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 😊

Can go on a government website official one because before putting in your details and check you paid evough national insurance contributions to get full state pension.
Then look or request a pension statement that give you forecast or speak to he and get the pension provider manager to speak with you. I don’t no about public sector pensions from nhs but it be similar. Go ti pension forum and ask there many experts on there. With public sector is normally a lercevtage of your last salary you worked

I’m in part of the EU so it would be easier for me to do it

I honestly don't know what I'll do, it's getting worse and worse. I'm 35 now and it worries me. Because we are private renting we hardly have anything left to save for a mortgage. Our rent used to be £300 and now it is £850. I've got no extra money to put away for retirement and state pension couldn't possibly go up. Some people are recieving it for 30 years, if they live to be in their 90s. My mother in law on the other hand had it a lot easier. They managed to buy their house (the house opposite to the one we're renting) for £4,000, years ago in the buy to rent scheme. The house next door (exactly the same as ours) sold for £136,000. It's just getting harder and harder for every generation.

I took in students for many years, stay a few weeks or months...then two very nice chaps from poland and latvia decided to return to the uk and have rented 2 of my spare rooms for over 10 years now and we all get on very well....plus one is a very talented carpenter and tiler and fixes anything around the house.I dont have any family here in the uk now...distant ones in ireland and kenya so i will leave them any property i have.

I'm coming up 50 and in a very similar position.

Currently studying with the OU and hoping to retrain in a higher earning role.

Planning on selling and relocating next year which will allow me to buy a bungalow and half my mortgage in the process, so hopefully I'll be able to pay it off by 60.

Combination of the above will hopefully allow me to reduce my work hours to 4 days per week @ 55 and 3 @ 60, and new property will have a garage that I can use as a workshop for my side hustle.

There will be someone in your Trust who can give you a pension projection. Contact the Finance Department

The best thing you can do is go onto one of the money sites where you can get advice, because very rarely are two cases the same. There should be a few who help people manage their money.

You could take out equity release to pay off the mortgage capital when you retire instead of downsizing.

I would try applying for PIP again - look for a disability charity near you which often help with completing the forms.

Have you considered retraining to improve your earnings potential as you're still young.

You could take out equity release to pay off the mortgage capital when you retire instead of downsizing.

Please don't do this except as a very, very last resort!

Unfortunately I've already been to university so won't get any help with fees and I just don't think it's possible to commit to a course with a 4 and 1 year old. We don't get the same amount of childcare help here in Northern Ireland than other parts of the UK. Although this is finally going up in September. 🎉 Doesn't help I live in a wee village over 25 minutes drive from the nearest town and over an hour from Belfast.

I was similar to you at your age. I wish I'd done an OU degree or gone to night school as it would've improved my current financial status. However I am a homeowner with a very small occupational pension. If I was you I'd really consider everything including relocating. Time goes by so quickly it's scary.

Assuming that when you retire you won't have a mortgage to pay, and will hopefully have cleared your debts, do you think you might be a bit more comfortable? Also, if you currently have at least some pension investment, can you get advice on how to maximise returns, within your risk profile? I'm not so good with investments, but DH is and has recently moved some of my investments so they are now around 12-15% returns from 8-10% previously. Every little helps.

It’s only a problem if the person is concerned with how much they can leave for others after death. That isn’t the case for everyone.

@StrikeForever I agree - if you don’t have people to leave to etc it’s not the end of the world -

Yes this is true. Would you have the option to downsize?
The problem is that many don't have enough savings for a big bill that house ownership can bring. Then they end up getting into these equity release schemes which aren't always a good idea.

I will have nothing.

I've recently came to the same realisation myself.
After seeing people discuss how much they pay into their pension and they've been doing this for years etc. I never even really knew what a pension was until recently.

Now realising I'm utterly screwed, having first child extremely young and working part time for years when I should of been raking in money like everyone else.

But then I hear of people dying young and remember it's a blessing to live long enough for it to be a problem

Have you done a spreadsheet of income and outgoings once retired? You may not be as badly off as you are thinking once you take out mortgage etc.

Also get your savings into the highest interest account you can.

I think that older, single women will start to make communities. Where they have the retired equivalent of flat shares. As long as it’s not the model that exists for students and workers it’s could be brilliant.

Imagine a home owned by a women who is asset rich but cash poor. She has 2 bedrooms she can have lodgers in. She finds 2 female pensioners (I’m a feminist, so I centre women in everything) who have rented all their life. They lodge with her, at a bargain rate and by splitting other things 3 ways all the women have a good quality of life and a community/friends.

I’m buying a two bed terrace so wouldn’t want to downsize (only option would be a flat, which doesn’t appeal because of the service charges that go up every year, also they’re harder to resell than houses).

I long for a partner to live with, tbh. Even if we only have two state pensions and my very small private pension in total that would be great in terms of peace and mind and quality of life.

I'm 58 so I am moving towards it (as much as I loathe the idea of retirement).

I feel it's important to prepare mentally and find things that bring joy but cost very little money, if any. I kind of envisaged that I'd be spending the summers of my retirement sitting in the garden reading all my books again (I'm a book hoarder); walking; probably gardening, etc. I am already constantly reminding myself that I don't need to buy stuff and I live quite frugally, with occasional treats; home cooked spaghetti dinners with a group of friends & cheap wine (I work in the Arts , so I already know a lot of people living on the breadline, but we still try to have fun).

The State Pension is under £12K a year and we are expected to survive on that.

I am more worried that overpaid, out of touch politicians are doing little to address the Cost of Living Crisis (they think we all earn £90K a year, so what's a £200 Thames Water bill increase). They really need to wake up and get their finger out. A good friend has stockpiled enough drugs (her husband had cancer) to kill the whole street, and has offered to share them out if the time comes that we just can't afford to manage anymore.

I looked into equity release a couple of years ago and was strongly advised against it.
You can look into at 55 but the potential cost of equity release at that age is phenomenal - there safer schemes these days but essentially it’s not a good option unless you are very advanced in years, taking out a very small amount and not planning to leave your property to anyone.

I'm single, mid sixties, close to retirement, working a few hours a week. Unfortunately my better paid work finished last year so now down to a minimum working just one day a week and doubt anyone else will employ me now at my age!

I still have an interest only mortgage - runs until I'm 70 and I won't have paid it off by then. My only solution will be to sell up and downsize as I do have a reasonable amount of equity. My private pensions are minimal due to childcare year etc but I did top up my state pension when I was able to so at least I should get that.