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

Between the cost of mortgage or rent and childcare , I don't know how people do it . And that is before you take into account increased fuel bills, petrol, council tax , food etc.

I was earning 25k several years ago and the outgoings were minimal compared to now. Consumerism is also more prominent I feel . Going for meals was a rare treat , drinks maybe . And not having a packed lunch , buying coffees , etc was almost unheard of . Even avocados weren't available!

I feel sorry for people trying to raise a family now , struggling to give their DCs a decent life , having to save for uni.

I hope some government will address these issues . And quickly.

OMG

@intrepidpanda is NOT the poster who said she and her DH lived on 20k!!

She was making a JOKE about the poster who said that!!

12,570 is the tax free allowance. That's the joke!

So does that mean NHS band 2 new entrants are earning less than the NMW?

Yes but I think they pay a living wage uplift. I used to work in a NHS band 3 role doing minor procedures while band 7/8 sat around doing 'research'. I jacked it in because I knew I'd soon be able to earn more mopping the floors. It's bollocks.

Oh I think the NMW is closer to £25k actually, that’s how the do it then.

@Hanalam no. They earn minimum wage. As do b3s. If they raise nmw much more, autonomous therapy staff admin porters and domestics will warn the same with different levels of responsibility. Not sure how that works with job evaluation.

Really. That was the declared level of inflation, calculated relatively honestly, before the shit hit the fan in the 80s, and all New Labour could do in response was enslave younger working generations and lie about it.

House prices quadrupled. Wages did not change. That’s 400%, a bit more than 27%. The difference is lies, bullshit, fiddling and propaganda.

Mine was too, before medical retirement. It was one of the most physically and mentally demanding jobs, I had ever done in my working life. Loved it though!

I think 50k between two people is a good income, you'll obviously have to make choicdes were you live and what sort of property you rent or buy but its a good income.

My first ‘proper’ full time job after uni paid around 28k, and that was more than 15 years ago!

It didn’t feel like very much back then, but at least I didn’t have a mortgage, kids etc to pay for.

I'm interested too. In my head this only makes sense if you had inheritance or something to help put a massive deposit down.

Our mortgage is 36k a year, we’d be screwed on min wage. Everything has gone up so much, petrol and food shock me every day!

Crazy because it's not true.

£24,454

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.