Anyone live on just the government pension?

[wavingfuriously]

For those with no private pension do you manage to live on this alone?

Not me, and I am too young, but I have a couple of older friends who have just the state pension. I imagine It will depend on how much pension you are recieving as to whether someone can manage as under the pressure 2016 scheme, the pension could be up to £380 a week and many get between £250 and £300.

Nobody would. They would get pension credit AFAIK.

No they wouldn't because if you're in receipt of a full state pension it puts you just above the upper limit for when you can claim pension credit

The ‘full state pension’ generally means £221 pw.

For a couple, sharing the overheads and in their own home with mortgage paid off this might be doable.

For a single person , covering all bills, food, house insurance, paying 75% of the council tax , TV licence , boiler service, winter heating, having a fund for a new washing machine / boiler / roof / general maintenance: no. Downsizing to a flat would keep some bills such as CT down (pensioners might only be heating one room anyway) but will bring service charges and ground rent.

This is why so many were upset, and seriously disadvantaged, by the Winter Fuel Allowance cut.

There are far more single women than men living without additional private or occupational pension for all the usual reasons , especially if they are single mothers, in low paid work and most of their working life was before employers pension contributions were compulsory.

@Viviennemary No, the full state pension of £221pw takes you over the limit for claiming pension credit.

However if you haven’t got full state pension and claim pension credit of , I think £218 a week, you become eligible for all sorts of things that those in full state pension are not. Starting with WFA. So end up better off.

I say again: this is why so many were hit badly by the loss of WFA, while MN was screeching furiously about ‘wealthy boomers’.

this is why so many were hit badly by the loss of WFA, while MN was screeching furiously about ‘wealthy boomers’

The percentage who lost the WFA and only have this income to live on will be a small minority. It's still the case that many pensioners are far wealthier than a lot of working people, and have assets and income that younger people will never achieve.

I couldn't understand why the winter fuel allowance wasn't only withdrawn from those on a higher rate of tax.

DH and I get pension credit which is about the same as 2 state pensions (DH doesn't have a full state pension but I do). Actually it is a bit more, because I get PIP (but that goes towards disability costs) and DH gets a carer premium on the pension credit, and we get council tax paid. House is fully paid off. We have free travelcards and live in London where we can use public transport to get anywhere, so we rarely use the car.

It covers all of our living costs, food, bills, socialising, presents, cheap holidays. We have modest needs and don't spend a lot, and grow some food in our back garden. I don't feel like we go without. We've always lived frugally (cooking from scratch, entertaining at home rather than eating out, visiting free places rather than paid days out) and our income now isn't too different to what it was pre-retirement (because DH could only work p/t, and I only got awarded PIP just before retiring). So we've learned to manage our spending like this over decades. I guess it would be harder if you had a high income during the working years and then dropped to state pension levels, but surely you'd have a private pension then.

The state pension can be a lot more than £221.2 a week. It depends on the OPs circumstances and the pension forecast.

In what circumstances is state pension over £221 unless you are over 85?

If you paid into SERPS, S2P - no longer available

I have a relative who lives on state pension only & it looks pretty miserable to be fair. She doesn’t have the money to go anywhere or do much. You really need to build up a work or private pension as well to be sure of a good retirement.

I know someone who lives on the state pension but they get pension credit as well. They manage ok, but mainly because they never go out so no transport costs. All shopping done online.

which country are you in with that sort of pension?

Depends on age and lifestyle too.
Someone retiring at 67 who has previously enjoyed a decent standard of living, lives in a large property, used to socialising and going on holiday might struggle.

DH's gran happily lived off state pension and after she died aged 100 we found cash she'd squirrelled away. She always had enough to pay her bills but had lived very modestly. After about 85 she stopped going out as much because her friends had started to die off, holidays abroad didn't have any appeal, and she had no need to run a car.

DM does and it’s more money than she’s ever had. She doesn’t drive, drink or smoke so that’s a plus.

The UK, where else? Lots of people get a higher pension due to SERPS and S2P. That is why the government reformed pensions in 2016. It was designed to reduce spending on pensions in the long term.

It isn't a small minority, it's many thousands, mainly women

@Flopsythebunny

"It isn't a small minority, it's many thousands, mainly women"

Agreed completely

To be fair, ‘many thousands’ of 13 million pensioners in the UK is still a small minority.

Poverty is pretty well spread between the generations and state pension only is likely to require support as it wouldn't pay your rent

It can also be a lot less than £220 a week which is the NEW state pension.
The basic state pension is around £175pw for those who reached retirement age before 2016 and sometimes it's even less.

If you only have the basic state pension then you can apply for pension credit which takes you up to new state pension levels and unlocks other benefits, eg. Housing benefit/Mortgage interest assistance/council tax/WFA/TV licence but if you have a small private pension of as little as £2500pa you don't qualify, so you might have the same income as someone who didn't save into a pension but you miss out on the benefits so would be much worse off.

A couple on the new State pension will have an income of around £23k which if you have no mortgage is more than enough to cover the basics with limited extras, but if you are renting then it isn't. And for a single person it's pretty much impossible.

Just imagine your elderly relative on basic state pension with a small private pension fixed income of around £11500 (just £3 a week below the current qualifying level for pension credit) paying £800 a month rent. That leaves £36 a week for food and all other bills.

MIl is on pension credit and according to her is much better off than previously. periodically she has to give money away or it takes her over the savings limit. Doesnt run a car or go on holidays abroad but she smokes like a chimney - must spend at least £150 a month on fags

And as a few others have said, whilst i understand that government doesnt want the cost of means testing, it seems really unfair that someone who has saved/paid slightly more into their pension and maybe £5 over the pensions credit limit gets no help whilst those on pension credit get reduced council tax, free taxis to hospital, dental/eyesite help and WFA.

Your post is confusing because you are implying that the government pension could be £380 per week. This is obviously incorrect and I don't know where you are pulling these numbers from.