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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is this an ok money situation for a 54 year old

57 replies

Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 20:33

This is my friends financial position. What do you make of it? She is 54. I think she’s doing ok but she sometimes makes out she could have done better (divorce definitely impacted her financially).

House value (house in her name only) : £300k
Mortgage : £28k
Savings : £25k
Pension : she can take this later in the year and would yield £70k lump sum and £800pm (but she is going to wait so it increases).
Joint income with her DH : £5500 pm
Outgoings : £2500 pm

If she inherits (never a given ) she will get about £65k
If her husband inherits , he will get circa £1 million. But as DH dad is very young and fit for his age , her DH could be in his 70’s before he inherits.

OP posts:
Goldduck · 11/05/2024 20:36

She has £3000 disposable income a month. That is obviously way above 'doing okay' 🙄

BlackStrayCat · 11/05/2024 20:38

?🤐

Bigredpants · 11/05/2024 20:38

What a weird question. She has more than most and as she’s married his situation is very relevant too.

IncognitoUsername · 11/05/2024 20:38

Unless the ‘friend’ is actually you, then you know far too much personal info. And you are posting it on a public forum.

Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 20:40

There’s nothing identifying though. She loans about how her divorce affected her financially but I think she’s still doing well!

My other friend just inherited £525k and pleads poverty. Gets on my tits!!

OP posts:
Overtheatlantic · 11/05/2024 20:41

I think that sounds good but what do I know. She probably shouldn’t plan to retire soon.

Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 20:41

Moans not loans

OP posts:
Ikeameatballs · 11/05/2024 20:43

She needs to put more into her pension imo.

House “in her name only” means nothing if she is married, it’s a shared joint asset.

She currently has outgoings of £2.5K/month but her pension will only yield £800/month. I accept that some of the outgoings may be mortgage and some may be work related expenses but that seems like a significant difference? Not clear what her and her DH’s individual incomes are but if I were her I would prioritise my pension over everything else and not even consider inheritance in my planning.

goingdownfighting · 11/05/2024 20:43

I think she's worrying about when her income drops, or she's fed up of working. That income drop will be very noticeable.

jelliebelly · 11/05/2024 20:43

Sounds ok to me. I’m more concerned about how you know so much about your friend’s finances tbh!

atticstage · 11/05/2024 20:46

IncognitoUsername · 11/05/2024 20:38

Unless the ‘friend’ is actually you, then you know far too much personal info. And you are posting it on a public forum.

Yes, weird definition of friendship.

JenniferEckles · 11/05/2024 20:49

I'm so fed up of people writing shit like this on here. She's loaded compared to the majority of the country's population, what do you want us to say?

IncognitoUsername · 11/05/2024 20:50

JenniferEckles · 11/05/2024 20:49

I'm so fed up of people writing shit like this on here. She's loaded compared to the majority of the country's population, what do you want us to say?

I honestly think OP is the ‘friend’ and it’s some weird kind of humble brag.

Itloggedmeoutagain · 11/05/2024 20:53

You know an awful lot about your "friend's" finances!
I know nothing about the financial situation of my friends because it's absolutely none of my business.
And if i thought she was discussing my finances with strangers on the Internet, identifying or not, I'm not sure she'd be my "friend" much longer

Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 20:55

I’m not my friend! She’s very disgruntled that her divorce set her back financially. I think she’s still doing better than most! I have gleaned all this info when she’s been pissed and very open with information.

OP posts:
KnitnNatterAuntie · 11/05/2024 20:58

Itloggedmeoutagain · 11/05/2024 20:53

You know an awful lot about your "friend's" finances!
I know nothing about the financial situation of my friends because it's absolutely none of my business.
And if i thought she was discussing my finances with strangers on the Internet, identifying or not, I'm not sure she'd be my "friend" much longer

I was going to say the same as this, almost word for word

I have some very good friends who I have known for a very long time and know very little about their finances other than when they have paid off their mortgages

They know nothing of my finances either

I find it VERY strange that you would post so much information about someone else . . . . .

SheilaWilde · 11/05/2024 20:59

Unless you and your 'friend' live in an isolated bubble of 2 then you should know very well that your friend is very wealthy compared to the majority of the population. I find your post disingenuous.

Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 20:59

Okay I’ll ask MN to delete.

OP posts:
Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 21:00

Did not mean any offence. Just thought she was being ridiculous.

OP posts:
Tryingtokeepgoing · 11/05/2024 21:02

Her pension seems low for her age, and for how much the household income is. But I’m not clear on the divorce bit and the household income of £5,500 a month including her husbands.

But if her monthly outgoings are £2,500, with only a small part being mortgage given the balance, and a pension income at 55 of £800 a month, presumably rising by the state pension at 67, then it’s not a disastrous position. I wouldn’t be relying on inheritance though.

Assuming full state pension then at 67 her income will be around £1,800 a month, or £1,600ish after tax. So she needs to double her pension in the next 12 years. £1.5k a month into a pension for 12 years, with a bit of growth along the way, should get to an additional £300k, which would get £800ish a month after tax.

But she (or you) will need to work until 67 ish.

Sunnyandsilly · 11/05/2024 21:02

Can’t believe you’ve taken info from hee when drunk then posted it all in here as you’re so envious. And why are you referring to both her husband and divorce, unless she’s remarried, then rhe two are mutually exclusive.

SoWhat21 · 11/05/2024 21:03

Your ‘friend’ is comfortable financially now. Basic maths tells you this. However she is not in a good place for retirement. He husbands pension is not disclosed here but he would need to be coming out with at least twice what hers will be for them to cover outgoings. She should be paying extra into her pension now from her disposable income. They will no longer be comfortable once they stop working

Willyoujustbequiet · 11/05/2024 21:05

She's better off than most of the country so I'm sure she'll do just fine.

Moneymoneymoneymoneymoney · 11/05/2024 21:07

Yeah but they’ll not have a mortgage payment in retirement though!

OP posts:
SoWhat21 · 11/05/2024 21:15

It depends what the repayment is I suppose. Of course you won’t know that.