To think that a lot of us will be in trouble when we retire...

[Fleetheart]

This generation seems very unlike the previous ones in that we take out loans for everything, buy holidays on credit, kitchens on credit, new clothes etc etc. And pension schemes are getting less and less generous. And most of us don’t understand them anyway. I’ve always earned well, but have split up from partner, so still have s lot on my mortgage, no savings, and really not very much in my random pension schemes most of which are money purchase schemes and won’t pay a lot. And I know many people of my age (mid 50s) who have no pension at all. And meanwhile the govt is being less and less generous. What will become of us all?

"I think it's a complicated situation with no easy answers, and I do agree that part of the problem is people living for longer with increasingly complex health needs- but I don't think the answer is taking steps backwards in medical science!"

Sansasnark I do like that attitude - yes the answer may be in taking steps forward instead! Maybe one day soon ish there will for example be more advances in treating dementia (there have been some already, though limited obviously), which would have a significant impact on overall costs i think.

Nobody seemed to like my idea earlier about AI going someway to solving the problem by increasing productivity?! But I think if the past is a guide, we will continue to see technical advances which increase the productivity of the working age population, and help fund the cost of old age care. It would have seemed unthinkable 100 yrs ago that a working population this size could have supported the current numbers of retired/people complex care needs - yet in terms of per capita gdp we are so much richer now.

I know several older people who are in care homes and literally have £3 a week left over once their rent (includes food) has been taken. It's very sad to see.
I take in toiletries and occassionally cakes.
It's also a total myth that the state will pick up all your care needs. There is continuing health care funding but it only applies in a tiny minority of cases. In most cases your home will be sold to provide funding.
DH and I are currently considering retirement options. We always saved for a luxury home in the country big enough for extended family to come and stay, now we are not so sure. Maybe best to go for something modest and help the kids instead.

I started a pension as soon as I had a job that provided employers contributions and I haven't stopped saving since. Even during the years of paying for childcare.
Every year when the tax free allowance goes up I increase the percentage I pay. With the increase in tax free allowance and sometimes a 1% pay rise I don't notice the amount going. I now have a total of 20% going into my pension. 6% employer and 14% me. I also pay £32 into a old pension. I'm in the charitable sector so double whammy for low pay and no perks. I have to fundraise my own salary and all the on costs!

My DH through various combinations of his contribution, employers contribution and salary sacrifice is paying 17% into his pension but only started maybe 5 years ago.

If we stay happily married and pay off the mortgage we will be ok. We'll always have to be careful but we should manage.

18-months who we started saving £20 pcm each for our two DC into a pension for them.

Every young woman I meet I tell her to start a pension. At the very least commit to enough that qualifies her for the employers contributions. It's like a pay rise you get for retirement. It's free money they should take. The sooner you do it, the sooner you don't miss it, the sooner it becomes a habit.

@soonerthanIthought I agree- if more could be done to treat conditions like dementia, then there would definitely be less older people requiring such complex care. Some people do manage a good quality of life into their 90s- if we could increase this number then the burden on the state in terms of social care would be much less, and perhaps make pensions more affordable. It might also make extended family living a more practical/workable solution.

I think the AI thing is complex- maybe good for some people but not others. Increased mechanization/computerisation tends to be bad for lower skilled/unskilled workers - see for example, the rise of self serve checkouts- but it can be good in terms of increasing productivity/efficiency and creating more skilled jobs.

If you think about the changes in technology in just the last 20 years, they have been huge, and created jobs/opportunities that no-one had thought of yet- but also had a negative impact on some people too. And inequality has increased (in the UK at least). I think, now more than ever, you need to be well educated or highly skilled to have a good and secure career. Those who aren't, for whatever reason, are becoming more exploited by the gig economy and zero hours contracts.

But technology may also help increase quality of life for older people- if you can use a computer/the internet, you can connect with others and access a wide variety of entertainment, which could keep someone relatively stimulated even if they are bed-bound.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland - I'm already overqualified (very good degree) for my job in retail. Problem is rural living plus my age (59) means that jobs are few and far between, and working in a local supermarket is far better than the very very long commute to nearest city (for a job that wouldn't pay a lot better anyway).

It is as I said, older people who live in rented accommodation - if you live outside cities with any kind of choice, we've got a huge problem coming.

I work part time and pay £50 per month into my nhs Scotland pension, mine is the new scheme though. I do intend to increase to full time once the children are at school etc and and hoping to complete my nursing as well

@EmeraldShamrock, I really hope so. I sign every time the dignity in dying petitions come into my inbox.

Also, would someone who has no money to live on be able to afford the fees to fly to Switzerland and pay for the preceedure?

emeraldshamrock. I hope this is true, working in nursing really opens your eyes to how some older adults live, how they are treated and how some are kept alive beyond what they want. I’ve had patients decline treatment to then change their mind because their family made them just to have them a little longer even if they are suffering. I am going to be doing a living will so that my family are aware I do not want treatment should I get dementia or anything like that, or say cancer at age 80 etc

So what happens in my situation, which meant other people are also in?
My daughter has an illness which has disabled her and I had to give up work to look after her.
I can’t see a point where I will be able to earn anywhere near as much as I need to- we have no family or friends to step in and her condition makes it really difficult for me to commit to a regular working pattern.

