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 😊

Yep, I’ll be fucked. Long covid for over three years - had some optimism for recovery, but after numerous appointments and health issues, realised that even the stuff they do diagnose there are no treatments for. I have a little bit in a pension, but now partner can’t put into his pension either as everything has gone up and we are now only on one salary. I’m kind of regretting all the money spent on childcare to keep my career going as I can’t do much parenting now either.

Yes, I do this once in a while - it’s a depressing exercise 🤣
But sure, it’s a useful way to track predictable outgoings.
How much more will food prices rise in the next 10 years though? And energy? Council tax? These will be the biggest bills.

I’m very grateful for all the replies btw. I watched the first part of the Rebel Finance sessions and thought it was excellent - will definitely be watching the rest 😊

Can you take in a couple of Monday -Friday lodgers if you have spare rooms

I'm in a similar situation too. We are lucky to be mortgage free but DH has no pension and I have a fairly modest private pension. Some savings and no debt, but retirement will be tight for us and we will need to relocate /downsize.

Regardless of pension amounts and I will be ok I just wouldn’t want to live out my days totally alone if I end up widowed so would quite like a female lodger. I lived in shared houses till I was 30 so split bill's up to 4 ways. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I’m early 50s, own home with mortgage which with a bit of luck I’ll manage to pay off by retirement. Pension pot is a laughable £18k. I’m self employed and have been for years so haven’t paid in. It just hasn’t been a priority and getting the kids through uni etc has taken all the spare pennies.

I’ll probably have to move and downsize and hope that I can carry on working.

I see what you mean. Have you researched any of the other sites of managing money?

Ms Reeves has just proposed a further tax on homes valued at over £500K when the house is sold. That will stop people downsizing, which will not release properties for families, so how much would she make?

@llizzie nooo don’t tell me that 🤦🏻‍♀️ Don’t do it Rachel please 🙏

Re the equity thing I talked to a financial adviser when I needed to move my mortgage a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t even be able to take enough out to pay the mortgage anyway.

I’ve done a bit of digging into my finances and have found an old pension from somewhere I only worked a couple of years.
what would you do - wait for the £850 a year from age 67 or cash it in to relieve my debt situation today? It’s DB so the £850 is for life (I assume). I know it’s worth more to me as a pension of course, but it could relieve some worries today for sure.

Keep it!

I can really recommend everybody looking up Rebel Finance. They have an excellent Facebook page and their courses are available on YouTube. Even if you start to make small inroads now, you could potentially have a better retirement. It’s really opened my eyes. To be clear, I have no affiliation to this, somebody else recommended it to me and I’ve learned a lot!

Sorry I just posted about this because I missed that it had been mentioned recently!

@TheFormidableMrsC It’s worth a reminder!!

Damn you for being so sensible and helpful 🤣

Couple of thoughts, for OP and others dreading retirement:
Downsize
Move to less expensive areas
Get lodger
Shared ownership
Sheltered housing by housing associations often accepts people of 55+ and social activities
Free home exchange for holidays (we went to Dublin and it was brilliant!)
Take up ad hoc bits of work ( I did census and Olympics)
Sell plants or craftwork
V true that retirement is much less expensive than working. Free travel is a huge bonus.
Good luck!

I’d definitely post on the FB page as you have here. I am continually amazed at the quality of the advice there. You can post anon.

That’s a good suggestion, thanks

Of course when you downsize, Rachel Reeves might want some of your equity in her sky rocket.

@Jamesblonde2 I don’t like I like Rachel Reeves very much.

Don’t think I like*

Take it out now and make your life easier,

Me neither.

Hell no! Holidays are what it's all about and I enjoy them more now that I'm retired, because I don't have to go back to work afterwards!

If you already live in a small flat,downsizing and lodgers aren't an option. If dh dies before I retire I think I'll buy a van and live in that as a nomad.