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?

This is a good idea. More people should try it. You might find it's fine, you might hate it. Everyone is different. Then you can plan accordingly.

What on earth do you spend it on?

This is just not realistic for many people. Going to university or college is never going to be an option. "Working hard" is not the simple answer that people seem to think it is.

You’d afford to stay in your house and eat

but sounds pretty miserable to me

I’d want to be out a lot / eat out / go for drinks

get tickets for shows and take trips / holidays

wouldn’t want to be broke all the time

The new state pension amount is a few pounds over the limit for pension credit so unless you are eligible for additional premiums like carers premium or disability premium someone on new state pension would not qualify.

https://www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/

This is a really helpful guide.

£40k isn't for a basic life, it's for a comfortable life as a single person household.

I think it's obvious that anyone who can afford a care home that insists you have £200k availability is likely to be the best of the best in care.

But I have friends who scouted for homes for a much loved resident and actually chose one of the cheaper ones they saw because it was so much nicer a place than the others.

One friend chose to send her mother over near her sister in Wales because the quality of the care was great in a state funded place in a home there.

There is variation, maybe they were lucky to have choices.

I'm sorry about your Mum, I doubt if there's any way to feel good about your situation even if the home was the best of the best.

I know people who have been given more on the state pension than they were for working. This is people working in schools.

Pensioners have not been poor since the 80s and it is the poor wages that are the scandal of our times.

Of course there are so many problems coming out way with the destruction of the British ecology and world climate that working poverty may seem like riches in years to come. The boomers’ wealth will be the subject of disbelieved myths.

So there's 100 workers on minimum wage, they are overseen by 4 shift leaders earning earning about a pound or 2 an hour more. Them 4 report into the big boss.
One shift leader leaves, 1 person gets a promotion, 99 remain on minimum wage. That's how society functions.

No, why would you think everyone is able to do this (or there would be enough manager roles)?

Apologies if someone has already stated this but I have read that the amount you need decreases as you get older as you tend to go out less. My single neighbour who is 74 lives a very simple life of TV, reading & gardening and claims that her state pension backs up in her account. Then she'll go and blow £8K on a new front door from Anglia Windows, because she can.

It’s ok until a big bill comes in, whether it be a full car service or house repair; then I think you could run into difficulties

Of course not but the answer to that is to make private provision

Pensioners have not been poor since the 80s

Wouldn't you call living on £12k a year if you own your own house and have no right to benefits "poor"?

A family member did just fine on state pension, in fact he saved money from it. He lived in sheltered accommodation (so a tiny flat), no car, had always lived a cheap life so he didn’t have to cut back at all. He’d still get a paper and an occasional coffee and a lottery ticket, and give kids and grandkids £20 for birthday and Christmas. He never went on holiday in his working life, other than visiting family, he wasn’t about to start when he retired.

Now me, with my 4 bed house and our 2 cars and not living near a decent bus service, and an expectation of cruises, and wine at the weekend and eating out and takeaways - well no the state pension won’t cover that. So I’ve been prioritising paying into my pension since our childcare costs ended.

My parents live only on the state pension and say they have more (and predictable) money than they ever did in their (obviously low paid) working life. They are mortgage free though which must make a big difference.

You can live on it, but things like car/car repairs, holidays, gifts, dentist, haircuts, appliances to be replaced, insurance… it all has to come from that 12 000. Or, what’s left after you paid your bills and food. Not to mention the odd days off.

I work in benefits for older people. The vast majority over 85 seem to have health issues and claim Attendance allowance and all the extra pension credit etc that can come with that. A lot of it just builds up in their accounts and they are amazed by how much they get. To be honest they really aren't doing badly. It's the ones at the lower end of the age spectrum that are struggling if they don't have a private pension or qualify for pension credit.

Well, I pay full rent, and get no top ups, so I’m glad of my private pensions.

A thousand pounds a month might sound good, but there’s still utilities, council tax, etc etc to fund.

Although I would guess the majority just on a state pension would get some pension credit which helps.

My dad is always saying he has more than enough ! He has a small private pension also but has plenty to live off, buys all his food form M&S etc !

This is Mumsnet, people are obsessed with ' pension pots' to the point you are supposed to scrimp and save in your healthiest years to have hundreds of thousands for an uncertain future.

Two people living on £500 pw in a house with no mortgage should be very comfortable , unless they were planning on cruising round the world for 6 months of the year.

If you want to live modestly, have some hobbies, put a bit away for a UK summer holiday and a nice Christmas, it is more than enough.

I've often thought the same as the OP. At 65 I will be ready to have a quieter life and that amount of money would do me and DH nicely.

If we need care, care will be available..it doesn't need to be luxurious private care, just functional.

Hmm that’s some people - I personally don’t see 74 as very old !!

At 74 (all my aunties around this age)

they all have a very active social life - meeting once a week in the pub for their dinner and drinks

all heading the theatre basically every other week!

my 73 year old aunt flew from Dublin to London for one weekend just to go to the abba show with some friends

my dads 70 and he’s in the gym 5 days a week and if he’s not there he’s on the golf course or in my house doing diy bits for me

he took my 4 year old to Disneyland for a weekend by himself on the Eurostar

there’s no way he’d be happy sitting in watching tv as his life any time soon.

my nana was still very active until she was 100 no way she have sat in happy with a quiet life in front of the tv either - she had a routine of being somewhere each day of the week (pub lunch Tuesday, coffee in the park after mass with the church friends another day, into the city centre on Wednesday, and come on holidays with us some years ! Never slowed down until she died

I agree. Let’s hope they don’t take it away.

If people have been working then it's likely they will have a private pension.

The original pension was paid when life expectancy was much lower, now that medical care has extended lifetimes, it's unaffordable. If you want a better than "basic" lifestyle at retirement then you need a private pension.

The state (i.e tax payers) cannot afford more than "basic" as there are many more people receiving pensions.

Even with your own house you need to be able to maintain the house, buy new white goods as and when, cover vehicle insurance/repairs/tax, cover christmas birthdays, relatives big events... weddings, landmark birthdays, baby. Glasses get expenses as eyes need more help. Teethstart needing money spent on them.
Big heating bills. Also holidays or weekend away is quite a stretch. If you live quietly then its possible. If you want a life then not easy. Also what you get in private pension will virtually all go in tax....or reduced pension.
Unless you have a large private pension its a much reduced lifestyle.