I was lucky, I was made redundant at 51, because of being a member of the electrical industry pension I was entitled to my pension, on top of that the lump sum payout from the redundancy plus the lump sum from the pension, all meant I could pay off the mortgage. so mortgage free and a pension of £9000 a year - I still had to get a new job, but I have no responsibilities or stress now, and its strictly 9-5.
it should mean when I reach state pension age, I will be able to retire with a reasonable degree of comfort.
Grendel