Who still rents in their 40’s/50’s- What is your plan?

[Myhouseismyprison]

I live in the South East, for various reasons we have never managed to purchase our own home.

I am now in my late 40’s and DH is 50. We still have children at home who all have their lives here so unable to pick up and move somewhere cheaper just yet.

We have some savings but nowhere near enough to buy here for the house size we would need. We have rented the same house for several years but know this can change quickly and have no idea how we would afford current market rent.

I just wondered what plans people had in place for retirement? What savings accounts would be good?

Maybe I’m weird but I’m not that fussed if the place I live is mine or not. Maybe I’m complacent as I’ve been renting the same place since the mid 00s.

I do wonder what will happen when I’m finally asked to leave but I expect i will find somewhere. I won’t be able to pick and choose the location but that won’t be such an issue when retired presumably.

As a word of caution, I don’t think it’s ever wise to make drastic long term plans involving intentionally depleting your financial independence for the decades of your future where you’re most vulnerable based on current benefit eligibility criteria. All it will take is for successive governments to change those criteria and you’re in a difficult position.

@Finallybackinbootcuts Are you a social housing tenant or do you privately rent?

Absolutely this
I can't believe anyone would think privately renting so you don't have to pay for repairs is better😂
Once your mortgage is paid off you don't pay any mortgage or rent for the rest of your life, have an asset so can downsize and sell plus something to leave your DC.
In the UK private rents are extortionate and often grotty plus unstable.
HA/Council a much better option if you can't afford a mortgage.

I was approaching 40 and renting in the SE, so I bought a house abroad. Weeks later, the Brexit referendum was announced and the red tape is an ongoing nightmare, but I'm not sure what I could have done differently. Like you, I had school age DC, but a stable roof over their heads was more important than trying to cling on in the UK with no stake in society whatsoever. Do you have EU citizenship? If so, it will be easier for you in some ways than it has been for us. If not, buying in the cheapest possible part of the UK might be your best option. I know it's not ideal to have to move away from jobs and schools, but being stuck in the private rent trap is an emergency.

I do see your point. But this is really only an issue if you live in a highly undesirable location or have an awful property. Anyone looking to downsize on an exchange site will be inundated by people wanting a larger property.

The bigger issue I'm seeing is rents. I'm in SH and often browse the exchange groups on FB just for fun. Newer tenancies are coming with far higher rents than ever before. I don't want to move away from my area for a few reasons, but one being I have some complex health issues and my local hospital (10 minutes away) has been brilliant. With all the issues with the NHS, I'm not willing to risk losing that. Especially as I age further.

I have a really nice house currently, so of course I wouldn't want to swap to somewhere that wasn't as nice. But any properties that do catch my eye, are often £400 p/m more than my current rent, and they're much smaller! My rent isn't particularly low in SH terms either. My rent is currently just under 35% of my income, which is manageable, but I would struggle to pay more and I work FT.

In theory it would be great if people could downsize once they no longer need as much room, but the SH providers aren't making it an attractive option. Especially as you can also end up losing your secure tenancy if you do exchange.

Maybe, but it sure as shit isn't wise to spend a lifetime saving just to pay rent and council tax when retired. It would be different if I had a massive/public sector pot, but I don't.

Doubtless there will be changes but since state pensions have been around it's always broadly been the case that you're better off with either loads or fuck all and especially so if you rent.

Me. But it is my own fault. I chose travel over a house deposit.

My plan is to buy when I turn 50.

Will be harder though as I renting by myself makes it harder to save.

People won't like what you're saying but you're not wrong.

The only point I would make is that it's better to keep your savings under 6k, because for everything between 6 and 16k, your benefits will be reduced by a certain amount. So you'll still end up having to pay out from that 10k difference, until you're down to 6k.

You could always stuff some cash under your mattress! (only half joking!).

