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Original poster

£1k left per month in retirement after all bills paid

118 replies

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 09:44

I know every persons requirement is different but generally speaking if you had home all paid off and in retirement you had all your monthly bills covered with £1k left over to do whatever with is that an ok position to be in?
(person in question isn’t to bothered about foreign holidays as done all that in their working years , mainly a few day trips out , meal here and there etc)

OP posts:
Orangesquashed · 23/10/2023 15:58

@Pumpkinspie there’s £100k in savings?

Reddog1 · 23/10/2023 15:59

Your update was relevant and should really have appeared in your OP.

I do think it’s tight (but manageable) for a couple. However, in this case the £100k is an excellent safety net.

Ionapussy · 23/10/2023 16:00

OP has £100k for emergencies which should also generate a small income on top (unless all used up early on).

£1k seems more than sufficient for my circumstances but it won't be if OP wants regular nice travel & entertainment. It depend on what lifestyle they want.

Westfacing · 23/10/2023 16:04

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 15:07

It was a genuine question, it’s a couple. 1 has pension the other doesn’t.

So now there are two people in the household?

That totally skews the finances detailed and the question 'is that an ok position to be in?

neilyoungismyhero · 23/10/2023 16:07

warriorofhopelessness · 23/10/2023 10:38

That is what many pensioners have a month and they have to pay all their bills out of it.

Show quote history

Exactly that...

YourWinter · 23/10/2023 16:08

My income is full state pension plus a small work pension, total just over £1100/ month. I live alone. Mortgage is paid off and no debts but I save £100 a month and run my house, car and pets on that. To have £1000 left over after bills was an impossible dream when I was working, let alone now.

You cut your coat according to your cloth, I suppose.

Redlarge · 23/10/2023 16:09

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 10:20

Yes food and all monthly bills included. So the 1k is literally for free spend
100k in savings

This is a fabulous income amd savings

caringcarer · 23/10/2023 16:13

OP is pension inflation proof? Because £1k now sounds ok but in 10 years if inflation run riot again and your pension was not inflation proofed who knows. As a home owner over the next 10 years you would expect to upgrade on a new washing machine, TV, fridge freezer, vacuum cleaner, possibly a car. Through in a few holidays, clothing and it would eat into your savings. If your pension is inflation proof it would possibly be ok if you didn't want nice foreign holidays or too much eating out.

Isheabastard · 23/10/2023 16:14

I am divorcing this year and will reach state pension age next year.

I am hoping to buy a house outright and have a buffer of £50k savings.

If I had a £1000 a month spending money left over after all bills, I’d be absolutely delighted.

The savings would be for the calamity new car, boiler etc. I would then probably try and Save £500 a month to refresh my buffer savings.

I sound very much like your relative and I’m pretty sure £500 would be enough most months for me. My only indulgence could be cats. Foster kitties here I come!

LizzieSiddal · 23/10/2023 16:16

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 10:20

Yes food and all monthly bills included. So the 1k is literally for free spend
100k in savings

100K in savings and they’re worried about money? FFS.

decionsdecisions62 · 23/10/2023 16:21

Well of course! Most folks would want that!

ShanghaiDiva · 23/10/2023 16:27

With a £100k buffer in savings then it would seem fine to me.

caringcarer · 23/10/2023 16:31

ebts · 23/10/2023 15:21

Obviously it is plenty to live on and spend on "unnecessaries", but I think people are being a tad harsh. I used to visit a well-off elderly lady as part of a befriending scheme who would never put her heating on as she was terrified of spending money, and only allowed herself one hot drink a day. My own mother, who had plenty of money in investments, thought she was in penury if the stock market went down. Eventually her money did nearly all go on care home fees, but before then she denied herself small pleasures because she had persuaded herself she couldn't afford them. I think worrying about money is something that can occur as one gets older when one loses the capacity to earn and one's income feels out of one's own control.

