A jackpot can make employment income unnecessary overnight. That does not automatically make work unnecessary. Research on real lottery winners suggests many people reduce their hours rather than simply disappearing from the workforce. The better question is not only “Can I afford to quit?” but “What do I want work to become now that I have a choice?”
A £1 million win could mean complete retirement for somebody close to retirement with a paid-off home and modest spending. The same £1 million could be nowhere near enough for a 30-year-old planning a larger house, children, travel and several decades without employment income.
Start with annual spending, housing, major purchases and the number of years the money may need to last.
Work can provide routine, colleagues, professional identity, goals, responsibility and satisfaction.
Retirement, reduced hours, self-employment, volunteering, family time or a completely different career are all possible outcomes.
The best evidence does not come from asking people what they imagine they would do. Researchers have followed actual lottery winners and compared changes in employment, earnings and working hours after unexpected wealth.
| Research | Who was studied? | Main finding | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cesarini et al., American Economic Review, 2017 | Large Swedish lottery-player sample | Winning reduced labour earnings modestly. The change appeared quickly and persisted over many years. | Winners did work less, but the average response was not simply to abandon employment. |
| J-PAL analysis of the Swedish study | 249,278 lottery players aged 21–64 | Reduced earnings came partly from fewer hours worked. The effect on holding a job was smaller, and researchers found little change in occupation or employer. | Financial freedom can produce less work without requiring a complete break from working life. |
| Arvey, Harpaz & Liao, 2004 | Surveyed lottery winners | Continuing to work was related both to the size of the win and to how important work was in the winner's life. | Two people with similar fortunes can make very different choices because work means different things to them. |
| Lindqvist, Östling & Cesarini, 2020 | Swedish lottery winners followed years after the event | Large wins were associated with higher long-term life satisfaction. The researchers also found suggestive evidence that increased leisure may contribute. | Working less can be valuable without implying that everyone benefits from removing all structure. |
In the Swedish administrative data, lottery wealth reduced labour supply immediately and persistently, but much of the adjustment came through hours and earnings rather than everybody leaving employment.
These are illustrations, not retirement thresholds. The same jackpot can mean something completely different depending on the winner's age, spending and existing finances.
£1 million is life-changing, but it is still a finite sum. A mortgage payoff, house move, family gifts and several major purchases can materially reduce it before long-term living costs begin.
For somebody with decades before retirement, the win may be better viewed as the ability to reduce hours, change career, take a long break or choose lower-paid work they actually enjoy.
At this level, somebody with controlled spending may no longer need a salary to support ordinary life. The decision can therefore move away from pure affordability.
Some winners may retire. Others may keep a business, work fewer days, consult, study, volunteer or pursue work that previously did not pay enough.
A jackpot of this scale can make conventional employment income insignificant compared with the prize.
Decisions increasingly involve privacy, family, philanthropy, projects, travel, staff, property and what the winner wants an ordinary week to look like when work is no longer required.
Work-centrality research helps explain why a multimillionaire may still turn up on Monday morning.
Work creates a start time, commitments and a rhythm to the week.
Colleagues may represent a large part of somebody's normal adult social life.
Trades, professions and businesses can become part of how people understand themselves.
Goals, skills, customers and responsibility can still matter after salary becomes optional.
Research on retirement more broadly also suggests that social identity and planning for life outside work can matter to adjustment. That does not mean a lottery winner should stay in a job they dislike. It means leaving work and building a satisfying post-work life are two separate decisions.
Real winners are useful precisely because they do not all react the same way.
James Clarkson was 20 when he won £7,533,329 on Lotto in January 2025. Despite becoming a multimillionaire, the trainee gas engineer was back working with his father on blocked drains the following Monday.
Clarkson said he wanted to continue towards his heating-engineer qualification and that he needed a reason to get up each day.
Source: ITV News
Elaine and Derek Thompson won £2,704,666 in 1995. Decades later, Elaine attracted attention for continuing to work overnight stacking shelves in a supermarket.
Reporting says she viewed work as a way to remain grounded and set an example for her children. The couple also used their financial freedom to pursue their long-standing interest in horse racing.
