No money at all

[AngelaBB]

My husband retired in August, I have been retired two years. He didn’t talk to me about retiring , just came home and said he had talked to HR and never went back to work.
He is hopeless with money, I gave to run everything and I find it exhausting. He hadn’t bothered to sort out his pension, although he told me that he had and just left it, we now have no money at all. He has finally sent the forms in but has been told that it will take at least six weeks to all come through. I have no money at all, used my overdraft facility and credit cards maxed out. He expects me to sort it out but I don’t know how. There literally is nothing in the pot. He can live like this but I can’t, he thinks I’m over reacting and it’ll all work out but I’ve had enough. Am I being unreasonable?

It sounds as you have both been poor at planning and provisioning, did you not pay into a pension pot for yourself? Bit risky to rely solely on the state pension in these times .
If your home is paid off, can you release some equity to live off? Or maybe one of you will have to go back to work. Sadly these are the times we live in.

And? Retirement is not mandatory the second you hit state retirement age you know. Particularly if you do not have sufficient funds to support yourself.

Some judgemental points of view on this thread.

Have I missed what their private pensions are? Even if miniscal (private pensions are now compulsory) it is better than nothing.

I don't think the problem is that they haven't got enough pension, it's that it hasn't been claimed and will take six weeks to come. If he hasn't claimed his state pension I doubt he has claimed any private pension as they are far more faffy than state pension to claim and can also take ages to come through

OP has said that she couldn't physically manage to do her job any more. She worked an extra year after qualifying for her state pension at the age of 66 but obviously struggled in a physically demanding job.

As OP has not come back to the thread, we don't know whether her DH is eligible for the full state pension and whether he also has a workplace pension that he has just applied for, so this may just be a temporary period where they are relying soley on OP's state pension.

You dont talk to HR then never go back to work You talk yo HR resign and work your notice. Something is a bit fishy.

Six weeks may be pessimistic. They maybe just don’t want to guarantee it will be in his bank by end of February if they start the process now, for example.

Credit cards - if you time your outgoings to the day after your credit card date you have 7 weeks until the money is due. That bridges the 6 week gap you have.

Sounds exactly like my idiotic husband. And his sleep is shit. You´ve given me food for thought.

He left last August, he's not going to get a settlement in January.

Maybe stop being judgemental for long enough to actually read and understand OP’s posts. He ‘retired’ without telling OP and failed to apply for both private and state pensions. They can take months to be processed and put into payment, so they are trying to live on OP’s single state pension while they sort it out. It’s a short term problem, not a question of retiring with no means.

Once you claim your state pension its 6 weeks until first payment which is back dated of course, you claim via gov.uk site, they inform you of payment dates

One or both could sign up to some employment agencies.
I have seen zero hour jobs advertised
Obviously depends where they are located as to what job vacancies are available

It sounds like you were exceptionally fortunate.
I started trying to claim mine (or notify them that I was going to) in April, finished work in August, and one finally started paying the following March, the other in the May.

£1500 per month is not "a small occupational pension".

I've worked all my life (some years PT, but more FT) and am claiming what are supposed to be "the best pensions" from my work, but don't get £1500pm between them.

@AngelaBB you ask in your opening post, if you are being unreasonable.
I would say not coming back to the thread you started, since 1.30 this morning, to reply to any of the questions, when so many posters are trying to help you is unreasonable, yes.

You started off saying you had no money, then altered it to the fact you do have (at least) your state pension, and that it sounds like your dh is entitled to his state pension.
You say you've both been working, so presumably have work pension too, even if it is only from when it was made automatic.
People can't help much if you don't give crucial information.

Go to a benefits checker and check if you can get Pension Credit. If you don't have a private pension you should qualify. It's a gateway benefit so if you get it you also get less council tax to pay, free NHS dentist if you can find one.

If you struggle with admin ask citizens advice to help you. They are very good at filing out these forms with you. They helped my MiL.

Actually I have come back and answered questions. When I said I had no money, I meant at this precise moment in time. I do get my state pension, he does not, as yet. I do not have a work pension, he does, but it’s taking a long time to sort out. To be honest some of the answers have been helpful but some have been quite aggressive and a little upsetting. At almost 69, I appreciate that I am older than most people here but surely you understand that I can’t go cleaning at my age. I don’t really think that anyone can help at all, I just needed to vent my frustration.

Take care OP and I hope you got some good advice amongst the judgemental posters who seem to have a worrying lack of empathy.

OP won’t qualify for pension credit if she claims new state pension as it is typically over the threshold for a single person. And if her DH has applied for his own state pension DWP will take this as current income and they will be significantly over the threshold as a couple, especially if DH has applied for private pension, as this will count as current income too. It’s not how pension credit is utilised.

Are you sure the poster didn’t mean state pension and private pension combined ? That’s how l read it - £1500 total.

No were bad with money but too paranoid, care to much and are always reading the room to do this.

It sounds like neither of you planned well. Why didn't you pay into a private pension?