To ask for examples of living contently in retirement

[MrsEdithOrme]

On a modest income.

It could be you, your family or friends.

DH and I won't have gold plated pensions or huge pension pots so I'm looking for positive stories.

Well I think you’ll have to get a lot more specific about amounts to get any meaningful replies…..generally MN seem to view any income level below high rate tax as absolute poverty so it’s not really the best place to ask

For what it’s worth me and OH live very comfortably on about £34k (net) Not drawing state pensions yet but that would be &23k approx alone. How long is a piece of string though? Expenditure is as important as income!

I don't want to be prescriptive.

The freedom of not being constrained to the requirements of a career. I loved my job and felt privileged to be able to impact the lives of others. But I walked away on retirement and never once thought that I made a mistake. I can do what I want, when I want.

Depending on where you are, there may be lots of wonderful (and cheap) things to do in retirement. At very low cost I play a sport 2-3 times a week and also do some courses with the U3A. These are obviously variable but can be anything from Geology to learning Bridge.
I have friends who do railway walks or local history or volunteer as hospital drivers or listen to children read in school. Others take their caravan abroad for weeks at a time and holiday cheaply in term time. Some get great joy by having enough time for an allotment.

I would think long and hard about what you are interested in, what skills you'd like to develop and what you can afford. Horses are expensive but helping in the local foodbank, less so. How might you supplement your income if needs be? Can you supply teach one day a week, work in a café?
Everywhere, there are friendly people, if they are your thing. How much money you spend is up to you.

I work in a library and a number of pensioners come in for books and come to the weekly groups. They have a number of groups they attend every week and they go to lunch at the local cafe.
mmy gym does oap discount and again they have their own little community Thry go to classes/swimming and then have lunch together.
I love painting, reading, crosswords, jigsaws and sewing I’ll be great at retirement

DH and I potter about quite happily in retirement on pretty low incomes. He has a state pension of about £900 a month and I have roughly the same amount in a private pension. I'm not yet state pension age but had to retire through ill health. We've basically got about £2k a month for bills and spending. It's plenty.

We have paid off the mortgage and we don't really want very much nowadays. We eat well, could afford to go on holiday if we want to, but don't fancy airports and crowds, etc.

I'll be honest and say our wants are pretty small. We've got about £20k in savings, so could go abroad. Or buy a new car. Or spend money on the house. We just mostly don't feel the desire to. We get on well and happily, wandering about the garden, visiting the library, going to the gym/swimming, walking the dog on the beach, lunching with friends or family. The odd weekend away in a cottage somewhere. I enjoy sewing/knitting/reading. DH takes things apart (chainsaws, engines, etc).

It's not what I imagined I'd do in retirement, but I'm perfectly content. I just don't have the energy or desire to be constantly on the go nowadays. But money is not a worry.

I speak to many people who are "young retirees". (By 'young retirees' I mean people from 57 to about 75). Without exception, they love it.
Some have done a 'big holiday' but most live their lives relatively modestly meeting friends, exercising in some way, joining hobby groups, volunteering, doing things around the home and garden, (some) supporting their dc with Grandchildren sometimes.

It does depend what you are talking about when you say "a modest income" though, as so many posts on MN talk about spending and earning power that is way off my experience.
It also depends what you are expecting to be paying out of your 'modest income' - if you own your own home you are in a very different position from people who are renting, or still have mortgage to pay.

We bought a motorhome when we retired. We’ve been all over the U.K., France and Spain. We’ve also did Belgium and The Netherlands.

Surely you can't do that on a modest income?

We aren’t rich. We bought a cheap motorhome.

Many pensions have a lump sum and people spend these on motorhomes. Petrol costs a lot though.

Our local council offered guided walks identifying wild flowers, trees, birds, fungi. We met likeminded people, more specialists and now join in recording for national databases. All we need is suitable clothing, a packed lunch and our own transport.

Nothing to add except that this is a really cheery post! In the thick of professional life and rushing around after two busy teens and looking after my mother, the idea of pottering, gardening, swimming, reading and the odd holiday sounds blissful right now. Only 20 years to go… 😖

We also have a motorhome, I’m sat in it right now in Cornwall on week 2 of a trip that’s close to a month.

Some do it cheaply but many sites are not that cheap, in the UK only Scotland has park anywhere overnight. You need to empty waste and get water roughly every three days depending on what you do, so need to book in. I have stayed in sites ranging from £20 to £30 per day so far.

The continent is actually cheaper than the UK. We intend being away for around 6 months of the year.

You could schlepp to Iceland when over 60 on a Tuesday for 10% off, join local free groups. I go to a scrabble one plus a couple of walking ones, I do voluntary work when home. I had to wait for a couple of years for DH to retire as he is younger. I joined U3a for a year I did enjoy it but was about 20 years younger than most, not that it mattered. I retired at 54 and DH has joined me now at 56.

You have not defined modest income, nor if it is fixed. Makes it hard to say really.

My parents did on mostly state pension plus dad’s small occupational pension. They swapped the family home (mortgage paid off while they were working) for a small bungalow in a cheap area but day-trip distance from the seaside.

They’d also bought a caravan while they were working and that provided most of their holidays though they did have the occasional trip to Europe.

They were just used to being economical, having both come from poor backgrounds. So pensioners’ lunch deal at the local pub, tea and cake at a cafe after pottering round the shops, weekends at a caravan site, days out at the seaside, were all treats they could afford regularly.

