Anyone else thinking they’re going to be a bit fucked in retirement?

[GinghamSkirt]

I’ve seen a few threads lately where posters are discussing how much pension they’ll have, and while I’m happy for those people I’m also quietly despairing at myself for sleepwalking into a rubbish retirement.

All my fault, not blaming anyone else - series of poor life decisions and lack of forward vision and planning. Not looking for sympathy! Just trying to figure out how it’s going to work.

I’ll have the basic pension plus a few thousand per year (income will be well under 20k.

I know lots of people live on that quite happily, but I’m living on more than that that at the moment and working full time, don’t have any spare to save or invest, house (mortgaged) is crumbling around me and I don’t have enough to go on holiday as I’m clearing debts.

Not that I’m entitled to holidays of course - but I see other people on a similar income having a couple of lovely holidays per year and am just kicking myself for being so bad at money management.

The cost of living is biting very hard NOW - what’s it going to be like when my income is so much lower? I do try very hard to budget and spend money in the right way - always looking for a cheaper option, cancel unnecessary subscriptions etc, bring my lunch to work, buy clothes (and sell them) on Vinted etc.

it would be nice to hear from people in the same position (retiring in under 10 years if indeed that does happen) who have also fucked up and are contemplating a very different retirement compared to many on here! I don’t have a partner so all household bills are mine alone, no shared income pot.

I am very lucky in the sense that I own my house although it is heavily mortgaged still, but in order to pay the mortgage off I’ll have to sell it and buy somewhere else. If I want to live somewhere that’s not a total dump there won’t be anything left to invest. So it’s great that I’ll be able to live mortgage free eventually and I know that a lot of people don’t have that luxury, but I can’t really look on that as an income source either.

i couldn’t judge myself any harder than I currently am, definitely feel as though I missed an important memo somewhere in life, wasn’t working while my kids were young and then bingo - divorce 🤣

I worked full time since but have not earned enough and there were too many years to make up for. I genuinely didn’t understand how hard I should have been focusing on my retirement at that point.
NI payments are all good though 👍

There are a few mitigating factors eg supporting family members, mental health issues etc but essentially I’ve been naive and foolish - as the future comes closer to being reality and the stark facts become clear, now finally I get it.

Anyway, at the very least this thread might make you feel better about your own situation - if not, I’ll commiserate with you 😊

I don’t think retirement was a thing is the first half of the 20th century and before

People did retire in the past but there were fewer of them. Before the state pension they relied on savings, the help of family or charity.

The state pension started in 1909 and was means tested.
Contributory state pensions started for some workers in 1925 and all workers in 1946.
The key difference was that there were many fewer pensioners. People died on average much younger then. 20% of the population claim state pension now. It was 2% in 1910.

Would you consider downsizing now if you have enough equity? Unless the value of your house is rising above interest rates it might be worth just doing it now and reducing your expenses and using that towards debt/savings.

I got my pension statement recently and (sigh) it's going to be tight.

Retiring at 60 was a possibility before I got divorced. Now I have to split whatever equity I will get from my little flat with the ex, and with my portion I doubt I'll get a decent mortgage now I'm in my late 40s. I don't want to be paying rent in retirement but it looks like a good chance I will now. I will probably have to work to 65-68 in order to live on my work pension and whatever the state pension will be by then. I'm pissed off because I will complete 30 years of contributions in five years time but still have to pay in for a further 15 years. Retirement has been great for my parents, aunts and uncles, but for my generation it's going to be tough.

If you have a house, do you have space to let out a room to a lodger? This has transformed my finances from overspending to being able to put away money each month. I let the room to women only and have never been uncomfortable with any of them.
Might this help to pay down your debt and/or your mortgage a bit faster?

I'm all for winging it.
I don't think about retirement. I will work as long as I possibly can.
I don't think retirement sounds all its cracked up to be tbh and I think doing at least some level of work is good for mind and body.

You need to get a pension forecast (both NHS and state) but more importantly you need to check your nhs service - I cant emohasuse how important thos is!. There is a Facebook page for NHS and public service pensions which is fabulous.

@FindingMenoI think that approach is okay for some people but I’m already right now desperately wanting to go down to 4 days or even 3 and it’s out of the question. That’s just me and my particular health/conditions etc though and I’m glad if that’s not the case for you.

@FindingMenoalthough I agree that having a bit of structure and keeping the mind busy is really important - I will definitely need that (although if I can I will let myself do nothing for a couple of months first).

@Chewbecca absolutely agree about the government pension - they’d better not whip that rug away from under my feet!
I have a feeling it’ll be more like anyone born after X date who will be 16 in the year XXXX will not be receiving a pension other than your workplace or private one so here’s lots of warning to make sure everyone is aware. At least I’d hope that’s what would happen.

I’m the same as you op. No pension to speak of and very worried. Having kids, a life of low paid part time jobs and nothing left for savings means I will rely on the state pension so I hope they don’t pull the plug!

I have tried to look a pension stuff but it’s so complicated it’s unfathomable. And I haven’t got money to pay for an advisor.

Someone on MN was fretting about their 85K pension being ‘enough’ the other day 🙄 you read that and just think your own circumstances are hopeless. No wonder people hope they die before they get to that age. The system is so stacked against the low paid working classes and women particularly.

I hope that isn't the case. If AI and robotics really does destroy lots of jobs then I'm unsure there will be enough jobs or good employers to fill the gap. I know people keep saying kids should learn a trade but how many plumbers do we need? They can't all be trades people! I honestly think we need a billionaires tax to help out, the alternative is we will all be living off beans in one room with a candle in old age whilst the King, Duke of Westminster and Musk face eat a roast on the balcony of Buckingham palace 😂😂😂

I felt I did everything they said I should. I never took on debt beyond a mortgage, only one holiday a year etc etc but despite this. Me and my DH are looking at a very modest retirement, without the state pension, things would be bleak. Yet amongst my peers, we are the lucky ones as we will have a house at least. I guess they eventually will have to move in with us assuming the kids move out.

