Cost of everything (retirement)

[H202too]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/we-saved-350000-retirement-monthly-37498822?utmmedium=Social&utmcampaign=main&utmsource=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRleATZ4vBwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6rBUMA2lMbYk-rATEy6IndXG9KSDbl7szlanfzYTF5DGfvyIElMpJK08M1waem1AFpPsa5PMCSkIjLIWlSZw#Echobox=1785492928

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand everything is ridiculously expensive on the other I think £1700 with no housing costs is a lot.
They are also savvy to have planned but also the cost of everything is crazy! It is harder than it has been in my lifetime,ok not 1872 hard but harder than 1992. But also 10k for two weeks in Italy. 🤔
What do you think?
I have mixed opinions.

I've seen a lot of these articles recently. I think they are aimed at the younger generations in a "look at what will happen to you if you don't plan for your own future" way. The state pension is unlikely to exist in the same way in the future. It isn't a poor them, their life is hard story it is a wake up or this is your future story.

The numbers make no sense, why on earth are they spending 10k on a holiday. They should habe enough coming in from their investments to easily cover their 1700 a month expenses

I've got no sympathy.

Did they not do any sums before making the decision to retire, to work out what their income would be and what their outgoings were? I'm not retired yet but have looked into how much I would get if I retured early and am aware that I can't afford to yet as my income would not cover my outgoings!

And who puts £10K into a holiday fund and then spends the whole lot in one go on two weeks in Italy?

£62k annually for a couple?? There are working age couples that don’t earn that and who have housing and child related costs that you’d hope you wouldn’t have in retirement. Why is it so much??

I think they are naive. £350k is a lot of money but not enough to retire early AND comfortably - especially for a couple. Should’ve kept working part-time. £10K on a holiday is very spendy given their circs.

I think these are all cautionary tales but tbh im not surprised. I'm early forties and have been horrified about how many friends have sod all private pension. Women especially. Like under £100k.

They are going to be royally fucked in retirement.

That said the couple in that article clearly live beyond their means. References to car finance, expensive holidays they cant afford, plus he apparently retired at 55 which is bloody early.

Given that this is the generation of people who are constantly harping on about "in MY day we just saved up for what we needed and bought a house because we didn't have Netflix or coffee shops"... i have very little sympathy

These people own multiple properties and spend £10k on a holiday but want us to think they can't afford to live???

Fuck off and live within your means like everyone else has to.

The median pension for a single OAP is around 16K. You can't do much off 16K. We really should rise up like the French do and demand better for our 40 years of toil.

How much in investments does one person need to live comfortably? Housing costs paid.

They could sell the property they are renting out, or increase the rent as it seems very low..

I’m embarrassed for them. If they need more money then they should go back to work. 55 is too early to retire anyway. My dad is still farming at 83. Some people are just lazy and expect to lie around for 20-30 years.

I'd love to be able to retire at 55 like her husband or early 60s like her and own 2 houses and be able to blow 10k on a holiday! As it stands I'll be working until 67, admittedly I should have an annual income of around 36k by then, but I'm definitely not going to be able to retire early! And as for holidays, this year I'm splashing out on my first proper one in about 10 years and spending 3.5 k taking my partner to the Carribbean for landmark birthdays!
Boo bloody hoo to them!

They have rental properties and spend 10k on 2 weeks in Italy. The figures don't make sense either. One retired at 55 and they are almost definitely renting below market rent to family.
Save our sympathy for those that deserve it. Sell a house if it's that bad.
And you don't need 1200 a week to live comfortably in UK a week with a bought house. This article is pretty perfetic. You are not going to get sympathy if you own more houses than your family home, and plead poverty

'We've grafted all our life' well no. He's retired at 55 and you at 62

I think state pensions are a strain on our country’s finances as it is.
This couple should have just worked until their retirement age or been a bit more frugal.

We spent 28k last year with zero housing costs, we didn’t have to spend that much but when people first retire they tend to spend a lot more as it’s the first time they have some time. .

We have retired early at similar ages if our pension income had been that low we wouldn’t have retired.

I don’t really understand what they’ve got coming in. It says they have £350k investments but also that they have £400 and £1k pension a month - is that separate from the £350k? Either way, they are deluded that they thought they were going to be living the high life in retirement.

They just don't seem prepared to live within what seem to me to be very generous means.

I'm retired and live on very much less than they do. If I had £10k holidays, a car on finance and a £2k new door I'd be struggling. Instead I go to the seaside in my 20 year old banger of a camping van and sanded and painted my old front door for about £15. I feel much happier with my little lot than they seem to be.

It's crazy the numbers retiring so early. I work in the area of benefits and whilst I know that people are coming to us for advice because they are low on funds, I am just surprised by so many ( mainly women ) in their late fifties and early sixties who just haven't worked for years, not for any particular reason like caring. Then there's the ones who have retired ridiculously early and just don't seem to have planned for it at all, and those who took all their pension pots and blew it or paid off kids debts and now don't have much to live off. I'm also on a few facebook early retirement sites or retiring on a budget and people have nothing much to live off in their early 60's and dont seem to have planned at all. I do understand how hard it is for older people to stay employed though. I honestly think they need to reduce state pension age rather than keep putting it up. I've just had a bad shock myself where I was led to believe my NHS pension was going to be significantly more that it now is ( their mistake ) so all my retirement plans have gone out the window and I just have to keep on working a few more years.

Trouble is most of us are living to 80, and in good health til the last 5-10 years. So whilst I am very much up for womanning some barricades for better healthcare and pay/conditios, I do expect to work til 70.

People don’t understand the french system

Ridiculous article. He retired because of ill health age 55, she’s also retired in her early 60s but they struggle to make ends meet and spend £10k on holiday in 2 weeks?! yet they still own another property that they rent out. Sell it then!

How can the majority of younger people save for a decent pension particularly without the state one?

Agree. My graduate son has only be able to get a 16 hour a week retail job ! I'm going to start putting money into a pension for him whilst I can until he can hopefully get more hours or something better.

That poor couple, what a dreadful time they must be having - such a struggle. Perhaps they could open a Give a Little 🙄