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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

State pension

236 replies

Brexitstolemyfuture · 19/07/2017 22:35

People are being lied to about their chances of ever getting it imo. So they are going to raise it another year. I'm still 25+ years off it. Aibu to think I'll never get it?

OP posts:
brasty · 20/07/2017 10:35

Also the poster paying in 17.5% to their pension scheme presumably is reasonably well off. Most people can not afford to save this amount of their income. Plenty of years I have just been able to afford to pay rent and bills.

brasty · 20/07/2017 10:36

The average age for people to develop chronic ill health or ongoing pain is 64 years of age.

LovelyBath77 · 20/07/2017 10:37

Exploded if you have a look there are different rates of PIP- a standard and enhanced rate you can also work and claim it. Just for info, you may qualify even at a lower rate and not realise. Maybe something to be aware of, for the future if not now.

LovelyBath77 · 20/07/2017 10:38

I think in reality it will mean more people on low incomes on UC instead of pension credit.

LovelyBath77 · 20/07/2017 10:40

Due to illness this is something we are thinking about. I'm on PIP and cont based ESA, (but could change any time) DH has a private pension and will be able to cash in in 7 years, we also have similar time on mortgage to go. So I guess the fallback is being able to have that small income of around 5K a year until one of us reaches pension age, and working part time as least as well. It is stressful though.

I feel for others who have got mortgages late and need to be paying them off into their 60s.

toosexyforyahshirt · 20/07/2017 10:41

In other countries - Italy maybe - the older generation vacate the larger family sized home for the next generation to move into

Ha! They do not. What have you been reading? Most people don't have larger homes anyway, they stay in the apartments their parents helped them to buy when they married.

LovelyBath77 · 20/07/2017 10:42

The average age for people to develop chronic ill health or ongoing pain is 64 years of age

Maybe will mean big increase in PIP / ESA claims. I hear attendance allowance is easier to claim but don't know what age you have to be to claim it. Pension age probably Hmm

LovelyBath77 · 20/07/2017 10:43

Attendance allowance is 65 or older, partner can claim carer's - wonder if this will change though

squishysquirmy · 20/07/2017 10:52

StillDrivingMeBonkers
"Student debt is another myth. Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert did a piece on it. Irrespective of income, it will never be paid back in full, the majority written off."

I think how much you owe to start with does matter, though:
I paid my student loan off (through the minimum payments, not with any voluntary over-payments) after several years of a well paid job, because my loan was only about £16,000. This means that my annual take home pay will be higher than if I hadn't paid that loan off. This is because I was lucky to go to uni before the cap went up, and lucky to get a good job.

Another graduate with a higher amount of fees to pay will be paying it off for longer, possibly for ever. Therefore even if we both have the same degree and the same job, I will take home more money than them.

Paying inflated rents and loan repayments leave less money available to put towards a private pension.

OddBoots · 20/07/2017 10:52

I don't object to these changes (and as someone under 40 they will include me), I just feel that they should have happened sooner so we didn't end up with the 'crunch' we feel now when the changes seem to happen back to back suddenly.

If it had gradually increased as we started living longer in the 70s and 80s then people would have planned better and there would be more available for those in positions where they couldn't plan (the long-term disabled etc).

That said, my retired dad can remember adverts in the paper when he was a child (so late 1950s-early 1960s) telling his parents' generation that they need to save their own pension as early as possible if they don't want a hand-to-mouth retirement. This isn't recent news.

squishysquirmy · 20/07/2017 10:57

Does anyone know what is happening with lifetime ISAs?
Possibly worth looking into as a way to save for retirement, although not that many providers seem to offering them at the moment.

I wondered whether they may have been a stalking horse for pension reform (my worry is that they require a certain amount of financial knowledge and confidence to get the best from them), but all has gone quiet on them recently.

The80sweregreat · 20/07/2017 10:58

I very much doubt anybody will even want to give up their homes - to downsize they would have to sell ( they could sell it to their children maybe?) but would still need enough to buy something outright, wouldnt want to rent if they have always been homeowners - maybe want to stay in the same area, which may well be pricey ( if they move away then they might have to leave the children behind, they may not want to!) so many ifs and buts to helping out the children. I couldnt imagine members of my family doing any of this!