Source: ITV News / PA
Richard and Debbie Nuttall won £61,708,231 on EuroMillions. Debbie handed in her notice, while Richard, who ran his own accountancy business, planned to stop working at the end of the tax year.
Both intended to leave working life, but they did not need to make the change on exactly the same timetable.
Source: Sky News
Joanne Jobson had worked as a carer for children with disabilities for 17 years when she won the Set For Life top prize of £10,000 a month for 30 years.
She still completed two night shifts while the result was being confirmed because she did not want to let colleagues down. Once the win had sunk in, she decided it was time to hand in her notice.
Source: ITV News / PA
Polls are not evidence of what real winners actually do, but they help show that the fantasy of “everyone would resign immediately” is not universal.
Source: Employment Hero, December 2025, based on a national survey of 1,000 UK workers. These are hypothetical intentions, not observed behaviour after winning.
“Stay forever” and “resign tomorrow” are the two extremes. A lottery win creates several middle paths.
Useful while the win is being processed, privacy decisions are unresolved or you simply want normality.
This closely resembles what the lottery labour research suggests many people naturally do after becoming wealthier.
Financial independence can make lower-paid but more satisfying work practical.
This can make sense when the prize comfortably supports the planned lifestyle and the winner genuinely wants another life.
This does not tell you whether to resign. It checks whether the main questions have actually been answered before you do.
Tick a box only when you have actually worked through the issue.
Becoming financially independent does not cancel your employment contract or change the tax and benefit rules surrounding everything else.
Holidays and celebrations are easy to imagine. Ordinary life is a better test of the decision.
Do you still want a reason to get up at a particular time, or does complete flexibility genuinely suit you?
Which regular social contacts remain once colleagues and customers disappear from your week?
What will make a day feel productive or worthwhile when earning money is no longer the measure?
There is usually no need to decide immediately. Confirm the win, understand how much you will actually have, review your employment contract and decide what you want your post-work life to look like first.
It can be for some people and not for others. Age, housing, annual spending, dependants, major purchases and how long the money needs to last are more important than the headline amount alone.
For many households £10 million could make employment income unnecessary if the money is managed appropriately. That still does not answer whether the person wants to stop working completely.
Swedish lottery research found that winners reduced their labour earnings and working hours modestly and persistently. The effect on whether people held a job was smaller than the effect on how much they worked.
Work can provide identity, routine, social contact, professional goals and purpose. Research on lottery winners has found that work centrality helps predict whether somebody continues working after a win.
There is no simple universal pattern. Research indicates that greater wealth reduces labour supply on average, but many winners reduce hours or earnings rather than leaving work entirely.
Financially being able to leave does not remove contractual obligations. Employees should check their notice period and any contract, bonus or scheme conditions before resigning.
Yes, depending on the scheme. Acas notes that some bonus arrangements require an employee to remain employed and not be serving notice on the payment date. Check the exact terms before resigning.
National Lottery winnings themselves are not subject to UK Income Tax. Income or gains generated after investing or using the money may be taxable under the normal rules.
Yes. Universal Credit is means-tested and takes household money, savings and investments into account. A life-changing lottery win would therefore normally affect entitlement.
Yes. Reducing hours is one of the most natural options after financial pressure falls, and lottery labour research suggests reduced working time is an important part of how winners respond to wealth.
Not necessarily. Partners can have different careers, commitments and attitudes toward work. Richard and Debbie Nuttall are a public example of a winning couple who planned different exit timings.
There is generally no need to disclose more personal financial information than necessary. Follow the correct resignation process and decide separately how much you want colleagues to know about the win.
There is no required answer, but family, hobbies, travel, volunteering, projects, education, fitness, charitable activity or part-time work can all provide structure and purpose once employment becomes optional.
Lottery behaviour research is separated from hypothetical polling and from individual winner stories. UK tax, benefits and employment points use current official guidance.
This page is general information, not personalised financial, investment, employment, tax or legal advice. Whether somebody can afford to stop work depends on their individual finances and spending. Employment rights and benefit rules can change, so check current official guidance before acting.
