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 'Bank of Mum and Dad' will also shrink in the next generation - it is interesting to try to predict what effect it will have on house prices when fewer dparents can afford to give adult dcs hefty sums to get on the property ladder.

But that is quite a long way off - some time before the generation that can afford to be BOMA runs its course, I think.

Mine is pitiful because I've worked Part time post kids.

If you are in UK look on www.gov.uk where you can put in your National Insurance number & it will tell you how much you have already contributed per year, how much you are estimated to receive and when. This is for state pension. If you are not working, child benefit & other benefits means that your National Insurance will get paid.
Look under pension section

I’m 40 and have not and would not ever buy clothing, a kitchen or a holiday on credit. Nor would i take out a loan for ‘stuff’ Total madness.

We were brought up to save before you spend and i hope to teach my kids the same attitude to spending.

I've paid into a private pension which my employer contributes free money to !
It wasn't very sexy when I was in my 20s, but I'm glad that I started then - compound interest !

I know some people who have been retired for 30+ years !

I agree.
I'm a LP and have a few small pensions rattling around, 25 years until I'm 70.
My rough plan is to work FT when the dc's are at uni and get a lodger.

It really hit home when a relative needed nursing care, £3k a month 🤮. The dc's have had to listen to me muttering about a granny flat in each of their houses.

After paying into a company pension for the past 10 years I was amazed to see that my annuity is anticipated to be £420 a year. That'll pay for everything i need then...

I'm lucky in that I have a non contributory final salary Civil Service pension, I was retired on ill health grounds 7 years ago & my pension was enhanced to 30 years service which means I get 75% of a full service pension, I've been getting this since I was 46, it is index linked so it increases a bit each year. This along with my state pension will leave me reasonably comfortable in my old age.

I'm one of the lucky ones at 36 in a final salary pension scheme and I've stayed with my company since 16, so have 20 years of contributions so far.
Most of my friends only started putting into pensions when the auto enrolment started.
I've also started trying to clear my debt that I have around me, and put money away in savings. I don't have lots but I don't have enough.

@Belindabelle

As things stand currently, I think pensioners on the state pension only, have an automatic right to housing benefit. If people continue to not be able to afford there own homes then yes, housing benefit claims will increase dramatically.

If don’t see how the government will be able to pay out such an increase in housing benefit - along with all other benefits when around half of the people in the UK don’t pay any tax.

It’s quite scary - my pension pot is rubbish but have other properties so hopefully can use that income

The only reason that the situation is so bad is because of ridiculously low interest rates. If you still got 5% interest on savings, they would go much further. 10% and you'd be quids in.

I work freelance and I don't have anything left over to save (£50 a month into a ISA). I have about £250K in various pots from previous jobs and a mortgage free house, so not on my uppers but I do feel guilty about pensions.

The really stupid thing is that DH was offered a final salary pension scheme over 20 years ago. He opted for the money purchase "because he wouldn't be there (in that job) that long". You guessed it, he's still in that job. Sigh.

Both myself and dh are the same age and we are looking to possibility retire soon which will be 7 years before we qualify for the state pension. We have checked the online pension forecast and will probably get about £165.00 each a week.
Our mortgage is paid off, we don't have expensive holidays, cars etc and our pension pots ( not final salary) amount to about £400k or thereabouts.
We'd like to think we have another 15 years or more of still be able to go out and do things we enjoy with good health.
But you never know what a good 'pot' is or what the future may hold.

I’m 40 and have never had a holiday, car or anything on finance. I’ve been paying into a pension since I was 21 and own my own house as a single parent, with my mortgage due to be paid off at 59, but hopefully earlier. Theoretically I should be ok for retirement but it does worry me that those of us that have been sensible with money may be penalised in some way (eg by not being given state pension as have private one) as there’s going to be so many people needing assistance.

2 people I work, have told me they have opted out of the work pension as they don’t see the point and would rather have the money now. They will get to retirement age and expect help. This sums up the current generation. There are probably a whole lot more.

I'm a widowed pensioner and like many baby boomer women had no pension scheme when young and spent a long time with part time work when kids were young, so, my pension is not a lot. But living in the south east, I have a valuable house so my kids will be comfortable if nursing home fees don't take too much. Many of those now in their 30s/40s/early 50s will inherit a share of a substantial property so will help towards a pension.

The other thing that scares me is getting to my 60s and no longer being healthy enough to cope with work. I mean you can make good choices but there are no guarantees.

Retirement is only three years away, but we have saved and made sensible decisions since meeting in our 30s. We have effectively been self-employed (sometimes precariously) most of our lives. I was once employed in marketing for pensions and investments so it wasn't such a shock to me as it would be to someone who hasn't that advantage. We shall retire with an income of about 2/3rds of what we currently earn; and will downsize but move to a more expensive part of the country. Only one small pension pot is directly related to former employment and that was created (on ludicrously favourable terms) in the 1980s when the company I worked for went bankrupt.

But as a PP says.... care home fees. DMIL is 90 and manages at home with carers, but once that's insufficient she will burn through the equity in her house at £1200 per week, and one in-law is depending on that inheritance to fund retirement.

If you're reading this, and you haven't thought about your pension, the best advice I can give you is start now. Pay off your debts and save, save, save.

I was fortunate enough to be on a NHS final salary pension scheme(95).
I have just retired and I’m taking my NHS pension but will have to wait until I’m 67 (at least) until my state pension. We are mortgage free and always pay off our credit card in full every month.We don’t have any other credit or loans.We have a fair bit of money saved up to see us through retirement.
I don’t worry about myself and DH coping financially, but I do wonder how my DCs will manage when they eventually retire even though they both pay into pensions with great contributions from their employers.

I know a lot of people who are putting their money into various savings accounts instead of relying on pensions. Not sure if that's smart or not!

I have a basic pension from a previous job and since going freelance, have put a good chunk away, and made sure I understand what I need to do to still be able to claim a state pension.

I know an awful lot of people my age [thirties] who don't have one, because they simply cannot afford it on top of the cost of living, despite living frugally.
Agree, it's a time bomb.

I have just taken voluntary early retirement. DH and I are comfortable, we both have decent pensions and no mortgage and good savings, but that is mostly due to the fact we never had children. Our situation might have been different if we had.

I don't have any loans, but that's a bad thing because owning property with a mortgage is generally a better position than not owing property.

True that I don't understand pensions. I have a few tiny ones and want to put them together but can't because I can't answer the questions.

When you say that some people in their 50s have no pension at all, I presume you mean no private or workplace pension as they will have a state pension usually.

I think we will end up with 1/3 of people wealthy in old age with no need of government help. 1/3 will have saved just enough to survive. 1/3 will have saved nothing and get government handouts. It's the middle group I feel sorry for and they will rightly resent the handouts group.

I assume retirement will be funded for most by property rising in value. Either they pay off the house, or cash out the equity and downsize. Once you have a property without a mortgage, you could probably make a go of benefits if you had to in your old age (for the people who have not saved and have no pension). I'm guessing this is what people plan to do when they don't contribute much to a pension.

With retirement age at 68 and likely to increase I think a lot of people will be signed off sick.
There are many jobs you can do well past 68 but imagine having to do hard manual labour. Also cognitive ability may start to diminish too.