As a retired person could you live on £10,000 a year.?

[allamberedover]

To cover bills but not housing costs.

I think the only thing I might miss on a super tight budget while I'm still fit and active would be holidays. But I have a cunning plan for my retirement- Trusted Housesitters! I bet older women are much in demand on there, as we're seen as reliable and trustworthy 😇

I live on £11,000pa. Own my house outright, so it is bills and food. Its not easy, I have to budget carefully and don't have any spare for luxuries like holidays or running a car, certainly can't save any and don't have any kind of emergency fund for unexpected expenses. Was doing OK until COL crisis, especially the massive increase in energy bills which has made it very tough. I'm kind of hanging on living month to month until I get my OA pension at the end of this year(my current income is my employment pension). I actually find it a constant worr. But if you have a good amount of savings, I would think it is much more manageable, and of course you can always consider equity release on your property.

Not necessarily. I know quite a few people who are on Trusted Housesitters and the younger couples seem to get more 'work'. I think a lot of people think that a man will be more use than a woman in an emergency and I know one older woman who was ruled out for one job because their house was quite isolated and they thought it unlikely she'd be comfortable there, on her own.

I have zero housing costs and because of the charities I have worked with I know where I could go for free food Monday to Friday. This includes knowing about free activities. It would be bloody miserable though having to scrimp, I was raised poor and have a complete fear of being poor again because it’s shite.

No I couldn’t do that I’ve just had to pay out a £750 repair bill for my car. Bought a new boiler recently there are too many expensive problems lurking in most households and I would be worried most of the time about the next thing to go wrong which would take me over the edge financially

Yes I could, even though state pension is slightly more than this
I've lived on disability benefits for years and whilst I don't live a life of luxury, I have enough for a reasonable standard of life
Never had a holiday except when my DS2 paid for me.

If your grandparents were happy with 3 channels and a phone box then it’s completely irrelevant because you’re talking about the 1970s. 50 bloody years ago! Just like comparing students to pensioners is irrelevant and nonsensical.

Yes but when your old you perhaps don’t got out much or holiday as much

I’d have no morgage and I like the simple things in life

Why would anyone 'need' to change their car regularly? Cars nowadays are generally reliable and should last for at least 10 years or more. We're constantly told to keep buying the latest new thing just so someone can make a profit. No wonder the planet is suffering.

Cycling at 85?

Yes. BUT that would only cover food , petrol and monthly bills. It wouldn't cover annual bills, holidays and unexpected expenses. I think i could live pretty well on £18k though 🙂 As long as the unexpected expenses weren't too expensive!

Edit - I have no rent, mortgage, ground rent or service charge to pay

My Dad was jogging 3 times a week until he was 90 😳 amazing man 🥰

I'm not saying it's easy but it's a matter of attitude and lifestyle plus a little luck maybe. It can be done and no, my life is not miserable.

But you're NOT doing it - you share costs with your husband!

Also depends if you are including council tax. That will be our biggest bill by some way in retirement and will be susceptible to any increases above inflation

Why not? I know people who are that age who do all sorts of things. You just have to be lucky enough to be healthy and fit and stay active.

It would be bloody miserable. We are 66 and are loving our lives...holidays, theatre, gigs, ...basically having fun. We have a joint pension income of about about £45000 .

Unlikely to be safe to be perfectly frank.

No way. I enjoy travel, restaurants and theatre/gigs, which would have to be absent on £10k a year. My interests cost money

250/350 on bills

my basic bills are over £500 for council tax - g&e - water - tv license - contents and buildings - as the mere basics

add in

WiFi
phone
life insurance
sky
car insurance

let alone other bills

I think the average person would struggle @allamberedover

Did I say they needed to? Nope. @LillyPJ

But many people do. Many people buy a car on a 3 year lease. Or they change it every 2 to 3 years to avoid depreciation and keep up the outlay on it (credit) roughly the same.

The other option is to run a car into the ground, until it's between 15-20 years old, face repairs , sell it for scrap and then start all over again.

I'm not saying which is good or bad but it's how people behave.

This whole thread is a bit bonkers.

Context is everything. You simply can't compare the costs of someone aged 60 /65 and someone far older.

One elderly family member of mine lives perfectly well on around £12K pa.
But they are in their 90s, doesn't go out, drive, have holidays and their only expenses are food, bills and house repairs. They have a nest egg of around £30K after a lifetime of careful saving and use that for house repairs.

That is very different to someone aged 60 who might have to live on £10K for 30 years.

I could when I am over 80 so that is why I am spending it all before then to have the bare minimum to live on when I'm really old and don't need it

I'm assuming a single person in all of this - otherwise you'd be looking at other sources of income / benefits.

Those bills look high for one person who isn't rattling around in a larger than needed space. Still, OP hasn't really been clear. Obviously most people answering the thread aren't living on £10,000 a year so couldn't maintain their current lifestyle.

But could they sit down and work out a budget enabling them to do so? I could, and as a single person in a small house, my bills in the first category you list come to 250 at the moment, and I'd add 25 for phone and Internet (and prob not bother with TV license).

Whether you can live without a car is probably a big dividing factor here, and that depends where you live too. So I have a small house, urban, near lots of transport links and amenities. Wifi, life insurance, car insurance, sky wouldn't be a consideration - maybe wifi.

250/350 on bills
my basic bills are over £500 for council tax - g&e - water - tv license - contents and buildings - as the mere basics
add in
WiFi
phone
life insurance
sky
car insurance
let alone other bills

Yes, but you're not in your 80s or 90s.

Many people of that age aren't driving any more.

They won't need life insurance (at that age it's far too costly.)

They can live without Sky (we do and are not old.)

I think what people are forgetting is that the basic state pension (roughly £1K a month) is not supposed (now) to be a sole income.

Many people who are now pension age have an occupational pension as well - and if they don't they have not made provision for their old age.

The state pension is a subsistence level of income and it's not supposed to stretch to all the things that we consider 'essential' when we're working.

That's another topic, but the OP is equating the £10K with the state pension (and yet it's now higher).

It would be possible to live on £10K but you'd need to be very careful indeed.

Apologies - you didn't say 'need'. You did say 'to be able to' though and I agree that's what people do. I was just pointing out that it's unnecessary. Changing cars every 2 or 3 years doesn't avoid depreciation either if you're getting a new car every time. The first 2 or 3 years are when the car depreciates the most. (And the cost of depreciation then is likely far more than the cost of repairs on an older car.)