To think it’s crazy that National Minimum wage is £27k

Average age at inheritance is 47 peak is 55-65
average amount unt is £65k
tjats over the last 10 years and is at 22% of the population

in the next 20 years that will change to 55% of the population will receive an inheritance and £5.5 trillion will be inherited in the next 30 years

If the
£5.5 trillion in projected inherited wealth were divided equally across the entire UK population, it would amount to approximately £79,000 per person

£3.84 is from property

You wouldn't benefits isn't anywhere near minimum wage unless you have very high housing costs and multiple disabled children which isn't something anyone would wish for

What’s crazy to me is in 1980 a factory wage unskilled for shift was £12,000

and now 46 years later people accept the media’s label of cost of living crisis, rather than suppressed salary structure

£24,438 for a 37hrs week

its suppressed wages and people accept being ripped of by large companies making millions of £ worth profit.

Same 😂

Exactly. This in addition to all the things I said above.
It's dishonest to pretend that the average pensioners has the same outgoings as the average family with children or the average younger, working adult.
It's even worse than the poster on the first page pretending that she has a household income of 20k with children and lives a very comfortable life.

Some pensioners are poor for various reasons but they are, overall, much better off than the generations that followed them and certainly have much lower outgoings.

You get housing benefit, winter fuel allowance, you don’t pay National Insurance any more, prescription fees, eye tests, dental. You get cheap transport, discounted entry in to loads of places. You are more likely to have built up enough stuff to furnish a household. You can go on holiday in low season. It’s not the high life but there are more benefits than for a single person with no kids trying to build a life.

He’s either spinning you are yarn or he’s grossly and illegally underpaid

It's hardly breaking news that the state pension alone will not finance a comfortable retirement.

Because pensioners have much, much lower expenses than younger people and the state pension was only ever expected to give the bare essentials.

The great majority own their home outright so have no mortgage.
They can live in smaller homes as most don't need to accommodate a family.
They have less people living at home so bills are generally reduced.
Their food bill will be far smaller than for the average family.
They don't have all the many expenses of raising a family.

Only a small percentage rent privately and some of these will receive housing benefit anyway.

Apart from this, pensioners have already lived through their working life and many have been in a position to save up for their retirement. As a generation, pensioners are far wealthier than all other generations nowadays.

That’s the problem with civil service. I myself worked in the civil service for a period (whilst my kids were smaller) but I took a pay cut. Good for people with kids as flexible working but not great with pay.

It isn't possible because it obviously isn't true.

The poster has either made it up entirely or has missed out other key details such as their large income from benefits, being heavily subsidised by family, being able to buy a home outright from an inheritance, etc. It simply isn't possible.

Having read this thread I find it interesting that many on MN think that pensioners are living the life of Riley on just 50% of the minimum wage

And we all benefit from huge inheritances. When in reality only 20% of people in the uk inherit anything at all.

I only know ‘average’ pensioners not any rich ones but they don’t have the expense of bringing up children & often have nearly as much income as families.

Well, I have three family members including a parent who are on low incomes. I have many more former colleague friends who are in the several holidays a year and mortgage-free bracket.

Ha, I thought I was doing pretty well on 34k. I'm in the civil service. No wonder my friends on city wages looked at me pitifully when they were helping me w some financial disclosure things. Sad, really.

Plenty of well off people inherit a lot, often close to retirement age

Around 20% of people get an inheritance. That leave an awful lot of pensioners who don't.

DS1 works as a paralegal while he waits to start his legal traineeship next year. He is on just above mw. A law degree is expected for his role! 5 yrs at uni to earn £13 ph!

That must be awful. Fortunately I don't know anyone like that, reminds me of what happened recently to the lady in Spain who was evicted at 87.
Housing is the big issue here I think. If you don't have housing costs, you can live on relatively little and still have a reasonable life IMO.

The average private pension for current couples who are pensioners is £500 a month.
People on MN seem to know mainly wealthy people

Quite. This idea of us all rattling about in big houses and swanning off on cruises 3 times a year is quite alien to me.

So how is it that a pensioner is expected to live on so much less than someone of so called working age?

We are not all millionaires with big houses that have risen in value or scroungers on pension credit who never saved.. Many are stuck in the middle with very modest occupational pensions. Many now rent, have to heat their homes and buy food, pay extortionate council tax. Many pensioners have more or less the same expenses so why are we expected to manage on less?

When I become a pensioner, I will still have a significant mortgage - so I see a time when pensioners become much much poorer!

We won't finish paying our mortgage until dh is 76 and I'm 73. And we're both retired plus I don't have any income apart from state pension. We get by but we are most certainly not rolling in it. Can't downsize because the house isn't that big to start with. 12 year old car which gets us from A to B which is all that is required. There are lots of people our age who are quite well off but there are just as many who have only modest incomes.

I agree.
The people I know doing multiple cruises per year were also clerical workers,nurses, teachers ect. Some of them have been lucky that they bought property ( sometimes a flat and then a house later when a couple) very early when v cheap and now earn rental income without a significant mortgage. One of them ( who is a retired nurse) owns a beautiful house in Fulham. No nurse these days could dream of living there ( unless through social housing).

Or claims this via HMRC and does a lot of cash in hand. We aren’t daft!!

My own grandmother (20 years or so ago) wasn't rolling in it by any means and never went on any foreign holidays but these days all the pensioners I know seem to spend their lives on lavish holidays. I don't resent them but I think it's the housing.. a lot of baby boomers ect especially in the SE have made a lot of money on their house.

Having read this thread I find it interesting that many on MN think that pensioners are living the life of Riley on just 50% of the minimum wage.