So what happens when we're all old and we don't own our homes?

[user8665410]

Genuine question.

I'm a millennial with no hopes of ever buying a property despite earning a decent income.

There are many in my situation.

What happens when we're all in our 70s, 80s and 90s - which we will be because medical technology keeps letting us live longer - and no longer able to work. Where will we live? Who will support us? Will we just get kicked out of our homes we've been renting for (potentially) decades??

My current rent is £2,585.00, the State won't be supporting that I'm sure.

What happens to renters at the moment when they stop working? They don't end up on the street

Inheritance is what happens.

They pay high taxes which pays for elderly care. They pay high taxes which pay for the current pensioners state pension.
the fewer children being born the less money there is in the pot to care for elderly. If the last child was born today how would people currently born survive in people in 2100? Dramatic yes but still a huge issue with an aging population.

Yep. I don't own, and I will never inherit as my parents are in a council house.

Exactly, people are assuming we all live in a fantasy world with high paying jobs where we can just snap our fingers and get a mortgage.

The fact rent is (often, not always) so much more expensive than mortgage repayments is why renters who can't afford the deposit/not eligible for a mortgage are so shafted. Almost all of my friends have been turned down for mortgages. People who bought years or decades ago have no idea how tough it is to get a mortgage.

And the amount of people going "but with your fancy London salary you'd easily be able to afford to buy in random village in the NE" - yes but to earn a London salary you need to be working IN London, which means living in or within commuting distance of London. If you weren't in London anymore than you wouldn't be earning that much anymore.

I don't understand why people struggle with understanding logic - realistically if I moved somewhere where houses are that cheap, I'd have to give up my entire career and take some random entry level job in a different career for a fraction of what I earn now. (Assuming anyone would hire a disabled mentally ill woman with no experience in the first place.) And with such a drastically reduced salary, I wouldn't be able to afford mortgage repayments.

They move in with friends/sofa surf.

They live off their savings, meaning any chance of saving for a deposit is gone.

They go back to living with their parents.

They wind up in grotty bedsits.

They give up their careers and find jobs in different industries.

They move to new areas, giving up their relationships, careers and support.

They wind up in sheltered accommodation.

Some do wind up on the streets.

Or they have decent private pensions alongside state pensions so can continue to pay their rent, of they claim housing benefit to help with the rent.

I’d be astonished if pensioners moved back with their parents.

Oh, I assumed you meant people losing their jobs. I didn't realise you were talking about retirement.

I assume people don't choose to retire unless they can afford it, which is why the current situation is going to be untenable in the future - so many people will have to work until they are very elderly.

Only 4-5% of the older population are actually in care homes. This figure is supported in most western nations, even the USA.

Dementia rates have actually reduced over the last two decades. What has increased is the size of the population entering their older years, and a small percentage of them developing dementia would be a larger number.

It is the generations after the Boomers who will see the upswing in percentages of dementia cases - care of the ridiculous eating patterns that see children already developing type 2 diabetes, etc.

Where do you live that your rent is 2.5k. I guess you could move someone cheaper and buy a house there ?

That's a great theory but even if that does happen, what about people who can't buy for other reasons, ie they've not been able to save for a deposit, their credit rating is bad so they can't get a mortgage, they're ill and unable to work etc etc?

They’ll live in huge buildings( small bedsit type flats ) with shared facilities paid for out of their pension ?

Maybe they’ll live with their children?
You should learn to drive op so that you have more choice of where to live.

It is the generations after the Boomers who will see the upswing in percentages of dementia cases - care of the ridiculous eating patterns that see children already developing type 2 diabetes, etc.

How do eating habits have an impact on dementia?

Diabetes and dementia are linked.

www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-dementia-diabetes-cognitive-decline-ts.pdf

It’s happening already. Have seen someone in their 80s posting on Spareroom for lodgings .

Thanks @JenniferBooth for the link. I read that thread. I really felt for @poochypaws. All I could think of was why with all the contacts she has had with health and social care staff nobody has said, 'Now Poochypaws, I am worried about you. You are putting your own health at risk. This is too much for anyone'. Instead, it's all about pushing everything onto the person caring.

If your parents own a home you will inherit part or all of that which could either secure you a property or support you in old age. Also agree either wages will have to go up or house prices down.

It's so unfair though. I was born in late 70's I bought my first house at 20 years old, 100% mortgage (no deposit) for 28k our combined income was less than 20k. I bought exh out 6 years later and made 20k profit when I sold it about 8 years later. This covered the deposit and fees on my next house which was 135k . My mortgage is £500 a month. (Soon to go up to 700ish with interest rates) I really feel for people these days . I'm just grateful my kids will have a share of a house currently worth a quarter of a million pounds. Just unfortunate I had them young so they will (hopefully) be 60-70 before they inherit.

Also gas and electric prices make me so angry. How can companies make huge profits at the expense of suffering.

Not necessarily. I’m England people can leave their estate to whom ever they wish.

We now won't inherit despite my dad being quite well off as he's leaving it all to his new wife...

Lots of people don't inherit for whatever reason or have parents renting (or in housing benefit like my mum)

What people do is end up on housing benefit @chopc but that is limited so where they live is quite limited (eg 1 bed flat round here)

At the moment people with only a state pension get pension credit and I think but I'm not sure, means you get free council tax and other bits of government help.

OP you are clearly not typical of generation rent as your income is so high and you therefore have lots of options for the future.

If you have not bought a property by retirement age it will likely be because you chose not to and not because you were unable to afford it.

We pay less than the op. But still similar as we are in the south east.
It takes about 70% of our wages.

I think op is actually fairly typical of generation rent around me. People just making it work because the kids are at the local school, family does some of the childcare and are local, work constraints

We’ve spent over £250,000 in rent in our time so far.
we have a deposit it’s the multiples we struggle with to get a mortgage.

VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji I have every sympathy with renters. However the question is about retirement and for most renters their children will have left home before their retirement so the cost of renting could drop right down then enabling people to save for purchasing a property.

I don't view this as ideal in any way but it does mean that high income renters can probably own a home before retiring even if not whilst their children are living at home.