Retiring without working

[MewMew101]

My Aunt is approaching retirement age, but she has never worked a day in her life. How would she be able to pay her bills when she does reach retirement age etc.

I’m assuming won’t have enough NI contributions to even get the minimum amount of state pension, since she has never worked? Let alone a workplace pension…

This is something that is baffling me! I would be terrified if I was in her position…

Bit of a generalisation there. I'm of her generation and I don't know any of my peers who haven't worked at all - not one.

Same here!

"In those days" was the 80s, not the 50s!

And "not as well educated"? The bloody cheek of that comment!

I was 😳 at that too!

i dont think pension at 60 is a thing now?
anyway if she has pip that explains how she will survive

If she's 60 she won't get her state pension until she's 67 so I don't really know what this thread is about.

I would imagine the finances will continue to be the same as they've always been. ie her husband earns the money. When he retires they will live off his pension and her PIP.

Do you have reason to believe he's going to leave her or something?

If so, she would be entitled to claim pension credit if she doesn't have any or enough state pension.

Depending on his pension it may be she's entitled to some of it if he predeceases her. My mum gets part of my late dad's pension.

Plus the OP has just casually mentioned the PIP, which indicates health issues, as if this would have no potential impact on the aunt’s ability to work. All a bit goady…

If she gets PIP then she must have a disability so may not have been able to work.

Has she had DC and therefore had NI credits via CB? Two or more well spaced DC could give a good proportion of the necessary credits towards a full state pension, especially as I think they used to be paid until DC were 16.

If anything, she could be better off when she reaches state pension age as she'll likely have some pension unless she's not had DC.

But even if she hasn't and has no NI contributions, she won't be any worse off so will carry on as she does now. So she'll just pay her bills as she does now, using her PIP and also her DHs salary.

She'll probably get pension credit to top her income up to the minimum if he dies before her. Or there might be a widow's pension from his pension.

Why are you 'terrified' for her?

Sounds like op just wants to bitch about aunt. As if she’s lesser some how for not working. I don’t work. Haven’t worked full time for 16 years and haven’t worked at all for 6. I might go back, might not. None of anyone’s business, including my family, what my financial plans are for the future.

Yes, I have to admit I typed a response to that too, but then deleted it as I thought I'd concentrate on the working aspect. There are different levels of education in all generations - not as many people went to university then because there weren't as many places/courses. Even my mother (I was born in the 50s) worked part time while we were little and went full time when we were a bit older.

Ah, here comes the ageism. We're not talking about the Victorian era. Women born in the late 1950s and early 1960s were often extremely well educated, and in fact could advance a long way without formal qualifications because so few people had them back then. What held them back was rampant sexism. Also, lack of childcare (at all), and especially affordable childcare.

If she's not got NI credits then no state pension. Just universal credit.

@MinervaMcGonagallsCat which she won't get if he is still working if they aren't getting it now.

Not sure how she could call it retirement if she's never worked. Never fear all the tax payers of the UK will support her if her husband hasn't already done it for her.
Those of us who've worked our whole lives and raised a family will make sure that she is just fine. 😏

Ive been accused of 'never working' by family members who aren't fully appraised of the whole picture.
In fact I worked around DH, evenings and weekends. It was not a career, more earning extra to pay the bills. And I stopped, on and off, due to caring responsibilities that nobody else stepped up for. At times I've worked 50 hours a week, but in my wider family I'm almost invisible. Even one that I cared for referred to me as never having had a proper job.
Also approaching 60. I will qualify for the lower pension rate when the time comes due to the gaps. But DH has a widow's pension set up for me. And I'm working again now, but part time

This post wound me up so much. Does the poster think we are all living in the 18th century. BTW women worked and supported their families then.

It's such an insult to the women in their 60s and above (in fact all women ever) who have worked their whole lives, had careers, raised families and been the absolute rock of everyone around them.

'Weren't as well educated'! Was this written by a man or an 'uneducated woman'? So insulting to all of the intelligent and hard working women everywhere.😖

@UrbanFan I get what you are saying- certainly for my generation and the subject in the post ( who is 60 ) it isn't the case- however I would say for women around 78 and older there was an awful lot of giving up work totally on marriage or childbirth- especially amongst slightly better off women- neither of my grandmas worked , even with older children and adult children - although one did help her husband with bits of his business about 6 hours a week

She will get pension credit. Probably do better under Labour.

No she won't if her husband has money enough to keep them - read the whole thread.

If you have a decent enough private pension that state pension is just a bonus.

No she hasn't. She's been a housewife all her married life and her husband has supported her. It was quite common in previous generations.
She would not have been able to claim dole

If she's only 60,she has 7 years to go to pension age.
If she qualifies for pip it means she has a disability. Could that be why she hasn't worked?

Yes, it sounds as though she has good reason not to work. Hopefully she and her DH have come to an agreement on all this.

I know many extremely educated, intelligent hardworking women in their 70s and above who worked all their lives and some of them still do. A few still run their own businesses.

My mother died 20 years ago she was 71 when she died. As well as raising 8 children she worked outside of the house every weekday. She was widowed in her 40s and never remarried. Never bludged of anyone and was the cleverest person I'll ever know.

Yet my Sister in law packed in working when she had her first and only child and lived off and continues to live off my brother. Just over 60 now. She has no idea whether or not she has paid any NI contributions and doesn't even have the wit to check to see what her entitlement will be but fully expects the state to pay her a living in due course. These are the bludgers irritate me. It's not a generational thing but a laziness mindset. (Oh and she's tired all the time.)

The original posters 'aunt' is likely the same. To lazy to work and happy to let someone else pay her way.

I'm not denying that there were women more than happy to be stay at home mothers or housewives. Some even gave up work as soon as they snagged a husband/provider. But in my own life experience I've only known a few households where mums/wives didn't work.