I see so you are effectively retiring now on ill health grounds so you should get PIP, I think you need to talk to citizens advice

There's a reason why the two main groups in society who buy/trade in gold are those with multiple assets and those with none :)

Privately rent

We are in our 50s and struggled for years trying to buy a house down south. We had to make major changes in both our lives and way of thinking to own our own property. The biggest obstacle was getting over feeling like we deserved better in life at our age, and not wanting to leave family in the area. During the pandemic we realised how complacent we'd become with renting and how vulnerable we really were. We started looking at everything we might be able to afford - even the "non-standard construction" bungalows that seemed to be glorified sheds were out of our reach.

We scrimped and saved for 2.5 years, and moved very far north to a small market town. We were able to buy a tiny Victorian mid-terrace in need of updating for £75k. Since moving here over 2 years ago, all three of our adult children and their families have bought or are in the process of buying houses in nearby towns and villages, which was just a far-off dream for them further south. We've all taken a pay cut but have a better quality of life overall.

Our mortgage will be paid off within 7 years and if we had to live solely on our small private pensions in retirement, we could. I think anyone relying on the government/council to take care of them in old age is taking a huge risk. People are living much longer and there aren't enough resources to house and take care of everyone.

We still have children at home who all have their lives here so unable to pick up and move somewhere cheaper just yet.

Is this really true? They may not be happy about it, but they aren't the ones paying the bills.

You cam get share of freehold with sink fund..ours is leasehold but the residents own the freehold and any leaseholder can be director of the RTM. So my husband is a director

I certainly don’t think it’s a better bet financially, im sure it’s not, but it’s easier. I’m banking on being able to continue to afford rent I guess.

As I’ll have a good pension/lump sum and a fair amount of savings I should be able to scrape by. No post-retirement cruises or the like but hopefully not destitute either.

How is it easier than being mortgage free and having that money to either spend or save?
I don't get it!

Or actually maybe I could buy retirement property? (once I’m old enough to I mean). They tend to be cheaper.

58 and still renting. I'm a single parent, decent income £60k approx but in London and never been in a position to buy. Fortunately I'm in social housing, a spacious two bed flat in a nice area, so a tenancy for life which my son will probably be able to take over when I'm gone. I have a civil service pension along with my state pension, so hoping that I'll be okay.

I don’t think it’s easier. Having to move at short notice. Finding a landlord that will take you. Rent increases, yet income won’t. No autonomy over saving money on heating and gas (like solar or heat pumps)
that’s before you get physically unable to pack and move yourself, or be able to drive so need bus routes etc

I’m not a renter anymore but I see my parents in their early 70s but both with poor health and mobility issues and can’t imagine how they would ever be able to up sticks and move if their landlord decided to sell. They just wouldn’t be able to do it physically or mentally. Luckily they do own their house but this would be my main worry as a private renter even if I had a big pension pot. It’s the lack of control over your destiny.
They just don’t have the capacity for change like they did when they were young and even just going through the process to find a new rental would be too much for them now, let alone the stress of actually moving.

As I said before I’m probably complacent because I’ve been in the same place for 20 years. But it’s a good set up actually so don’t feel inclined to rock the boat.

Definetly going to look into retirement properties though.

My in laws rent a housing association flat and I worry for them because they’ll have to continue paying rent for the rest of their lives. My DP is not sure if they will be able to afford it when they are older.

Father in law is retired and mother in law is approaching retirement age. At least we know they can’t be turfed out of there, like their private landlord did previously. That’s how they ended up in a HA flat.

If they’re on a low income they can get help. But they have to apply for it, it won’t just fall into their laps. I often feel that a lot of pensioners who are really struggling, are not claiming all they might be entitled too. It’s very important to check.

If FIL is retired and only on state pension, he can potentially get benefits for his “half” of the rent, it’s something I checked recently. So worth looking into if that’s the case.

Given the tens of millions of pensioners we will soon have, much of what we expect now simply won’t be available. I think people need to plan old age very carefully, as it’s an incredibly difficult stage for many as it is. I don’t even think the NHS will exist in its current form for much longer, much less social care.
As a country we just do not have the resources to support the volume of need coming down the track.

https://www.independentage.org/news-media/press-releases/pensioner-poverty-could-almost-double-next-15-years-new-research