ExplodedCloud · 20/07/2017 11:01

I will keep an eye on it Lovely. I agree though that we'll see a shift towards 60+ claiming benefits until they can get their pension.
I understand all the arguments about life expectancy and equality (although DH with his private pension and a 1968 birthday has only seen a 2 year change and can still take his private pension earlier) but it's the continual fiddling about with both my pensions to confound any planning that pisses me off.
And all that assumes we are living longer on average. Not long ago we were being told that life expectancy in children would, for the first time be less than their parents.

squishysquirmy · 20/07/2017 11:02

The80s I know people who claim that their house will be their retirement fund. Problem is I bet some of them will resent having to downsize (if there is even somewhere to move to) when the time comes! In many ways, investing in property when you can't afford to also invest in a pension is not a bad idea, but there are so many emotions tied up in our homes. And it is had to make cold, rational financial decisions about such emotionally loaded investments.

squishysquirmy · 20/07/2017 11:02

^hard not had

The80sweregreat · 20/07/2017 11:14

i agree, your home is your home, even my own dad is attached to his and its a council property.
no easy answers to all of these problems. I wished pensions were less complicated too - dh and I read his information once a year and it isnt very well explained, he just knows he has paid in for it for years.
we are not very financially savvy really - our own fault.

FlowerFairyLights · 20/07/2017 11:18

We can't downsize (tiny ex council home) I can only hope they still do equity release when the time comes.

I'm 40 and worked for 5 years as a teacher before being sahm so have no real pension. I want to work/retrain but am not fit enough to return to teaching and partner has no pension (self employed). I'm really anxious.

The80sweregreat · 20/07/2017 11:20

flower, can your partner pay into a pension?
he may need some financial advice maybe.

FlowerFairyLights · 20/07/2017 11:22

We are struggling with day to day bills at the moment :(

squishysquirmy · 20/07/2017 11:22

^ The80s I am not sure if we are in complete agreement, because although it is very difficult to move sometimes, and I do have sympathy for people who find themselves moving in late life, I so think that ore people need to accept that they may have to. If someone owns a large, expensive house outright, yet has little in cash assets then that may well be because they have prioritised investing in the large house over other savings. They are wealthy, even if their income is low and I struggle with the idea that much less wealthy people, who cannot afford the space they need to house their family, might be effectively subsidising these homeowners. This doesn't apply to your dad's situation, of course.

AwfulSomething · 20/07/2017 11:24

In my 40s, renting, can't afford to pay into a pension....utterly terrified for the future.

RebelandaStunner · 20/07/2017 11:26

We'll be happy to downsize, if we're not stuck here.
A large 5 bed family house to clean, maintain and decorate will not be as appealing as an older couple when the DC have left.
Question is will anyone younger be able to afford to buy it off us in 10 years or so? Assuming it'll most likely be people who are now in their 20's/30's.

Elendon · 20/07/2017 11:32

Personally I don't want to be drugged and left in a care home wearing nappies and feeding through a straw as I age.

Travelling the world when I retire also doesn't appeal.

In fact getting very old doesn't appeal, unless I'm well taken care off from family.

If I do have a fatal disease, I will refuse all care. We all have to die sometime. Death for me is the scenario I painted above. A living hell which I don't deserve.

I'm hoping to keep active for as long as I can, but I do have realistic outcomes for the future.

The80sweregreat · 20/07/2017 11:43

I suppose its people accepting that they may have to make tough choices.
My dads choice was not to buy ( he couldnt buy his council property as it didnt pass the survey) so he is stuck now - he could have moved on years ago to a smaller council place but he didnt. he has been stubborn in the past and not made the best of things either.
A lot of people may decide to sell up and move , but i bet a lot wont or cant as they couldnt afford anything in the area they are selling in ( i know someone in this situation, but she has to live here for work )
so tricky!

JennyOnAPlate · 20/07/2017 11:48

Poverty in old age is the main thing that keeps me awake at night.

We couldn't afford for dh to start paying into his work pension until he was 32. I have been mostly a sahm for nine years, and didn't pay into any pension previous to that. I've been doing a small amount of work on self employed basis and have recently begun applying for part time jobs. No one has even offered me an interview yet though, presumably because of the large gap on my CV.

I honestly think we'll be screwed.