If you are retired and have a good life, can I ask how much pension you draw?

[User5512]

I tried some calculators and they all gave me vastly different numbers.

I’d like to know (roughly) how much money does a couple need to have a good life in retirement.

If you are retired, would you be kind enough to give me a rough idea of your lifestyle and how much pension you get?

thanks :)

Yes, I meant 40yrs minimum to get the full pension. If you work fewer years, then the pension is reduced further.

Pension credit only tops weekly income up to £201.00 a week for a single person so if they are getting full state pension and then a small private pension they will be over the limit for pension credit top up.

It’s still better than the pension you’d get in the private sector though!

I think a retirement where you're swanning off on holiday several times a year, eating out a lot, going to the theatre etc, is only for those who already earn enough to do that now!

Most people who live a frugal life now will do so in retirement, whether that's through necessity or choice. Generally speaking people don't change their habits/personality once they retire. People who do spend more, will be earning more and paying more into pensions so that life can continue. I guess that's where the two thirds of your current income thing comes in.

I'm on track to get two thirds of my current income. But that won't give me a lavish lifestyle at all! I won't be struggling but I won't be travelling the world either. I could pay in more but I'm using it on doing things now because I'm not convinced I'll be in great health post 70 (if I'm here at all!).

Combined, DH and I currently have £3200 p/m in pensions. We have no mortgage and our pensions will also increase when we hit 55. We don't eat out very often, have never been bothered with having shiny new stuff and despite the drop in income seem to be saving every month. Very fortunate and very aware of this.

Surely everyone has to do their own calculations? Based on what they currently spend and what they would no longer need to spend, or be willing to give up, once they are retired. These "what do you need for a comfortable retirement" figures as a general statement are just nonsense.

Of course but it's such a huge decision that people will obviously want to sense check their calculations. In any case, I think the 'what to aim for' type research is particularly helpful for people who are a long way from retirement and trying to juggle paying bills, saving for kids, buying a home etc. It's easy to drop pensions at that stage but difficult to make up lost ground if you do. Having a ballpark figure that gives you an idea of whether you are on the right track is useful. That said, I think the figures that came out yesterday might just make people give up!

40% of your salary into pension? That's.... a lot 😂 Your monthly bills must be extremely low, right?

Nope we have a 4 bed detached house with a mortgage and 2 DC. DH has a crap workplace scheme so he pays the minimum pension (8%) and I pay a huge chunk but it's very tax efficient. I also have a car through work (EV so 0% tax) so I basically salary sacrifice enough to bring me into the lower tax band. I earn around £70k but after pension, car, sharesaves, insurance etc I bring home £2200. My salary does the 'heavy lifting' as I have lots of perks at work it's worth me buying into.

It worries me when I see women saying it's not worth their while returning after maternity leave because of childcare costs.
Firstly, childcare expenses are a joint expense between you and your partner.
Secondly, it means you continue to save into your pension in a tax effective way
Thirdly, staying in the workplace allows you to advance your career - potential to earn more and build up a bigger pension pot.

Having taken a long-term view, it makes a huge difference when you get to my age (early 60s).

We have 3k a month pension, dh retired early and my contract came to an end. At 54 and 53 it's not nearly enough and so back off to work we go

We have been retired 18 months now. Our state and private pensions total £56k gross, plus some interest on savings. Our house and cars are paid for. We find this is very comfortable, we can still save for holidays and house renovations, have not cut back on anything except having a cleaner. Somehow we just spend less, almost without trying. You need less new clothes if you are not working. I have become very creative, making things doesn’t cost much and is very satisfying. We go to the gym a lot. Visit friends and family more, concerts etc. My only real worry is needing private medical treatment if NHS doesn’t deliver or major house works. We could afford both these things to an extent but savings are not bottomless.

