Is anyone going to be living just on state pension when they retire?

[Shinyseas]

It looks like I will be. Never really earned enough to put money aside for a pension, married someone who was terrible with money and at the age of 51, have youngish DC so even though I’m earning better money now, I’ve got to get them through teenage years, then off to Uni. All feels too late to save anything decent. I’ll be early 60s before my youngest leaves home.

When I checked this week, my private pension is set to give me 1.5k a year 🙁

People do survive on the state pension I know - but it must be very very tight.

Remember being in work 'ecomonically active' generates work for other people, ie the person who serves you in the petrol station, the bus driver and cleaner, the people who work in the takeaway shop

The same applies to those who don’t work, unless you think living on a pension means you don’t have a car, travel on buses or eat takeaways. Like I said, money’s money, regardless of its source and all income should be taxed equally.

Maybe because the income pensioners have is from their own funds - saved in a pension or the state pension they have earned the right to by working...and earning a taxed income?

I appreciate that a private pension has the tax credited - but that is just a way of the Gvt saying 'we will not tax you on savings towards your pension because we know that your private pension means you will not have to claim Pension Credit, and that you will spend that pension in the economy, including paying VAT'

It's workers who are out 5 days a week that keep the coffee shops and sandwich bars going. I doubt they'll be many pensioners who buy a takeaway lunch 5/6 days a week.

Someone up thread suggested pensioners should have a higher tax free allowance, I really don't think that would be fair based on the costs of actually going out to work.

I don't understand this as it says online: "Lump sum payment
You can get a one-off lump sum payment if you defer claiming your State Pension for at least 12 months in a row. This will include interest of 2% above the Bank of England base rate.
You’ll be taxed at your current rate on your lump sum payment. For example, if you’re a basic rate taxpayer your lump sum will be taxed at 20%." Can you explain your set up?

Unfortunately not everyone lives in areas with cheap housing and cheap council tax. The amount of council tax varies so much according to where you actually live as well as what you live in.

It's workers who are out 5 days a week that keep the coffee shops and sandwich bars going. I doubt they'll be many pensioners who buy a takeaway lunch 5/6 days a week

I doubt there will be many workers doing it either the way things are going. Those establishments must be a tiny section of the economy in any case.

It's still a section of the economy. Workers generate work for other people, the small sandwich places, burger vans, nurseries, and to an extent domestic cleaners etc it's commuters who keep trains and buses running not the people who nip to town once a week.

But whatever way you look at it, it makes little sense for pensioners to have a higher tax free allowance than anyone else.

Pensioners spend their money, if they have it, just as others do. Just on the things that are relevant to them.

People who work from home don't buy takeaway lunch.

But whatever way you look at it, it makes little sense for pensioners to have a higher tax free allowance than anyone else

On that we agree! 🙂

There are lots of retired people go everyday to the café that my DD works in. They get food and a friendly hello from staff who remember them and ask about their lives.

State pension has been shit for years, it has been low goverment priority. Its as if as soon as you hit 60+ you don't count.
We need to pat more tax into a ring-fence pension that gives everyone a chance to live in the old age & not just exist.
I would rather pay nore pension tax if it guaranteed me a half decent living pension rather than saving into pot style private schemes when I know very little about stockmarkets (current savings just keep going down)

State pension has been shit for years, it has been low goverment priority. Its as if as soon as you hit 60+ you don't count.
We need to pat more tax into a ring-fence pension that gives everyone a chance to live in the old age & not just exist.
I would rather pay nore pension tax if it guaranteed me a half decent monthly living pension rather than saving into pot style private schemes when I know very little about stockmarkets (current savings just keep going down)

Genuinely, I'd love to see a breakdown of bills at only £200pm? Especially with energy prices currently.

Assume that's renting. For home owners, there's additional costs I.e. building and contents insurance, gas/boiler servicing insurance. Things will break down or need repairing which I'm saving a 40k sink fund for and I'm not sure that's enough depending on longevity.

my Mums bills are more than £200 but has medium 3 bed house council tax with 25% reduction £145, heating + electric£60 was 40, phone and broadband £25, mobile SIm only 4.50 water £16, car heating and house insurance £28 approx £279 maybe a bit less as council tax only 10 months

Well no because that rewards people for making bad decisions or not working

Bad decisions.., like working in the care sector ? Like focusing on raising their family ?

What kind of “bad decisions” do you have in mind @Organictangerine?

I'm sure there are loads of people sitting at home not working on the off chance pensions might go up. (biscuit)

I think everyone should have a right to food and a warm safe home close to family and friends

After that, it's up ton people to make their own way but that basic safety net of civilisation should be provided

And there is more than enough money in the world to do this if it was more evenly spread

I work a corporate job that I can't wait to leave, I really hate it, I could give you a huge list of jobs I'd rather do, caring for people, caring for animals, the arts, gardening, you name it, but I made a choice to take a better paying job so I could have a decent retirement. I also don't have kids, because I would have had to sacrifice either owning my own house or my pension provision, possibly both.

So while working in the care sector or raising kids aren't bad decisions, they are conscious decisions, and people should own them.

Her bills are
£40 fuel (Gas and Electricity, long fix)
Phone £20
Council tax £120
Life insurance £15
Total £195

She doesn't have a car or broadband. As she rents from a Housing Association she doesn't have property maintenance costs.

I work a corporate job that I can't wait to leave, I really hate it, I could give you a huge list of jobs I'd rather do, caring for people, caring for animals, the arts, gardening, you name it, but I made a choice to take a better paying job so I could have a decent retirement. I also don't have kids, because I would have had to sacrifice either owning my own house or my pension provision, possibly both

So while working in the care sector or raising kids aren't bad decisions, they are conscious decisions, and people should own them

I honestly don’t know where to start with that. There aren’t enough corporate jobs - whatever they are - to go round, regardless of whether anyone wants them or not. If everyone had a corporate job, who would look after care home residents? And if nobody had children, where would the tax payers of the future come from? And the care workers you’ll probably need in your dotage?

Why should people working in jobs that benefit society be disadvantaged? You make it sound as if people working in poorly paid jobs in the care sector are making a lifestyle choice.

Thanks @Keepitonthedownlow it's helpful to see a breakdown, as I was wondering if I was missing a trick.

How lucky is your Mum is to have a long elec/gas fix at £40pm and I guess she's not paying water and you say she has no internet, not running a car etc. For a home owner, my starting point is about £400pm plus repairs and maintenance. So £200pm total bills (single person) isn't achievable for most.

Her bills are
£40 fuel (Gas and Electricity, long fix)
Phone £20
Council tax £120
Life insurance £15
Total £195

She doesn't have a car or broadband. As she rents from a Housing Association she doesn't have property maintenance costs

Have you added the rent on to these figures?

She is still skint a lot however