What will happen to those of us who can’t afford to pay in to a pension?

[whatnooow]

I’m starting to get a bit worried about how we are supposed to support ourselves as we get older as we basically live hand to mouth each month.

My DH and I are minimum wage workers and had to come out of the company pension contributions about 7 years ago to be able to get by, day to day. we’re both early 40s and are both knackered already. Another 30 years will definitely kill us off!

Will we just have to work until we drop dead? What if we can’t work due to ill health, but not actually disabled? Luckily we will have paid the mortgage off in about 20 years, but how will we survive, pay bills, buy food etc?

Neither of us will receive any inheritance. Time feels like it’s speeding up and I’m very worried.

What a difficult situation.

I think it very likely that there will still be a benefits safety net when you're older, it won't be a rich life tho.

I agree that it isn't that easy to progress, I see a lot of roles that used to be the next step up for an experienced employee now need a degree.

If your current job is exhausting can you look for another which you will find easier, since the wage will be the same - less physical or not customer facing or whatever tires you out. Then you might have the energy to look for a promotion or do a side gig.

If those of us who work are being told we can’t rely on getting it, why is it being taken from us?
is this yet another #bekind aren’t you just so lucky to work 37 hrs a week for 50 years to get fuck all, while Jimothy and his bad back never has to contribute to anything..,?

Complete speculation and no way to plan your future.

OP.
You MUST find a way to pay into your company pension schemes, apart from saving for your future, you also make savings on tax & NI plus your employer is also paying in (call it "free money" if you like).
With full state pensions, (some) company pensions and no mortgage you are not going to be destitute, not as comfortable as some but at least you will have options.

All to often, when people say they don't know where their money goes but then they list their outgoings for us all to see, there are almost always examples that are obvious to anyone looking in from the outside (multiple streaming services, costly BB or phone contracts, coffee, takeaways, duel cars, holidays, not researching insurance, utilities etc etc).
Of course everyone deserves a treat but sometimes people can't see (or prioritise) unnecessary spending.

Labour are not the only government to put back state pension age.

Whether the argument has been equality between men and women / maintaining the ratio of our lives spent working v in retirement as our life expectancy increases , or simply pressures on the budget.

• Pensions Act 1995 (Conservative Govt): Introduced equalizing the pension age for women (from 60) to match men's (65) by 2020.
• Pensions Act 2007 (Labour Govt - Blair/Brown): Set out plans to raise the age to 68 by 2046, based on life expectancy.
• Pensions Act 2011 (Coalition Govt - Cameron/Clegg): Accelerated the process, bringing the women's age to 65 by 2018 and raising the overall age to 66 by 2020.
• Pensions Act 2014 (Coalition Govt - Cameron/Clegg): Brought forward the rise to age 67 for both sexes to between 2026-2028.

Yes, of course it will. I didn't say it wouldn't.

My income at retirement will be approx £34k gross pa. So will my husbands (his will get slightly higher). We should be able to manage on that quite comfortably.

Can’t you work towards promotion in your current jobs?

Get better paid jobs, do overtime and start paying into a private pension. It might be a struggle but you are responsible for your own private pension contributions

I have a feeling the expectation is you sell the house and use the proceeds of that to pay to rent a tiny place in a cheap area.

They're on minimum wage, have a mortgage and cannot manage to save anything at the moment. Just how did you imagine they would "get a rental property"?

At what point did I say there would be no state pension?

I'm relying on silicon valley and AI to come up with a cure for ageing.

So what needs turned around?

I would immediately start paying into your pension, even if just one of you for now. Trust me I know it’s hard.

Unless you have a fabulous house be careful about downsizing, you don’t quite the money you hope. You may have to look at downsizing and moving to a very cheap area of the country, it used to be Shropshire / Norfolk / Lincs / Scotland but not sure they’re that cheap now.

Noone can really guarantee inheritance so don’t listen to people, care homes are around £2k a week (per person) around here, and that’s not specialised care. About the same for live in care. Also a sad thought to consider.

It concerns us too, we have been paying into a pension, but looks to be crap and gov pension keeps being pushed back. It won’t be a Pugh for us to live even after mortgage is paid off. I have resigned myself I will be working way past 65 and I just hope I have the health that I can.

i also worry about people who rent, what are they going to do once they retire? Can all of them afford to keep paying rent?

Its not easy and you are right to think about it but also don't let it become something you worry about. Can one of you start paying into a pension? Its usually a few hundred before tax but then your employer will match so your pension saving is actually double its a shame to be loosing out on that. I couldn't afford a pension until I was mid 30s but its building up well now. As others have said you could release some equity from the house, there are different ways to do that. Also I know a few older people that have parttime jobs doing something they like so its sociable and gives you a bit more money.

It blows my mind that people think someone, without qualifications or experience in anything other than what they have always done, can just “get a better job”

Thank you to everyone who gave me practical advice.

How did you go about this? Any company you recommend?

I cannot stress how important it is to save as much as you can, even if it's just a bit each month when times are tough.

I'm currently watching 2 separate sets of couple friends who have totally fucked up by ignoring reality, prioritising stupid things and not saving. They seem surprised to find themselves in this position and I am stunned by their complete denial.

Make a plan, save what you can, and you'll thank yourselves later.

State pension plus lodger is my plan.

I think renters get Housing Benefit so their housing is secure from that point.

I don’t know how they are going to fund state pensions in the future . It’s paid out of the NI contributions of today’s workers . There aren’t going to be enough workers in years to come because all the youngsters are on sick benefits with their depression/ anxiety/ autism etc etc . That coupled with the phenomenal social care costs the country is doomed for those who can’t support themselves .
I don’t hold with the thought that min wage workers can’t better themselves . Min wage work has a lot of skill that can be used for a promotion or change of direction . It’s a severe lack of ambition and aspiration that holds people back not always their ability .

Get another PT job or do overtime so you can get back into the employer pension.

You have to pay your future self first because your future self will not be able to work.

Even if you’re only adding £500 a year to your pension pot do it. No amount is too little.

It’s that old adage if you can’t afford to pay a pension when you’re working how are you going to afford to live when you’re not .

Fuck knows, OP. I have many friends in your position. But for them, they’re stuck thinking they’re 22 and that ‘pensions aren’t something that would even enter my mind at this point’. Only they’re not 22 any more, they’re 38/39/40, and have very few National Insurance completed years and certainly no private pension as they’ve spent years dicking around travelling and working cash in hand. It’s a disaster waiting to happen

So there's no scope to move into line management? Normally that's how people progress

I have seen countless people progress without any special training

What's the job? Maybe you can get some advice here

Following this I am in a similar situation