Sorry to be so depressing. The sun's out so that's a blessing. Will stick my head back in the sand about pensions 🤣😂🤣😳

I'm not bothered about holidays at all and haven't been abroad in 25 years anyway but am concerned that living costs are likely to be higher not lower when retired. Heating will be higher as am in office 5 days a week at present. I don't have travel costs or lunch costs really as mainly walk and take packed lunch. Work clothes coats are negligible as I am all Vinted for work dresses.
Will spend a bit more on hobbies and petrol too. I already cook from scratch for most meals. I think I will be blessed with about 16 k in retirement income state pension despite working all my life as paying into extra pensions just wasn't a thing until my last job and didn't earn enough to make it feasible. My salvation, hopefully, will be a combination of a small lump sum no more than 20k and releasing equity by downsizing. It is just the fixed costs of running a home which worry me.

We are already piss poor , Ive a small pension of £300 a month and work PT for 20 hrs on NMW and DH is on the sick £94 a week and no pension coming his way other then state.

So when ( if ) we hit state pension age, we will be richer then we are now

We have no debt, we own out right, we mend and make do

We will downsize when mum pops her clogs ( we are her carers, she lives with us aged 86 )

We are fortunate in that we do have the house paid - we sacrificed the savings went the banks went tits up thinking we had time to replace - but ill health put paid to DH working and earning what he used to

But we manage quite well on what we have because we dont actually need much. We dont need new clothes for work, we arent commuting, we arent grabbing meals and coffees out. We live in a beautiful part of the world and we are more then content to sit in the back garden looking out to open country , or getting out for a walk/cycle or even heading down to the sea front and have a paddle . I have time to cook from scratch and again being so rural we dont have the big selection of food stuffs - so we eat pretty basically ( there's no Asian supermarkets this neck of the woods )

I think because we are so rural we dont get caught up in consumerism , we arent bombarded with the latest must haves or latest fashions , our local town doesn't even have a fashion shop for women, my clothes come from Tesco and charity shops and if I do make it to a town that does have fashion shops Im like "how much"!!!

You do need less money once the kids are up and earning and you get older . Obviously the world cruise is not happening but we are saving for a trip to Australia to see family, every spare and not so spare pound gets squirrelled away . Won't be next year but the thing is we are planning on doing it and are focussed on it happening

I agree, so long as the mind/ body is in gine fettle. I struggle to fill my time without work, and value the contract between work and non work time. Time off is only really time off if you're off from something.

@Babapapathepinkoneapologies of anyone else has said this and I’ve missed it. You should be entitled to half your husband’s pension when you divorce. This is a valuable asset so it’s wise to make sure he declares it. All the best.

@StarCourt one big bonus of anyone doing this is if your income is not much over your state pension you will get most of the rent aspect covered off but get security

There would have to be a lot of warning before they took the state pension away so I doubt that will happen anytime soon. People currently in their 40's and 50's will be safe I think.

I'm 61 and worry how I'm going to manage. I had hoped to retire aged 64 and had been saving hard to cover the 3 year gap until my state pension kicked in. I will have a small work pension of a few thousand a year too.
However DH now has very poor health and can't work so I can't save any more. One of us has to work to pay the bills. We live in an upstairs flat which will be mortgage free in November,but don't know if we can continue to live here given health issues. We won't get much if we sell it..not enough to buy anywhere else outright.I have fibromyalgia and struggle with working full time as it is. I just try not to think about it all and plod on.

I'm really worried about retirement, I literally think about it constantly and can't sleep at night I'm so worried.

I'm 54, live on my own, rent, have no savings or pensions etc and work in minimum wage job. No prospect of inheritance or a windfall.

Come retirement I'm going to be well and truly fucked. There's only one option for me when the time comes, which does actually bring me some peace

Another person looking at state pension only. I'm a carer for one of my daughters and will likely be for the rest of my life (a little scared to think what happens to her after that- ideally I would have savings in place for her to get good quality help.
We do have a mortgage free home, and will downsize in the future but that'll be it.

Yes, I’m very worried. I’m NHS and have been totally fleeced by pension changes. Recent retirees same grade as me got a lump sum twice the amount that I’m predicted, and twice the monthly payments. I dread the thought of working in my role until I’m 67, it’s emotionally and physically exhausting. I’m very sad about it. Had hoped to retire at 55, could have done if my pension kept in line with theirs. I’ll be 55 next year and really frustrated that instead of retiring I’ll have to continue to work for at least another 11 years. Wouldn’t be surprised if the state pension was massively reduced by then. Or if the rules changed and you couldn’t claim it until age 70+. Makes me wonder what the past 35 years have been about. Sooo not worth it.

It's worth pointing out that some pensioners who are renting will be entitled to housing benefit, which will cover all or some of their rent.

I’ve worked since I was 16, 58 now and will have to work until I die. Through divorce and poor life choices I live in private rental and am terrified at what will happen when I’m unable to work as won’t be able to afford it. Question daily what the actual point is.

Similar, largely to due to having to give up a well
paid career to support my SEND child. I wouldn’t change that decision as it’s reaping its rewards a little more now, and due to zero support I had no alternative. My income will be well under £20k. I plan to downsize and work 12 hours a week in a stress free low income job as I’ve done that many times and it’s been good. Also have had my (small) inheritance so I know it’s just up to me now. To reassure you, with small outgoings it’s definitely do-able and still possible to have holidays if you can compromise on meals out/gigs etc.