Is living on the state pension really that bad?

Do you think minimum wage jobs like retail, care work, hospitality get done by magic?
Or do you think everyone can and should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get on their bikes to earn more money?

Not exactly. There's no pension pot with your name on it provided by the government. The national insurance you pay goes towards many things including the pensions being paid for the retired people of today. You get credited as having paid, meaning when you retire you're eligible for the state pension, which will be paid for out of the national insurance of those people still of working age when you're retired.

The state pension is just another out-of-work benefit. It isn't means tested, the only criteria to collect it is having paid enough national insurance throughout your life and being over a certain age.

OP
If you live in social housing, so your rent is paid by housing benefit and your repairs are your landlords responsibility, then it's doable. These are probably the best off people, providing your landlord actually does the repairs and you're not living somewhere basically unfit for human habitation and full of damp issues which really needs demolition and rebuilding.
The issues come when people are in private rented and the housing benefit doesn't come close to paying the full rent, then they'd have to top it up out of their pension, as well as the risk of having to move out and the moving costs that incurs. These are the worst off people.

As a home owner your issue would be not having enough income for funding repairs.
On the plus side, if you own the property you can do what you like with it. So if you have spare rooms you have the option of renting to a lodger to increase your income. Or downsizing to a smaller/cheaper property to free up some cash for an emergency fund.

When you're young, in good health and there's the feeling it's temporary until you get a better job or the kids grow up, roughing it doesn't seem like the end of the world. When you're old with health issues, it's a different situation. Eating rubbish food when food is your only pleasure left in life because you're too creaky to do much socialising or hobbies, and rationing the heating when being chilly leaves you in pain, things feel miserable.

But you can't change what is. If you've no ability to save for a pension then you'll just have to make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in. Worrying about it won't help so may as well put it out of your mind.

Most towns of a moderate size have a U3A and many an AIR as well. Both are very low cost to belong to, like £30 a year and most groups within the club are then free to attend.

The ones who paid in contributed enough to cover the costs of the smaller generations before them, which is not the same thing. They also didn't have enough children to replace themselves, meaning there are fewer workers to pensioners than there used to be.

I thought a pot of 150k got you around 4k a year as a rough estimate?

Either way I want to retire as soon as I possibly can, the thought of going till 68 makes me want to cry tbh. Happy to be frugal but I want to finish work at 60 therefore a private pension is essential!

Because that's what lots of people do. They spend their whole lives doing the absolutely essential, but low paid work needed for society to function.

Yes - you’re better off having no savings or small pension if it means you don’t get pension credit, council tax reductions etc.

People used to live only 10 years or so in retirement, now we feel someone has died young if they don’t make it to their 90’s. Hopefully the auto-enrolment pension rules that came in 15(?) or so years ago will mean future generations are more aware of pension planning. I personally don’t think I could manage with 12k a year.

@Julen7 I think it’s unfair on those who will have a modest workplace pension. I think there needs to be some sort of media campaign as current young people will have to wait until 70 I reckon & there will be some who never work & spend a life on benefits & they will then get top ups. I can’t see how the current level of benefits will be sustainable for the next generation. However I can see the attraction of not working & not saving & then getting looked after into old age.

I’m in social housing so I don’t need to worry about needing a new boiler or roof, it will be covered by them. Rent will be covered by housing benefit. Council tax also covered if you’re on state pension alone.

I live in London and don’t drive so no car related expenses and I’ll have my free Oyster card to go where I want.

I won’t retire till 67 and I already know I won’t want to travel then. I’ll have done all I want to do at that point. I already find it quite tiring now at 56! Plus I’ll be alone, what 70 odd year old wants to go on expensive holidays abroad by themselves? Not many. Not interested in going with friends or other singles, tried that already, didn’t like it!

Theatre, meals out, well I find these things a bit of a waste of money anyway! I only now go for meals out for special occasions as the cost is ridiculous for what you get. I could afford it but I’m not really interested. Most of my hobbies are free or cheap.

I currently spend £50 a week on food, £50 a week on gas/electric/water/internet.
At the current rates that would leave me £130 a week. That’s enough to set some aside for any appliances breaking or whatever. Plus have some money to spend on hobby supplies, lunch out or a cinema trip, that kind of thing.

I’ve been getting what I call “retirement ready”. My house is decorated to my taste, not in any kind of trend that will date. All in colour, so not white walls that will look grubby. Furniture is also pieces I love that will last. Clothing, good quality, classic pieces (and there’s always things like vinted or whatever is popular in 10yrs time!). So I don’t predict any major expenses in those areas. Again being social housing, I won’t be forking out for a new kitchen or bathroom.