DH has been promoted,so that helps, but he isn’t a high earner. He pays into a pension but it won’t be enough for both of us.
I do worry about our ‘retirement’ but in my situation, day to day life is so hard that I simply don’t have the headspace to panic too far ahead.
We do our very best to save where we can;etc but it’s not the amount it would be if I was working full time.

To be honest, some of the people posting on here come across as smug and/or patronising. Don’t people realise how quickly like can change and how it can literally be a case of “There but for the grace of God....”
My daughter wasn’t always ill and we had no idea how our lives would be turned upside down.
Sorry for the rant, but it’s not always as simple as increasing pension contributions and so on.

Apologies for the typos!

I have had a background that suffered due to completely unexpected happenings so I take the view that we must be like the ants in Aesop's fable and save/prepare while we can because who knows what the future holds?

I do sympathise with everyone who are worried about their retirement situation. I am long retired, a senior citizen, and receive a decent pension. I have never taken credit out for anything, what we couldn't afford we went without. Still live rather frugally, force of habit I suppose,.

Every young woman I meet I tell her to start a pension

impossible for many. I get carers allowance as I am caring for a severely disabled DC. It is £66/week and hand to mouth. there is no scope to save for a pension.

mocca ditto 😔
It’s so hard to read threads like these, when you know what you need to do, but circumstances don’t allow it.

I know Lego, all this smug advice. Some people are incredibly lucky but have no idea how the others live. On the upside, life as a carer is so stressful. I cannot look after myself so probably shouldn't worry about retirement anyways.

I do understand mocca
Not wishing to sound morbid or negative, but my own mental and physical health is already suffering so badly that I don’t expect to make old bones.
Wishing you all the best- take care.

www.dignityindying.org.uk/
Petition above.

DH will get teachers pension. I've worked my whole life and have a bigger pension pot than him. 52 now so should be comfortable by 62 and then will hopefully get state pension at 67. I've always been careful about making sure I had my own pension as a woman. My friends DH has just left her and she foolishly signed away any access to his pension despite looking after their children her whole life.

I started a CS pension at 16 yo when I first went out to work. Under the new rules for pensions, the fact that I've been Contracted Out (of SERPS) for most of my working life, through no fault of my own, means that I now need to make up more years to qualify for a full pension. ATM my state pension is reduced by a huge amount.

Plus the contribution I paid before 21 won't count, because most people now don't start work until they are 21 so that's when they are starting it from. So I lose 5 FT years.

The CS pension I signed up to all those years ago had a pension age of 60. Although I can still take it at 60 I now don't qualify for state pension until 67.

DH doesn't have a work pension because he has never got round to it. We have no savings, because the money runs out before the month does. I don't believe I will make it to 67 anyway, so I've given up worrying about it. At least we have plenty of life insurance, so the DC will be OK.

Thing is, retirement is so far into the future at 20 that you can plan all you like, but your life changes, often unexpectedly.

As a 20 something I had a final salary pension and was getting married.

One redundancy later and I've no long hot a final salary pension and the years I paid into it were not enough to get enough to live on post retirement.

My husband left me for OW and is now divorcing me, so no chance of relying on his pension. In time it will be worth much more than mine, as he is a high earner, but at present his pension pot is worth less than mine and that is the amount that will be assessed for the divorce.

I am working ft and pay the maximum into another pension, but a final salary scheme is no longer available, so my pension will be low.

But even with the benefit of hindsight, I have no idea what I could have done to prevent any of this. There are no guarantees.

Yes another that just sighs reading the "oh I'm okay because I'm loaded with 5 houses and hefty pension due when I retire at 55". I've been a full time carer for my DC on carers allowance since my mid twenties and DC will need lifetime care. Guess I'm done for!

Hi I'm

I've been reading and posting on this thread for 24 hours on and off. The outlook is bleak for a lot of people for reasons beyond their control, and circumstances you wouldn't foresee. I don't see any government having the courage or the insight to force the burden of senior care on to those people who were able to buy houses. And while we in the UK are so pre-occupied with home ownership and inheritance, then it is nearly impossible to pre-empt their right to pass on a legacy to their children.

I think we'll end up with a social care fund/insurance system but it will probably be beyond the means of anyone earning less than a professional salary.

Am in my late 30s and have a teachers pension (have been a teacher since I was 23). I have continued to work FT after having my DC and figure I will continue to do so until I have a decent enough pension. I would rather do a different job but can see the benefits of this one long term. My DH only has a NEST pension and only for the past few years. We don’t expect this to come to much and he doesn’t expect to ever be able to finish work. I hope my pension will be decent enough that this is not the case but we shall see. I do find it all overwhelming.