Retiring but not still renting

[bumblebeees]

What happens if you get to retirenent age and are still renting. U can't work as retired but u need to pay the rent etc, so what happens ?

@PinkFootstool but chances are by the time retirement comes they will have a small or no mortgage so much easier than paying kids on rent so I don't really see ur point? Yea they still have bills etc but mortgage would be tiny

Lots on rent not kids!! lol

Why would a mortgage necessarily be a tiny payment? Ours is £600 or so until it ends, which is cheaper than renting but is still a payment you'd have to find from your pension income each month.

Even if you have a great income in retirement, why would you pay that £600+ every month until you die if you have the option not to?

You'll only need a one bed to live in at retirement.

And think about moving to a cheaper area. 2 people working full time in NMW jobs can afford to buy in cheaper parts of the uk.

Not necessarily - with age can come ill health. My parents need separate rooms because one is awake all night, the other has restless legs as one of many symptoms, both have had or need joint replacements and sharing a bed would cause the other to have no sleep / cause pain.

And moving area may well leave people very isolated from friends and family - not so great in old age. Maybe something to do much younger in life!

I bought a house and moved out of Londonderry to address this issue. Even though I was in my 30s. I feel like the traditional approach to retirement is based on not having housing costs. E.g. Paying off your mortgage. As home buying is more our of reach I do wonder how this will work for many...

Pointless answering as so much could change tbh.

At the moment HB helps if income within certain level.

Housing benefit if you qualify.

A useful summary from Steve Webb today, although the question was about what happens to disability benefits more generally at retirement:-

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-11995811/What-happens-PIP-ESA-disability-benefits-state-pension-age.html?ico=mol_desktop_home-newtab&molReferrerUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhome%2Findex.html&_gl=1lgfypv_gaMTE0MjAzNTk3OS4xNjgxNTU4NzQx_ga_XE0XLFFF16*MTY4MjMyMzgwMy4xMi4wLjE2ODIzMjM4MDMuMC4wLjA.&_ga=2.263638796.1226467766.1682280423-1142035979.1681558741

It's something that'll need looking at for sure, policy wise. Since the 90s there's been fewer homeowners and a shrinking pot of social housing with each generation. If we get to the stage (conceivable within 15 years) where even 15% of pensioners are renting privately we'll either be paying out a fortune in housing benefit or we will have significant amounts of impecuniousness and even vagrancy within that age group.

If people are on a low pension when they retire and they don't have private pensions and/ or savings then they claim housing benefit. The amount will be calculated based on what income you have. If you have savings over 16k then you can't get housing benefit. If you are eligible for Pension credit Guarantee then all your rent is generally paid for and council tax. No-one has to work past state pension age just to pay rent.

Renting in old age used to be rare as people could buy houses aged 21 on one salary. Long gone are those days, but the bomb hasn’t exploded yet. It really will. It’s scary to think what will happen, if the government can’t afford to pay proper pensions where the hell are they going to get the money to pay pensioners’ rent? And imagine you’re in your 80s and your landlord is selling up, what fun that would be traipsing to group viewings and lugging your furniture out…

I do a lot of benefit checks for OAP's. We don't currently get many in private rented but like you say I guess that may change. We get an awful lot in social housing and we get a lot of retired people living in sheltered accommodation type places where they have bought the flat itself but still have to pay extortionate service charges for which they can sometimes get help through benefits depending on income. We have the odd one made homeless in very old age but usually because of some kind of family dispute. Half the population of the city I live in are of Asian origin and often live with family also so maybe that's why we don't really see many private rental issues. Like you say it does have the potential to explode.

@Babyroobs interesting that you’ve mentioned about cultures, some are more likely to have intergenerational households which will help the issue. Maybe that needs to be more of a thing. And also with some being already in social housing, that’s great they have the security of that but if they miss the boat and end up in private rented they’ll fall through the cracks. My elderly in-laws rent but squandered the ample opportunity they had to buy, so they ain’t having my spare room!

We are going to have many more intergenerational households.

Young people can't afford to move out and the elderly can't afford the care to live independently.

Personally I this will be a huge problem in the future, for renters but also those who buy property in middle age.

I've worked in mortgages for over 20yrs and the average age of a first time buyer has increased massively over that time. They average is now v late 30's/early 40's & people don't take mortgages out for 25yrs any more, its 35/40yrs now to make the payments more affordable, so there are going to be a lot of people in their 70's who still have mortgages to pay for as well as those in rented.

Bit of a ticking time bomb really! Lets hope future governments have a plan to tackle this.😦

You either use your pension to pay the rent or carry on working. It’s one reason why so many people will be working past 70.
Carrying on working just isn't an option for some people . Those working in a physical job won't be able to work when they get older. As we age we are more likely to become ill, weaker etc.
Depending on their pension people can claim pension credit and other support. You can't expect people to work until they drop! That isn't what happens in a caring society

Carrying on working isn't an option for most people. Not full time for the purpose of earning enough money to live, pay full rent and full household costs. Most people by seventy have at least one health condition, usually more, and would struggle to meet the expectations and needs of an employer who is paying out a full time salary.