Pension income

I’ll have about £60k PA from my work pension and about £1m in property by retirement age so I should be fine . I’m not counting on anything from the state!

For homeowners, it is possible to live a comfortable life on state pension alone, with a small savings pot for emergencies.

Surely, the biggest factor in calculating the amount of pension you need depends on if you have to pay rent.

For homeowners, once the mortgage has been paid off other household bills are relatively low and you no longer need anywhere as near as much income.
For someone who rents, nothing changes.

I'm not suggesting homeownership/renting is the only factor. Lifestyle does come into it and if you want to continue enjoying sky tv, gym membership and going to costa coffee a couple of times a week then of course you need to factor that in. But that is peanuts compared to finding the money to pay the rent.

I actually have a fairly small income from my pensions ( 2 work related ones and State), less than £2000 but I started saving hard for retirement 15 years ago when I paid off my mortgage. I live alone since my divorce so only need enough for one person.

So, in addition to my monthly pensions going into my bank account, I have another pension pot (£300,000) untouched which I will draw down from as necessary. I also have various investments such as a couple of ISAs, savings account and shares portfolio managed by a FA - which I’ve been dipping into since I retired at 60 for large purchases like a car, new roof, new kitchen etc.

I was quite happy with my funds and was expecting them to last my lifetime but was prepared to downsize if necessary to acquire additional funds later in life, then my mother died and left me a decent inheritance which I was not expecting. I will be giving most of that to my three children over the next few years as I don’t really need it.

As a younger adult, I did not think overmuch about retirement funds, we lived through some tough times in the 1980s and almost lost the house when the mortgage rates went up to over 15% so I am very grateful that I was able to save in my 50’s once the children had left home.

I retired at 57 (now 59) taking my DB pension.
OH (56) still working 2-days a week (for the time being and they are stopping soon), they are still paying into a private pension.
Current income from pension & work around £38k (no mortgage or debt).
We have ISA's, PB's, shares etc but are not actively looking to save any more (income from these not included in the above figure).
We both have DC pensions which neither of us have accessed yet (each pot is only worth about £100k) but will probably look to draw these down by SPA.

We both worked hard and think we deserve to enjoy our early retirement, our pensions & savings make us financially secure which is what I think concerns most people nowadays.

I'm not prepared to disclose amounts but I have a state pension, a reduced due to ill health occupational pension and I work part time on a self employed basis. I'm mortgage free and can finance the things I want to do by and large. Without the self employment I'd have to be more frugal.

I keep looking at these 'you need to have a pension pot of several squillion to have any standard of living in retirement', but surely - it all depends? If you've paid off your mortgage and have reasonably small day to day bills, then anything else is just jam, surely?

I have only teeny tiny workplace pensions, when I retire and get the state pension I will have approximately £1000 per month coming in. That's more than I get from working at the moment (I work part time). I have a very variable income stream from self employment, which I can continue once I'm retired, but don't like to rely on because it can be SO variable. But I've no mortgage and my bills are quite small. Unless I suddenly take up three day eventing and bi-monthly skiing trips, I can probably manage.

I have no idea how much I need and I will just adapt my lifestyle to whatever I have. I find it really hard to envisage. My life in retirement will be very different. Currently work long hours so limited time to need to entertain myself. Currently no health issues which get to be expensive later on. Will not have a mortgage to pay or need to save nor should travel costs be as great.

I know I want my last years to be comfortable and afford paid help and care when needed. I would like to retire earlier than state pension age or more accurately be able to afford not to work should I lose my job before then.

We have defined benefit schemes which should be worth around £60K combined at normal retirement age plus a full state pension each - around £22K. That's gross income so we'll be taxed. Around £5K a month would be good. we'd like to retire earlier which means the DB will be actuarially reduced so we might top up from savings if needed. Also banking on more active years say 63-70 then more home based. We have been lucky enough to do a lot of long haul travel when much younger but there are so many places still to see and things to do but time is dwindling now.

I work with lots of elderly clients and health issues are quite rife once they get past 75 with some exceptions of course. You need more when you are in early retirement that is for sure.

I haven’t retired yet but will have a total income of around £2000 net pm (in today’s money) in full retirement at 67 and at 60 I will have around £1150 so to reach the target £2000 pm I will need £71000 to bridge the gap. That’s the plan.

I think £2000 will be plenty for me.

As Turmerictolly said. It's really dependant on what you see your life looking like in retirement. What your predicted expenses might be etc. There is no set amount that someone needs.

If I had multiple income streams, I'd be looking to retire early! I wouldn't be working till 67 (which I will be) to have more money in retirement. So that's a factor too.

Amongst the people I know, most are done with big trips and going out all the time by around 72. Either due to health issues or just generally wanting a slower pace of life. I don't doubt there are some people still on the go at 75+, it's just not something I have personally seen and I doubt I will be like that. So I'm not factoring in needing huge amounts for holidays and social stuff. But if that is your norm, then your view will be different.

Following this, I’ve seen the articles too and they use a guideline aligned to your earnings but by the time I retire I’ll be mortgage free so that seems odd.

I don't think I'll have a comfortable retirement on any less than £80K a year (as a couple). We like to eat out a lot and go on holiday and general bills have gone up. My friend could live on a third of that as she is a home person, likes pottering in the garden, eats in a lot so everyone's different. Appliances will need replacing, there'll be home maintenance stuff, possibly carers and other help needed in the future. None of it cheap.