her 20-year career as a private maternity nurse after six years out of the workforce.

When she retired in 2014, aged 54, she had no intention of ever doing another day’s work in her life. 

‘My job had taken me around the UK and the world, including Switzerland, Dubai, Florida, even aboard a superyacht which sailed from Monaco to Malta, Corsica and Capri,’ says Kim, who’s single and lives near Cardiff.

She has three children aged 33, 32 and 30. ‘I took a career break to raise my kids but returned to maternity nursing in 2007.

‘I was permanently enduring sleepless nights going from one newborn to another, living in with the families who hired me. It meant I couldn’t go to the gym, take holidays or see friends and family. In the end, early retirement couldn’t come soon enough.’

With ample savings, a healthy pension and a frugal approach to spending, Kim was financially set for life. 

‘I gardened, walked, did yoga and exercise classes, met with friends and family and jetted off all the time . . . Many of my friends were also retired, so I was never short of company.’

That was until lockdown, when Kim was left feeling incredibly lonely and down. Then a chance phone call from a mum in Bristol, whom she’d worked with before she retired, changed everything.

‘She wanted help with her newborn and I decided to go for it, despite not having entertained a single thought about returning to work. 

‘Anything was better than being alone during lockdown. I did my consultancy over FaceTime . . . It snowballed with referrals from there and, unexpectedly, I regained my love of work, having been adamant I’d retired for good.’

Kim now works three nights a week, living in with a family.

Mary Cambray was in a fortunate financial position after she and her husband Richard sold their successful estate agency and property development company in 2018 when she was 51.

While Richard continued working on a variety of property-related projects, she imagined her days would be filled with volunteering as a magistrate, organising charity events and managing family life — they have two teenagers aged 18 and 16 and live on a farm in Shropshire.

Yet just six months into this newly acquired freedom, she realised she needed something more.

‘Before selling the business we’d had a watershed moment, having lost both sets of parents, and I wanted time to take stock, but the problem was that I didn’t have a firm plan as to what I’d do with all this new freedom,’ says Mary, now 55.

‘There had been times during my career when I’d mused about how lovely it would be not to be shackled to work, such as all the times I missed school plays and sports days or had to leave my children with their nanny when they were ill. 

‘But my new freedom quickly translated to boredom. I lacked mental stimulation and purpose having run a company for so long.

‘There was the initial thrill of freedom, and of not having to be in an office, and it was lovely to be able to meet a friend for coffee or watch my children playing a sports fixture. But it wasn’t enough.’

Mary’s reinvention as a history teacher came out of the blue, fuelled by a search for meaning. ‘I have always loved learning and education interests me,’ she says.

‘If I was going to return to work, it needed to be completely unrelated to my career in property and so a challenge.’

Mary sought guidance from the charity Now Teach (nowteach.org.uk), which offers advice to career-changers on applying and preparing for teacher training, and took a PGCE last year. She now works four days a week at a secondary school and is thrilled.

Just six months after Mary Cambray, 51, and her husband Richard sold their successful estate agency and property development company, she realised she needed something more  and retrained to become a secondary school teacher 

‘It’s about giving something back, which sounds a bit evangelical, but it’s also made me realise just how important education is. I absolutely love it here.

‘One of the great joys of teaching is the relationships I’m able to build with some of the children, and the times that require me to put on my maternal head to guide them. 

‘I have Wednesdays off to do the things I want, such as meeting friends for lunch, a luxury I didn’t have when we owned our business. I actually can’t imagine ever retiring permanently now.

‘Retiring — early or otherwise — requires careful planning, however much disposable income you have. I’m extremely happy to be working again, not that I imagined this would ever be the case the day we sold our company.’