Plus, they were very social, so were always in and out of the neighbours’ houses and joining in with village activities.

Yes, library for books. They’d go most weeks. I think this is really significant. We’re all used to Amazon, and take-aways, and holidays abroad. For us, their life-style would feel poorer, but it didn’t to them because they’d never had those things.

I've posted before about retirement on other threads...it all depends what your expectations are.
I would say I'm really content, for me retirement is even better than I thought it would be.

I live on state pension only although I have now found a couple hours work per week locally, which gives me a few extra pennies and a new interest. Not sure whether I will continue with that long-term as there are so many other things I want to do.

I rent my lovely home in a beautiful rural area...suits me. Quiet, lots of lovely country walks, pretty village, good community. Lots of things to go to in the village. I manage to run my car which I didn't expect so easy to meet friends for coffee, go out to National Trust places, go shopping and so on. Lots of groups to join, evening classes to take part in, voluntary work to do, I'm also a governor at the local village school so have plenty of contact with all age groups.

I don't go abroad for holidays but I did plenty of travelling during my working life, so don't feel the need. I don't have pets or dependents, which I prefer, so only myself to think about. It's definitely possible to have a good retirement on modest means but you do need to think carefully about what you want, where and how you want to live, what interests you want to pursue, and plan accordingly.

I agree it depends on your interests (and what you are physically able to do).

If you’re someone who enjoys pottering around, doesn’t particularly care for travelling or expensive theatre trips / restaurants, doesn’t have pets or grandchildren that you spend money on then it is very possible to live well on a low income. I have a family member like this who literally lives on about £600/month (doesn’t run a car, either), including doing all their food shopping at Waitrose. That’s admittedly an extreme example, but my family member has everything they want and need. (They actually have an income where they could choose to do more, but this is the life they want)

I took early retirement after the first lockdown and I haven't regretted a moment of it! I'm 'officially' retired now but I sold my house and bought a tiny apartment at the seaside so that I could ringfence a sum of money to fund my retirement until my pensions officially kicked in. I thought that, once I officially retired, I would buy a bigger apartment but I've grown to really appreciate my tiny space. It's cheap to live in, so easy to clean, I have good neighbours and I can see the promenade from my living room window (a lifelong dream)!

I live a very simple life now. I worked in public-facing roles all my working life and, being a true introvert, I don't have much need to be running around, making new friends and meeting up with people. I travelled a lot in my 20's and 30's and I don't do well in hot weather so I'm happy just to stay put. I do a lot of exercise, a lot of reading, I love to learn things and try to apply the Japanese concept of Kaizen - continuous improvement - to my life.

I'm sure, to most people, I sound like I have the most boring retirement in the whole world but, now that I'm older I really don't care what other people think. "You do you" and all that... Every day I catch myself feeling incredibly lucky to have the kind of retirement that suits me and my temperament.

I live in New Zealand and lots of retirees do volunteer work: working with the Department of Conservation, in zoos, adult literacy, meals on wheels, Big Brothers Big Sisters... Retirees here keep active and many are fitter than me!

My parents lived well on a modest income, state pension plus small private pension for over 20 years. Though they did own their own home, downsize and use the equity carefully as part of that. They didn't travel or go on a lot of holidays but lived in a nice place where we stayed and had holidays with them instead.

Well my dad lives on less than NZD30k a year. He doesn’t do fancy or need/wants lots of stuff. He does live by the sea, so that something to be occupied by. Likes to garden. Has a dog, feeds the birds, fishes now and then. He doesn’t travel or eat out. He has a couple of friends that pop in to see him for a drink or two. He drives a 30yr old car. He’s happy.

but he’s always been that way. Content with what he has. Not concerned about what others have or what the trends are.

I'm on state pension only. I volunteer at the hospital one day a week, and also do patient transport. Both which I love.
I'm a member of U3A which is great for getting out and about and meeting new people.

I get to spend more time with my grandson.
I live on my own, no dependents or pets and I make it work.

Not me, but I work in a food bank and we have volunteers who are retirees. Volunteering, tending allotments, caring for grandchildren, doing weekly tai chi or art classes followed by a meal, getting matinee tickets or senior discounts to an interesting art or theatre show occasionally. Honestly I am inspired by them. It has really made me look after myself and my health better seeing them enjoying their lives so deeply.

It depends where you live & what you call modest. My grandparents lived on state pension. Later on my grandmother was eligible for some DLA but had high care needs by then.

They lived in a very cheap town in the north, in a small ex local authority house bought under right to buy. It had very dated decor - they could never afford to smarten it up but they didn't mind. They did most of their holidays sharing accomodation with the kids & grandchildren - uk seaside locations like paignton. They had inexpensive hobbies - my grandpa did a lot of gardening and a local scrabble club, my grandma did knitting and was involved with the church. They got a lot of library books. They home cooked simple cheap meals - they were brilliant at making the best of cheap cuts and "grandmas cakes" were legendary. They were very family oriented and not focussed on expensive "stuff". They ran a small older car.

Thank you for your lovely replies.

I'm sure, to most people, I sound like I have the most boring retirement in the whole world not to me, it doesn't, @TeachMeSomething and I'm going to look into Kaizen.

but he’s always been that way. Content with what he has. Not concerned about what others have or what the trends are

Your dad sounds fab @HerRoyalNotness One set of my PILs live a similar life and are very content. The other are very affluent but not necessarily happier.