To ask if you have enough for retirement?

[PestilencialCrisis]

Saw this today. I'm a single parent. I halved my wage when I had children, and also my pension contributions. Anyone else worried about retirement? Should the government step in and protect women's pension pots more?

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/single-mothers-retirement-scottish-widows-report-b2447486.html

@BlueGrey1

I do see what you’re saying and for some people those things will be a consideration. For me personally I rent from a housing association so I won’t need to worry about major house expenses. I live in London and don’t actually drive anyway (tube station a couple of minutes away) and I’m only 6 years away from my free Oyster card! Apparently we get those at 60. With travel, well quite honestly I can do it now or I can put that money into a pension and hope I get to do it later. I can’t afford both. But I don’t see that I’ll want to do it post 70. Not long haul definitely. But then I am lucky in that I can currently take time out of my work when and for how long I want.

Obviously people have different lifestyles and therefore will need varying incomes to maintain those lifestyles. But I hate to see people terrified about their old age because of all the scaremongering. Because some people don’t have the time left or the funds to save a big pension pot, then they read threads here where people talk about how much they’ve saved and they get frightened. When they can’t actually do anything about it. Obviously yes younger people should chuck as much as they can at their pension, I don’t disagree with that. But likewise, it’s not necessarily going to turn out as grim as people fear. And actually having a small private pension can be worse than none, as it excludes you from help you’d get if you were just on state pension alone.

I'm hoping so, I have puplic sector pensions and earn an ok salary, DH has a private, pretty dyer pension in comparison but earns alot more now so I'm hoping it will even us out when the time comes. I would suggest a LISA in addition to a pension for anyone under 40, we both have one and pay the max 4k in a year each, hoping to use the funds to pay the mortgage off if needed at 60 when we can access it.

I'll have plenty. I mean, not 'rich' or 'travel the world' plenty, but I won't starve and I'll be able to keep warm.

Anyone who works in local government needs to look at the new shared AVC that is being introduced. If you can afford to contribute it’s really a no brainer as you get the tax and NI back.

I hope that I will be OK. I pay a lot into my pension each month and have been for 18 years. I plan to have paid off my mortgage by age 60 (in 15 years) and to take early retirement or at least partial by then.

We have significant equity in our house already and so all being well DH and I will be mortgage free at worst or able to downsize and use the cash at best.

DH gets to retire at 60 and I'm younger than him so will retire 2 years later when I'm 60 all being well. I have a LISA but I don't pay a lot into it as I'm concentrating on mortgage and pension at the moment.

DH gets a lump sum which will pay off any excess that we may owe on the mortgage, I get a smaller one but my pension is likely to be worth approx £40k a year, whereas his will be about £18k.

I better not die before I get my monies worth out of it all!! 🤣

I have a good private work place pension which I hope to start drawing on by the time I turn 60 by which time I will have worked full time for the same company for 35 years and am now in a senior leadership position. I kept working after my children were born and whilst at the time I didn't want to at the time - I am glad I did.

We hope to have paid the mortgage off my then too and I will probably take on some part time work (mainly as I really can't imagine not working!).

My DH will need to keep working to 65 to match what I will recieve, the combinations of our pensions should give us a enjoyable retirement. I am not factoring in the state pension because who knows if it will still exist by then.

The resultant public sector pay rises that would have to happen as a consequence would cripple the government!

If you get an annuity make sure it's indexed linked to inflation as otherwise what seems ok now could be terrible in 20 years time.

This looks interesting but I can’t find any information on how the actual pay you receive upon retirement is calculated? You could be paying for years with no guarantee as to what you’re going to receive?

I am fine and would still be ok if DH and I broke up though obviously two incomes are always better than one so a bit of a curtailment on expenditure. We have defined benefits salaries and savings and have not had a mortgage for some years. A large spreadsheet has been made with data that can be manipulated with inflation rate changes and other variables to look at projected expenditure. DS also did us a favour by getting a place on a Degree apprenticeship programme so has needed zero financial assistance as he started on 25k immediately. He would only have qualified for the most basic loan so would have felt we needed to give 6k per annum to top up to max loan. I took out my pension plan age 21.

No. I am 50 and for various reasons, including working overseas and being a lone parent, I have very little in a private pension. I will not starve as have a house but it’s not how I envisaged things when I started working many years ago.

I'm 52, have all my NI contributions paid up and a tiny private pension, but it's mostly investment income and the government pension. Not sure if I'm better off putting money into my private pension now or leaving things as they are. I really should get some advice.

That's not possible when you have to be a carer.

No.

I have the full state and my mortgage will be paid off but only a small private pension and am unable to contribute any further.

I should be OK, I'm 57 so have just under 10 years before I get my state pension. I'm already retired on ill health pension from work, so with that, my state pension & my PIP, I would be £1k a month better off than I am now.

Not yet, but I think I'm on target for my age (36). As long as nothing happens to stop me working to retirement age. I'm an academic so not a physically demanding job.

Retirement planning is very important to me and is something that I review regularly. I don't have enough for retirement now but I'm in my mid-thirties and only got started 4 or 5 years ago. Projections are very good though and I'm optimistic that both my husband and I will have very good pensions and be able to retire at 60.

No. I'm 49 and have about £35k in mine plus a tiny local government pension.
I think I'll have to get a lodger when the dc's move out.

I don't know! I work for medical firm. Pay in 7.5% of my small salary (£39k a year) into a pot. If I retire at 60 I will get £17k a year. Is that a lot? I have no idea! Won't be mortgage free til I'm 66 because if divorce now. Ex husband has no pension but we have it signed by a solicitor that he doesn't want any of mine. I had the cash equivalent value done for divorce and that came out at £200k

Not a clue. I pay 10% of my salary into it and my employers add to it.
Have never looked to see what’s in it (and I don’t know how I would!).
Just hope for the best I suppose.
I do have money put to one side for when the time comes and hope to retire at 55 (I’m 39). We own several properties as dh is self employed and doesn’t have a pension so we invested in a few houses and flats to have some financial security and independence in our old age. That’s the plan anyway, who knows?!

I suppose the potential bigger impact to single parents will be the added difficulty in purchasing a home on one income, and then not having the benefit of an asset to give more options in retirement.

I don't think the state pension is a lot, and I don't think JSA is supposed to be enough to live off, just to cover expenses while searching for a job IE the policy is that it's a short term temporary measure ( I know that doesn't reflect the reality).

Depends what you need really which is hard to really know until you get there.

I will probably be ok as have a frozen DB scheme which will give me £15k a year plus State pension at 67 and a few other bits and bobs. It will be around £2k a month which I guess will be ok once the mortgage has gone.

Haha. No. Got about 4 grand in my pension and that's it. I'm 33.

You only get the full state pension if you have 35 years of qualifying national insurance contributions. That's the difference. JSA is an emergency safety net. A state pension is something you've paid for through NI, so absolutely it should be higher. But if you don't contribute for 35yrs you will get less, possibly none at all. Poor pensioners probably dont have 35yrs conts. The state pension is naff all really though, and only available from 68. you really need a private one....