Yes I agree with this. My Mum who was financially comfortable, had limited mobility, so she used to go to the town with my sister. My Mum liked fresh fish from the fishmonger. She would sit on a bench and ask my sister to go and see the price of whatever fish she fancied. My sister would come back and tell her but she would get quite upset if it had gone up which it often did and say she would go without. This was ridiculous because she could easily afford whatever fish she fancied. In the end my sister used to lie to her and tell her it was on a special offer so she would have it. As people get older some get more cautious.

TiaraBoo · 23/10/2023 16:48

Well what do you think, is £1000 a month enough for “mainly a few day trips out , meal here and there etc”?

usernother · 23/10/2023 16:56

That's absolutely loads of money. They are very lucky. If the other person in the couple doesn't have a pension why aren't they still working until they get their state pension like so many have to now.

willWillSmithsmith · 23/10/2023 17:32

looking4pup · 23/10/2023 10:37

I don't understand people saying it's not a lot.

I don't have anything spare. Actually some bills aren't paid as I just don't hace enough.

£1000 money to do whatever you what with?

Mumsnet is full of snobs.

I thought I must have read the OP wrong after reading replies such as it’s not a lot or it’s a bit tight! This is meant to be £1k ‘pocket money’ a month for a pensioner. Something most people, regardless of age, could only dream of! Must be a lot of rich people on here today.

SleepingStandingUp · 23/10/2023 17:51

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 10:20

Yes food and all monthly bills included. So the 1k is literally for free spend
100k in savings

You don't think 1k free spends with a 100k cushion is enough? Perhaps suggest they get a job is Tesco 🙄

Original poster
Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 18:02

Personally I think it’s fine but I am getting feedback outside of my own perspective. The people in question worry

OP posts:
redeyedcat · 23/10/2023 18:04

This thread is crazy. A lot of families do not have £1k left after the bills are paid or even half that.

Why does one need '1k fun money' every month? If the bills are all paid then this is just for entertainment, surely?

CaptinKitty · 23/10/2023 18:10

Depends entirely on how spendy they are usually/what kind of lifestyle they want. id find it tight simply because we spend more disposable than that every month, but we go out a lot/often have a few big ticket luxury items we buy regularly.

How much disposal income do they have/are they spending currently? Because that will be the benchmark for them in terms of how comfortable they will feel.

ACGTHelix · 23/10/2023 18:10

@Lm1981
i would love to have all bills covered, and then £1000 to spend or save each month, that would be perfect for me.

ACGTHelix · 23/10/2023 18:12

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 18:02

Personally I think it’s fine but I am getting feedback outside of my own perspective. The people in question worry

the worst case, is living costs rise a bit extra and they end up with eg £800 or £700 ect per cm

Brigitte57 · 23/10/2023 18:19

redeyedcat · 23/10/2023 18:04

This thread is crazy. A lot of families do not have £1k left after the bills are paid or even half that.

Why does one need '1k fun money' every month? If the bills are all paid then this is just for entertainment, surely?

I do agree with your first point but re: your second point, I don’t know… If I think about my own retirement (after often working 60+ hour weeks - sometimes much more - and my husband also being a workaholic) and I can only afford the bills and not even one meal out a month or a catch up with a friend in a coffee shop or something, I find that quite a bleak prospect. I KNOW that this is life for many, many people. I agree thought that 1k is more than enough for fun times a month. I’d love that much!

Karatema · 23/10/2023 19:35

I only earn just over £1000 per month so £1k for anything would be amazing!

GoingDownLikeBHS · 24/10/2023 12:25

Lm1981 · 23/10/2023 18:02

Personally I think it’s fine but I am getting feedback outside of my own perspective. The people in question worry

See I'd have trouble respecting people like that, and I don't know if I could continue to be friends with them - but maybe this is a family member so you don't have a choice! I also think it's really insulting when elderly people (or anyone really) with plenty of money "worry". Well, ok yeah sure they are entitled to feel how they feel and to worry as much as they like but it's not justified. I'm 60+ I hate to think I'd ever get like that.

Colleague slightly older than me often talks about needing "pennies", she has her wage and 3 private pensions already that's even before she gets her state pension. Telling me the other day how sad it was she'd had to trade in her Merc for another new car as the Mercedes wasn't practical, then saying "I have to save my pennies". Grates.