Is living on the state pension really that bad?

I live alone, receive state pension and small private pension, can’t afford to retire and still working full time, a bit soul destroying

Can't you just stay with your family in Australia?

https://www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/

This is a really helpful guide.

£40k isn't for a basic life, it's for a comfortable life as a single person household.

thats my business

Living on the state pension is fine with two of you.

I won't be able to afford to live here if DH dies, despite being mortgage free. £1000 a month won't cover my council tax, bills and food.

I live alone, receive state pension and small private pension, can’t afford to retire and still working full time, a bit soul destroying

What do you get PIP for?

I mean, if you own your home then you’re getting around £250 a week just for bills and spends.
i have a tiny pension and DH has none. I am always worrying about this but then realised that we will have no rent or mortgage to pay.
im just wondering if it would be as awful as people make out? I hear stuff saying you need £300000 in pension pot to have a comfortable retirement, why would you need that much?

I imagine it depends on whether you want to survive or actually enjoy life?

It's a bloody long way to go just to stay in someone's house. Which might not be in a particularly nice place.

Would it work if you moved in with her? Or she with you?

I get PIP …I go swimming…I do some bits of diy….and guess what ? …l meet up to socialise with my mates 😊

She has some savings, and acknowledges she will have to whittle them down and go on pension credit. She is in a council house and still has to pay rent.

Can't you just stay with your family in Australia?

Clearly not that disabled going swimming, to the gym and doing DIY yourselves in between all your socializing . let me guess both claiming carers premiums on pension credit for looking after each other too?

We manage fine on state pension, pension credit, and PIP. No private pension or other private income. House is paid off. Council tax is paid. Live in London where we have free public transport and it goes almost everywhere we need to go. We have a car and use it about once a month. Don't pay road tax due to PIP. Lots of cheap entertainment including free swimming and gym at the council leisure centre, cheap exhibitions and places to visit (some are hugely discounted due to being on pension credit, eg £1 Tower of London, £3 Zoo). We often do theatre trips with last minute deals and DH goes as my carer. Lots of cheap/free events all over London including orchestral concerts, opera tickets, V&A, Kew, talks and public lectures. We use seat filler websites too which gets us cheap tickets to gigs, theatre, concerts etc.
Dental and optician costs are NHS, we have to pay for some things but much cheaper than private. Prescriptions are free. We get help towards bills and don't scrimp on heating (though we dress sensibly and don't walk around in shorts in winter). We get half price water bills due to medical condition. Cheap phone and broadband on a social tariff.
Socialising is mostly cheap, eg meeting up in friends' houses, a walk to the various parks. We don't spend money on things like nail treatments or coffees out, we've never done that so we don't miss it. We eat well by cooking from scratch at home, grow some of our own food in the back garden, and buying from community pantries.
We don't have a cleaner or gardener and don't feel we need one (we have all the time to clean and it doesn't get too dirty with 2 adults in the house, low maintenance garden). We do most basic maintenance and DIY on the house ourselves. No pets.
We go on holiday every couple of years, sometimes we join our dcs and dgcs so it works out quite cheap, but we've also had cruise bargains in the off season. We buy clothes when needed, not as a hobby. Things like furniture and appliances get replaced if they break, and we have enough savings to be able to pay for things like that, but it's infrequent. Pension Credit allows you to have savings up to £10k before PC is affected, which is a higher threshold than UC.
DCs will help out sometimes, eg they've given a tablet and phone as a joint gift. They live locally so no big costs for visiting them. We are able to pay for gifts for them and dgcs but nothing extravagant, but they are happy.

So sorry to hear that! She might be entitled to other benefits.
Sorry for your loss!

Life of Riley.

Me and DH ( 62 and 64 ) have decided we cant afford to retire until health forces us

We are both on course for full pension when we get there and I have a tiny NHS pension so if we were looking at todays sums - just £2200 every four weeks , but at the moment we take home just around £3k a month between us - both of us now PT

We have been mortgage free for a good few years now

We are used to cutting the cloth so whilst we choose not to retire we are going to be feeling quite rich - compared to now

But now our life isnt really a struggle. We eat well, if plainly. We go out at the weekends , we have a meal out every now and then ( we dont do take away ) , we dont have holidays abroad but holiday in the UK once or twice a year . We keep on top of repairs on the house and can pay for replacements - since covid we have needed a new oven, new fridge/freezer, new tv and new mattress - all within 18 months and we have the money earmarked for the washing machine replacement as its on its last legs

We will have to downsize eventually so hopefully that will help when we do retire. Fuel is our biggest expense - we are on oil and it's a big house . Im looking forward to getting a two bedroom on mains gas :)

I think if you dont have huge expectations of what retirement means its doable on the state pension

Our families are in Australia and we have never been, but we have been saving the past 2 years just £1 coins left in the pocket and purse, and within 2 years, we have flights paid and accommodation Another year ( with mother dyeing at the moment ) we will be going on the journey of our lifetimes

Basically we live, pay our bills and squirrel away what we can . We dont owe a penny. We save for what we want and then put that away and pay on 0% finance - JIC an emergency

We manage fine on state pension, pension credit, and PIP. No private pension or other private income. House is paid off. Council tax is paid. Live in London where we have free public transport and it goes almost everywhere we need to go. We have a car and use it about once a month. Don't pay road tax due to PIP. Lots of cheap entertainment including free swimming and gym at the council leisure centre, cheap exhibitions and places to visit (some are hugely discounted due to being on pension credit, eg £1 Tower of London, £3 Zoo). We often do theatre trips with last minute deals and DH goes as my carer. Lots of cheap/free events all over London including orchestral concerts, opera tickets, V&A, Kew, talks and public lectures. We use seat filler websites too which gets us cheap tickets to gigs, theatre, concerts etc.
Dental and optician costs are NHS, we have to pay for some things but much cheaper than private. Prescriptions are free. We get help towards bills and don't scrimp on heating (though we dress sensibly and don't walk around in shorts in winter). We get half price water bills due to medical condition. Cheap phone and broadband on a social tariff.
Socialising is mostly cheap, eg meeting up in friends' houses, a walk to the various parks. We don't spend money on things like nail treatments or coffees out, we've never done that so we don't miss it. We eat well by cooking from scratch at home, grow some of our own food in the back garden, and buying from community pantries.
We don't have a cleaner or gardener and don't feel we need one (we have all the time to clean and it doesn't get too dirty with 2 adults in the house, low maintenance garden). We do most basic maintenance and DIY on the house ourselves. No pets.
We go on holiday every couple of years, sometimes we join our dcs and dgcs so it works out quite cheap, but we've also had cruise bargains in the off season. We buy clothes when needed, not as a hobby. Things like furniture and appliances get replaced if they break, and we have enough savings to be able to pay for things like that, but it's infrequent. Pension Credit allows you to have savings up to £10k before PC is affected, which is a higher threshold than UC.
DCs will help out sometimes, eg they've given a tablet and phone as a joint gift. They live locally so no big costs for visiting them. We are able to pay for gifts for them and dgcs but nothing extravagant, but they are happy.

No, he never had one. He was on ESA for years.

Does she not get his pension?