Is living on the state pension really that bad?

I think this is simply untrue.

My gran died in her 90s; my mum looked after her in her later years. District nurse came in daily towards the end of her life. Cost to my gran: nothing.

My uncle died in his 70s of cancer, in hospital. Coat of care: nothing

My dad died in his 70s of cancer. Cost of care: nothing

My mum in her late 80s, aneurysm, otherwise fully fit. Cost of care: nothing.

My aunt died if cancer in her 70s: cost of care nil.

My DH’s gran died rapidly of cancer, age late 90s: cost of care nil

My dad’s mum dropped dead of a heart attack, cost of care nil

My dad’s dad had Parkinson’s and was cared for at home by family until he died, cost of care nil

Literally no one in my family or dh has needed care home.

Speaking as a State Pensioner, who has a tiny occupational pension, I will say this - it all depends.

Housing is the highest gobbler of anyone's income and those of us who have been able to buy a home, keep it in a reasonable state before retiring and have fully paid it off have a huge advantage here. If all else fails, we can use our houses to generate extra income for ourselves (equity release, take in lodgers, move to a smaller cheaper house) - it's a 'safety net'. Now for those who rent their homes - whether privately or through the council - housing costs will be the same after retirement so overall living costs will be higher and there is no 'safety net'. Pensioners living on the full state pension have no obvious entitlement to state benefits - maybe housing benefits or some other local council assistance if rent is extremely high. Generally, expect to fund your rent from your own income.

Deciding where and how we are going to live is an important part of pre retirement planning. I do not recommend moving afterwards, because of the expense involved when one is on a fixed income. As others have said, it is possible to live on the pension, at the moment with the triple lock. Should the payment not keep up with inflation in the future, that could cause problems, especially for those without a financial 'cushion' to fall back on.

If you can, pay into a workplace pension to help yourself. If you cannot, I suggest putting what you can into an ISA, which you MUST not dip into, to provide at least a cushion for your retirement.

The same applies to many people who aren't retired. 39% of adults have less than a £1k in savings. I live very comfortably on my state pension, run a car, go on holiday etc. Yes I have a personal pension, which currently I'm not drawing from and other savings, but I know exactly how much I spend, and tbh I don't think I'm suddenly going to develop a taste for expensive cars and recreational pharmaceuticals. I'm sorry I have no sympathy for the Daily Fail readers, living in some old Victorian manse with a hole in the roof in a village without a shop or a regular bus service, who can't possibly move somewhere more suitable because the house is "their children's inheritance"

No, not always. Not everybody is capable of leading or managing and some wouldn't want to either. I find it strange that people can't understand that people have different capabilities. For some people, getting any sort of NMW work is a huge achievement.

If you can't make anyplans provisions or savings then I’m sorry but that’s the old age you have to look forward to.

Fixed it for you.

You'll have other bills.

We've just had to spend £60k on a new roof, completely unexpectantly. Fortunately, we had private pension money.

You also don't really want to live just on basics for the forever. What about all the bucket list things you want to do? What about contributing to a wedding, or indulging your grandchildren?

The state pension is, and always was, a safety net. It was never expected that people would not make their own arrangements for their retirement. You were also expected to drop dead soon after finishing work.

This.

I don't know any pensioners that are struggling either. There will be some but if they dont smoke or drink then I know plenty of pensioners who are ok. Give their winter fuel allowance to grandchildren since they don't need it too.

I agree, plus you have more time to shop around for bargains…..

How old are you @cateringday ?

I had no pension pot at 30 (well, about 5k) and had turned it around completely to have a very decent pension by 40. And for most of those years I was a single mum to young children and I also have a disability

So there may be plenty of time to turn things around?

The only way my mother managed on this was by three of us paying for carers, meals out, treats, occasionally food and some clothes. We also contributed to her rent in a charity run residential estate. (And yes she had attendance allowance).

My dad lives on state pension he has one of the old types so gets around 1300 a month due to additional payments he made while working. He didn't spend it all every month, but lives simply but not in poverty, he ships at lidl but picks some nice things up at m&s every couple of weeks, wears levi jeans runs a car albeit a golf he's had from new 15 years ago, he likes to cycle (not the lycra kind) , walk and fish, he supports his local team where it costs him £150 a year for a season ticket. He did have a workplace pension but it was pretty rubbish so he cashed it out before everything changed and invested it. He does have about 100k in savings but doesn't touch it unless for a holiday abroad or home repairs. His mortgage is paid off. He doesn't struggle. Having said that I grew up poor especially after my parents separated dad worked 60 hour weeks in manual jobs and mum worked multiple part time jobs in childcare and cleaning or retail, until I was in my late teens and she went to night college and got promotions etc but I think the highest salary she ever had read about 35k. So neither has a taste for a champagne lifestyle and my dad in particular has always been very sensible with money. It really depends on what your expectations are.

Yes, screw the poor. Lovely attitude.
Human life is only worth what labour they can provide.

This. My mum is on a state pension and will openly say she has never been as well off in her life. Her rent, council tax is fully paid help towards heating costs. She is even paying for the grandkids driving lessons as she can afford to do it for them.
Very different from when she was younger and a single parent raising me on a minimum wage job. Times were tough then and we could afford very little. She says she could have done with the money she has now back then.
I also know of other pensioners who say they've no idea why pensioners are always on TV crying poverty saying they have to choose between eating and heating as pensioners have never been as well off!.

What is even more sad is the number of people with a high IQ who haven't made the most of their potential during their working lives. Or those who studied to degree level, then didn't take their knowledge and skill forward. For whatever reason. Many of those people are women, If everyone in this country earnt to their full potential, we would be in a very different place economically.

That isn’t only state pension. The little bit extra from your husband’s pension will make a difference. On a low income a small amount really matters.

If you’ve made no plans provisions or savings then I’m sorry but that’s the old age you have to look forward to.

Long term plan- phase out Housing benefit. I.e leave just Universal credit and state pension but no add ons.

Tbh the state pension probs won’t exist when me and DP are at retirement age (if that even exists). We are planning accordingly but there’s always the back up plan of crossing our fingers one of the kids hits the big time and has it in their heart to take care of dear old mum and dad.

Without a mortgage or rent to pay, my late FIL managed on it perfectly well. He moved to a new apartment that had low energy bills and hardly any upkeep costs. When his health started to fail and he needed help around the home and with some care needs, he was awarded Attendance Allowance which was approx £290 per month. He also had a social care assessment carried out and because he had less than about £23000 in savings he received direct payments to pay for carers to visit his home. In some ways he was better off than friends of his who had good private pensions and savings but had to use them to pay for the upkeep of their large houses and cleaners, carers etc

I expect Welfare cuts to remove any of the pension credit extras within the next few years.

This will incentivise qualifying for state pension and also saving into a private pension.

I agree most people are saying that. But if you look at my original post I was quoting someone who seemed to be implying that state pension should pay for more than the basics.

If you own your home, what if the boiler needs replacing or the roof needs replacing? The former would be about 3 months pension wiped out. The latter would be over a year's income gone.

There are all the additional benefits like bus pass, winter fuel payment, housing benefit and reduced council tax on top of the 25% single occupancy discount.

How is it plain nasty? I expressed my opinion. I didn't insult anyone.

They don't actively give you more money but it works out as being "worth" more overall because of the other things you're entitled to if you're claiming pension credit. Someone claiming pension credit is better off overall than someone with the full basic state pension and nothing else.