So for me personally, I will be fine. I was never going to have a large pension so anything I did get I would lose in rent and council tax so what would be the point. I wouldn’t be any better off by trying to scrimp and save now.

But it often does unfortunately.

I'm currently viewing many care homes having cared for my mum for the past 8 years, her dementia is now getting beyond the care we, as a family, can provide for her.

As mentioned, most of the very nice care homes will only accept a resident if they can guarantee 2 years worth of fees in savings (often around £200k). The rest of the care homes are not so concerned as they know the LA will step in if and when any savings run out and most most of the nice ones are booked up for months/years in advance and often with waiting lists and the rest, well, let's just say most that I've viewed over the last few weeks I've stepped out of and have sobbed for the poor people stuck in there.

This all may change if the triple lock is ditched.

The injustice at the moment is that anyone who is eligible for pension credit (paid if they never made enough contributions to their state pension) are also eligible for lots of other freebies.

The discriminates against those pensioners who paid enough NI to get the basic state pension but who don't get all the other freebies and top ups.

Only about 10% of elderly end up in long term care (more than 12 months) so the 'vast majority' live at home in the community.

Why did they spend their whole working lives on minimum wage and benefits?

I think for a single person even a decent existence is difficult on that much.

things like electricity, water and gas bills used to be very low 20 years ago. Now they make up a huge chunk of people’s monthly expenditure.

there are also other costs - dentist, house maintenance, transport, etc.

Houses require maintenance so I'd be cautious of thinking you have a free home.
My lump sum at retirement will probably fund a new roof on my home.

300k over 30 years is only a £10k a year top up, shared between 2 people is £5k each. If you need additional care later in life, this won't cover it.

Currently, you would get around £25k a year as a couple. Cost of living is getting more expensive. State pension is expected to drop.

So can you afford to live on £10k a year if state pension becomes nothing. Probably not

Lots of people in this country are likely to be screwed, quite worrying that they aren't preparing

I'm retired. I get my State Pension (around £900 a month) and another small pension (about £750 a month). I don't have a mortgage. I live frugally but comfortably and within my means. I certainly couldn't manage on the State Pension alone.

Spot on. This is my experience too.

You won't get the state pension until you reach pension age so if that's all you've got early retirement isn't an option. There's been an issue in Ireland where some jobs have 65 as retirement age but state pension doesn't kick in until 66 leaving people having to go on job seekers allowance to bridge the gab and also means they have to prove they're actively seeking work in that year as well.

It depends on your age.
And you're talking about TWO state pensions = £25K.

If you are in your 90s, don't drive, don't go on holidays, don't buy many clothes etc, then you could JUST about manage.

But AS A SINGLE PERSON out of the £12K state pension, £3K could go on council tax, £1.5K on utilities. £1K on water rates, then there is house insurance, car running costs, food, clothes, gifts for family, etc etc.

I think you're confusing things when you talk about a £300,000K pension pot. That equates to a monthly income, although some people take it as a lump sum.

For example, a pension pot of £1.2million might give an annual pension of £40-60K, with or without taking a lump sum up to £250K.

If as a couple you will have 2 state pensions = £25K a year you could survive but it would be tight.

The issue will be if you are widowed and have only your own pensions.

That all depends on where you live, to an extent. In London I can't afford the theatre except on very rare occasions and holidays are a complete non starter. I do go out for coffee with friends and belong to a book club and bridge classes (which are free) but I live on a tight budget. As a result I spend a lot of days at home.

Love it. There was no keeping my grandma in until the day she died.
Snow, get the snow boots out, rain, get one of her 300 brollies out, bad back, get the wheelchair out!

I grew up very poor and so the people around me growing up were all poor. They're now pensioners living in council properties on state pensions and top up benefits. They have more spare money now than they ever had in their working age lives when on minimum wage jobs and state benefits. I bet they'd be described in the media as the pensioners living in poverty but they knew much worse poverty when they were actually working and with children to look after.
This isn't a criticism btw, I'm glad they're not living in such poverty anymore.

Says someone who obviously hasn't a clue about rheumatism. ( Not just a disease of the elderly either if it was that age group you wanted to pop at)

That's what I said.

Only the very rich can afford to be in care homes that don't t take any state funded people.

The vast majority end up side by side with people paying privately until their funds run out and the state takes over.

Lower cost care does not mean low quality care.