Anyone else late 50s and renting?

[50sX]

I have rented since I was 19 and have never been able to save enough for a deposit. At every stage in my life, I always felt that getting a mortgage was too far out of my reach.

I have an admin job so I’m not a high earner.

In my 30s I racked-up a lot of credit card debt and spent years paying it off.

Thankfully, I’ve lived within my means for a longtime now so have no debt but have very little savings. I have a small pension fund. I’m about to start a second side job to save a bit more.

I’m not looking for sympathy or chastising and I take full responsibility for my situation.

If you’re in the same boat as me, what are you doing to help you make and save more money to improve your situation in old age.

Thank you.

A financial advisor is no use to you, you'd be better seeing the fb groups that are geniuses on understanding the benefit system , what claims you will have & credits etc .

Citizens advice also maybe useful

My understanding is that pension credit is no longer available to new retirees. It's definitely worth checking with Citizens Advice before making financial plans

I have a pension and house-share to look forward to on retirement.

BadGranny do you mean you plan to share a house when you retire? How will that be sustainable when you get older?

I'm interested in your choices, and perhaps it's very different where you are, but in Ireland, this would be a problematic situation.

I'm interested in @BadGranny point of view too.

Yes. I don’t worry too much about increasing decrepitude - I might be run over by a bus the day after I retire. And having other people around as I get older is no bad thing.

Well more power to you. I lived in a house-share when I was in my late 40s and whilst I put a brave face on it to my friends, the reality was grim. I caused a huge scandal by using the kitchen to cook, when the steam from sautéing vegetables set off the fire alarm. Evidently I should have known that the kitchen wasn't really for cooking. Also I got up and quietly used the toilet at 5:30, more outrage. I really can't imagine a shared house at retirement age!

OP would it make sense to cash in your pension at 55 to put a deposit on a small shared ownership place? Please don't take that as advice, because I genuinely don't know!

In terms of advice, I've found the forum on Money Saving Expert to be really helpful. I've only once used a financial advisor and tbh I didn't find it super helpful. I'm considering engaging one at 55 just to see what I should do about pensions and mortgages.

Sharing a house with moderately reasonable randoms is a damned sight less painful than sharing a house with difficult parents or a troubled spouse and children! I’m actually very easy to live with and other people’s stresses don’t bother me as long as I can shut the door to my room. And if I don’t get on with my housemates, I can move somewhere else. I like the freedom to walk away if I want to, which wasn’t the case when I shared a home with parents or spouse.

Yes that's a good point, but moving is awfully expensive especially when you factor in deposits etc. But if you like the freedom, go for it!

Thank you for responding. It’s good to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t own a house!

I’m living in an EU country and have 2.5 years to go before I qualify for their ‘higher’ state pension (already worked here 12 yrs). The country has a post Brexit agreement with the UK so I’ll get a pension made-up from the years I’ve worked in the UK and the years I’ve worked here.

Once I meet the required 15 years, I plan to return to the UK. When I first moved here I thought I’d stay and retire by the coast as it is more affordable to buy here than in the UK and it seemed like a great idea! In recent years though, I found that I’ve missed my friends and family more and more. I’m 57 this year so I’ll be 60/61 when return to the UK. Hopefully, I’ll be able to transfer to a job with the same company. If not, I’ll look for work.

I have to wait until I return before I can put my name on Housing Association lists but in the meantime, I can do lots of research on this.

A few posters have mentioned a ‘HA tenancy’, does that refer to a private housing association or local authority housing?

Thanks again for all your advice.

In council home with my child so feel very secure and fortunate but in a trap where my benefit top ups mean I lose out unless I earn about 2K more than I do now so instead of earning 1K more and having it all taken back in tax and losing out on free things, I stay at 1100/month not having much, trying to increase my income, but torn between that and parenting as a single parent.

Unsure what to do really but am trying to save and earn more and get to a position where I'm better off.