Is living on the state pension really that bad?

[cateringday]

I mean, if you own your home then you’re getting around £250 a week just for bills and spends.
i have a tiny pension and DH has none. I am always worrying about this but then realised that we will have no rent or mortgage to pay.
im just wondering if it would be as awful as people make out? I hear stuff saying you need £300000 in pension pot to have a comfortable retirement, why would you need that much?

A friend of mine who luckily lives with her Son and his wife was on a min wage job, and simply couldnt afford to pay into a private pension .Same as another lady I know .Both PT and the second lady had 3 DC as well.

I’m retired and we have investments as well as our state pension. Frankly I don’t know how folk manage on just a state pension.

We own our own house but still get the same bills as anyone else. Those that come to mind are: Gas, electric, council tax, home insurance, water, car insurance/fuel/maintenance, road tax, food, household expenses/maintenance, boiler servicing/maintenance, clothing, pet food/vet, etc, etc.

If we just had a state pension we would have a very reduced quality of life.

that’s what I’m saying when I wrote no mortgage and there’s 2 of us paying the bills - our joint state pensions are just under £1900 every 4 weeks.

My mother puts an amount away every month for emergencies. She has £5000 in savings too on top of thatvmanages two uk holidays a year…to cottages. She’s been abroad many times and no inclination for that now

Well that's how it should be. Your grandmother probably led a hard life. I know my grandparents all did. She will have worked hard whatever.

Confused that your mother takes her to withdraw £250 per week. Pension is paid 4xweekly and your grandmother obviously isn't spending that much a week.

My mum owns her house and has a small amount of investment that gives her an extra couple of hundred a month. She is ok but not happy, it means there are lots of things she can’t do due to cost. Also, something like a roof repair can blow her budget for anything extra.

it isn’t how I would want my retirement whilst I’m still relatively fit.

My mum owns her house and has a small amount of investment that gives her an extra couple of hundred a month. She is ok but not happy, it means there are lots of things she can’t do due to cost. Also, something like a roof repair can blow her budget for anything extra.

it isn’t how I would want my retirement whilst I’m still relatively fit.

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I dealt with an elderly relative whose only icome was the state pension. They obviously had this topped up with pension credit and things like their council tax they didn't get charged for as they were such low income. I'd say it was INCREDIBLY hard they didn't have any social life or access to the community but they could barely get by with utitliy bills etc. Could just about pay the essentials absolutely no quality of life had not redecorated or bought new furniture etc in 50 years.

My friend is on state pension. She gets her rent paid by Housing Benefit- possibly her Council Tax too

She's been crap with money all her life, has never saved a penny. She's also rarely been on holiday Maybe 10 times in the 39 years I've known her. She prioritised her career in the arts over every 'luxury' like new clothes, furniture etc. She's had lots of opportunities to earn extra money in her life but 'can't be bothered'.

I guess the welfare state is there to help people who can't help themselves but I can't help but feel a bit resentful that apart from the pension I won't have had any money from the state for 38years by the time I get it. I've paid into a small private pension.

I'd have loved to prioritise a low paid career I really wanted to do, but I thought about my future- probably not enough as it's a pretty small pension! She will get care paid for, I will have to pay for my own.

It totally depends on your lifestyle. I prioritise a lovely holiday and a warm comfortable home over fashion, cars, days out etc. I am very happy with my life that doesn’t cost a lot but others would hate it.

I have a relative who lives on SP. She has no work pension at all.

As far as I know, she can pay her bills and run a car. No expensive holidays, or even mini breaks. Things are tight but doable.

My bills and food alone are nearly £1000 a month so not much fun money if you are only getting £250 a week.

I am thankful I have some work pensions too as I might have struggled on just the state pension as I live alone, so no husband/partner buffer. I will be debt free but it’s things like council tax and utilities that can hold you hostage. I have done a lot of calculations and I should be able to enjoy my retirement, not in an extravagant way, but in a, I will be able to meet all my bills with a bit left over, way. I’m really grateful for the works pensions, especially as I really hated one of the jobs but reluctantly ploughed on for a number of years, and will now reap the benefit of those miserable years. 🙂

There are two rates for full state pension depending on the date you qualify for retirement date pre or post 2016. Guaranteed single pensioners income is £238 per week and for anyone who has fully paid up NI contributions retiring post 2016 their pension is £241.30 per week.

People who do not have extra money to achieve a decent workplace pension and/or save just remain the same, lower down the socio economic food chain with less buying power.

There is also what your family can do for you.

We all have a standard of living but if that standard drops at any age it’s painful to know it and then lose it. Last year was DH first year of retirement and we spent more than ever on non essentials. That’s tends to be the spending pattern of people who retire who have spare money. It then tails off as they age and cant or don’t want to do so much. When we are out midweek in certain places you can very much see the power of the silver pound. We toured round in our Motorhome for 6 weeks last year out of season. Paid to stay on different sites and ate out a lot.

For those saying £250 a week, the state pension is £230.25.
I think do-able for a couple, much harder for a single person. Can make for a basic existence if no housing costs.

The “paying into it all your life” thing is a bit of a misnomer. Your tax now pays for those currently drawing a pension. The government doesn’t keep your own state pension pot just for you. When it is your turn to be eligible for a state pension then working age people will be paying for your state pension.

It is called a functioning society that cares for their elderly.

Do you have savings in case you need a new roof or boiler?
Also a consideration if you have a very basic pension.

I'd have loved to prioritise a low paid career I really wanted to do, but I thought about my future- probably not enough as it's a pretty small pension! She will get care paid for, I will have to pay for my own.

Ensuring everyone contributes to social care is a necessity, not just the financially responsible. I can see an insurance scheme introduced if you want to be eligible.

This is not possible. Not without raising the basic rate of both of those benefits. Currently the full basic rate of either UC or state pension wouldn't even cover many people's rent. Then there's utilities, council tax, food and toiletries, pharmacy, dental, eye care, car/public transport/taxis, furniture, clothes etc. If you cut out housing benefit for pensioners and UC housing element for working age people, you'd basically be killing people. They wouldn't even be able to afford to eat and drink if they rented. They'd be homeless on the streets just so they could buy food etc. There'd be no council help for homeless people because that's either paid for by the individual (if they're working and earn enough) or by UC housing element or housing benefit (if they're not working'or on a low income). They'd have to build more children's homes to take all the homeless children into care since they'd be no longer helping the adult parents, that would impact children's health and wellbeing long term leading to increased NHS costs and reduced likelihood of those children ever being high earners and paying high tax. It would be a disaster.

If you live in the country a mile from a bus stop, with only one or two buses a day, and several miles from the nearest town, and in a very cold part of the country, it would be quite hard.

Yes but thats the case for most people whi need more than a year or two's care, at 100k/ year any savings would soon be eroded.

Yes, they had these in the past, massive orphanages. Grim places

Also called a 'ponzi scheme'

Leaving aside the fact that you don’t ’get back what you paid in’, we could obviously fund pensions to a higher level but it would be incredibly expensive for the working population at the time. Most people are struggling with the cost of living as it is and since the pensions are not means tested and uplift in the provision goes to everyone, even those with millions in private pensions. One of the trade offs of it being universal means that a small uplift in its value is very expensive.