Sean Leith, a 30-year-old actuarial consultant from Edinburgh, has revealed his bold plan to retire at 45 with £700,000 saved in a stocks and shares ISA, after tearing up his traditional pension strategy.
Sean, who works in pensions, decided to dramatically reduce his pension contributions to focus on building his ISA, aiming for a retirement income of £30,000 a year. He has already invested £67,000 in his ISA, more than doubling his initial contributions since 2021.
Why he ditched his pension
Sean overhauled his pension plan in July 2026 after realising the tax relief no longer matched his retirement goals. He currently has £83,000 in his employer pension scheme but reduced his contributions to 5%, the maximum his employer will match, to free up more money for his ISA.
He said: "I used to pay loads into my pension to get tax relief. Then I realised if I want to retire by 45, it was pointless. At the peak, I was paying 25% of my salary into my pension, a total of £1,450 monthly with my employer's contribution."
His investment strategy
Sean is focusing on specific ETFs and has been investing between £800 and £1,000 a month. He hopes to accumulate around £700,000 in today's money over the next 15 years, allowing him to retire by 45 or 50 at the latest.
He said: "The plan is to retire at 45, 50 at the latest. Hopefully, the ISA will have enough saved in it. I think I will need just around £700,000 in today's money. That should allow me to have £30,000 a year."
From lockdown anxiety to financial discipline
Sean's journey began during lockdown when he was signed off work for six months due to anxiety. He had no savings and struggled to pay bills, which prompted him to take his finances seriously.
He said: "In lockdown, I started really struggling with anxiety. I'd been working in finance for five years but I was spending everything each month. I got signed off work for six months, but after three months I was on the statutory minimum. I had no savings so paying bills was impossible. I said to myself, this is ridiculous. I was earning £35,000, I shouldn't be in a situation where I'm off work for two weeks and can't pay my bills."
He started by saving £100 a month and gradually increased his contributions as he returned to work and took on extra jobs.
Life after retirement
If his plan succeeds, Sean will retire nearly 22 years before state pension age, planning to travel and play sports like golf and padel. He remains sceptical about the state pension, saying: "In terms of the state pension, I don't care about the age I can access that. I don't think I'll get it either, as it will be gone or means-tested. If I'm the guy with £700,000 in my ISA at 45, I'll be ineligible anyway."
Sean's monthly outgoings include a £1,150 mortgage, £140 council tax, £100 for gas and electricity, £35 for WiFi, and a £10 phone bill.