Pm

I recently took my pension a year early, I’m 60 this year. It’s an NHS pension and subject to a further adjustment this year it will be around 40k a year. Along with DH’s draw down pension we will have between 40-50k a yr going forward but will increase once we both claim state pension.
I still work one day a week which currently gives us between 60-70k a year. Obviously this is gross figure and I will be taxed.
I will probably continue to work for a few years as DS starts uni this year.
I did pay between 6-15% in superann each month depending on my earning each year ( sliding scale) over 35yrs so built up a significant pot. It’s also index linked (gold plated).
My advice to anyone starting out is to feed a pension, its tax efficient, rather than savings, the interest rates have been abysmal for the last couple of decades, slightly better currently but nothing like those of the 80s and 90s. Low interest rates also benefit loans for big purchases.
It is great to be comfortably off but at times I was tempted to make life easier in the past by opting out of the pension scheme. However life has thrown a wide ball at us recently, I had cancer and DH had a stroke so I am so glad that we stumped in the past. I cannot imagine the extra stress our situation would have caused having to work full time over the last couple of years, my DH is no longer able to work.
We have plenty of savings and a tiny mortgage so looking to the future we will hopefully be able to afford care if required.
I suspect I’m from a generation that didn’t expect everything, I still find it difficult to waste money, although my DH may disagree. I love a bargain and my DS has inherited my ability to shop clever.

I remember hearing a pensions advsior discuss how you need to be comfortable spending more of your pension in the early years (assuming that this is possible). So do your big holidays in your 60/70s, renovate your property, upgrade the car etc. As you age your life will probably get smaller and your outgoings as a consequence

We have an excellent FA and pensions advisor and he’s said exactly the same. Currently DH and I are having a comfortable retirement and we’re very fortunate to have significant sums in ISA’s which is what we intend using to fund a few long haul holidays whilst we are fit & healthy enough to enjoy them. I’m hoping that we’ll have a good 10+ years of being able to do this before we possibly start having to slow down.

I am a single pensioner and my state and private pensions are about three-quarters of what my old job currently pays. My mortgage was paid off when my DH died when I was still working. I gained a nest egg by downsizing. Since the cost of living crisis I have been dipping into savings for every day things. I always expect to use savings for big items such as replacing washing machine.

I am better off than many as I have savings to fall back on but my income is below minimum wage so hardly rich. Most single women pensioners are not very well off. It's much easier for couples both when working and retired.

How on earth is everyone's pension so big? I'd love to know how long you paid in for and how much pcm or as a percentage of your salary!

I live pretty frugally but I'm worried now

Yes this is correct but then it grows again as tou need to buy in care and help as you get less able.

Interesting thread. Thank you. Aged 53 and DH is 56 and we were looking at our pensions in more detail last night. Good tips here too about trying to be mortgage free, get houses in order to be easy/cheap to maintain and heat, etc, no big spends....
We are about to downsize but are moving to a renovation/build, but nevertheless it will be in a town location (currently rural) and our living costs will be reduced. The house will effectively be "new" with decent glazing; heating; insulation, etc. I am less worried having read these tips - it is not all about the monthly/annual amount, but having costs significantly reduced going forward. That should make a huge difference.

There are some real extremes on this thread of people with huge incomes from pensions and those with very small incomes! It’s quite eye opening and very interesting. If nothing else it’s amazing how people’s perception of a comfortable amount for retirement varies so much!

DH has a really good pension and retired at 62, currently receiving £35k a year, to go up when his state pension kicks in.

Me, I’m younger by 14 years and worked part time for some years due to having dc so my pension is a lot different.

I still work full time but don’t intend to for too many more years if I can help it! I think we need about £3k a month all in for a very comfortable retirement so we will need to focus on topping up our savings over the next few years to enable me to retire before state retirement age which will probably be 70+ if news reports are to be believed.

We have done lots of work on the house since DH retired using savings so all the big jobs will be done long before I actually retire.

I get 1,700 quid a month and my husband gets £2,279. We both paid between 11 and 14% of our salary into our pension, each for thirty years. It’s well deserved. We both worked extremely hard. We’ve no mortgage and no loans.

We also pay tax on the contributions we have made after 50 years of working

We also pay tax which goes to fund other people on benefits. Pensions are things you need to think about when young - too many people have this "live it large" attitude then moan about it later.

DH and I have been expats for the last 19 years and will both have private pensions of 25k each, and a lump sum of £420,000 (roughly). We don't own any property and haven't paid into state pension (but I think we should buy back the missing years). I have a small UK pension that I pay (40£ per month, have been paying since I was 19, which I think will give me about 9k).

We are both mid 40's so in the thick of it with kids and the university years are looming, so savings are slim.

I am worried about not being able to buy property in the UK until we get this lump sum, but hopefully we will be ok.

We have £45k. Per annum, as a retired couple. We own our own house.

Are those of you with large pensions not worried about Labour reintroducing the LTA?