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 wish I could but unfortunately nobody would want to come here as I live in the middle of nowhere, but anyway I don't really have a spare room. I have considered taking in campers as I have a lot of spare land/garden.

If a lapsed pension is less than a certain amount, you can take it out as a lump sum, but whether you can do that now or when you retire, I don't know.

You'll first need to ask the Pension Provider for a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV).

If its over £30k then legally to transfer you have to get proper Financial Advice from a qualified Pension Advisor, which is likely to cost several £k, and many won't do it as they see it as very risky.

If their advice is not to transfer out of the scheme then your only option is to open a Stakeholder Pension to transfer the money into as any other types of pension provider won't accept transfers with a negative recommendation - stakeholder providers have to accept it.

If you transfer it then you can withdraw 25% tax free but will pay tax on the remaining 75% so it may not be tax efficient to cash it all in at once.

@P00hsticks many thanks for this. I’ve decided against surrendering it, as I have realised I could start drawing it now, at a penalty but still. I can get a small lump sum now which would help, and still have a few hundred per year from now onwards.

Look on ESR for your TRS which will give you your pension forecast

You may have quoted the wrong poster

Great to see people recommending Rebel Finance School. It's amazing and the Donnegans share their expertise for free 🙂

Best of luck, OP.

@BeaBachinasec thanks! Yes they’re great aren’t they? Going to spend more time this week catching up on episodes. I have a lot of homework to do 🤣

You know that's not a bad idea

I live very rural in an area of outstanding natural beaut, as well as being 5 miles from the most beautiful coastline

Overnight camping with a van here is around £30 without electric hook up

One night there were a couple of Canadians looking for a cheap off grid that could park up for around £10 a night - obviously I offered them my drive - no charge - and offered them a hot shower and breakfast indoors and let them plug in

But yes that is something you can seriously do. There is a website, cant mind the name - google will find it - where you offer your drive for wild campervans

We also have some serious niche sports events here, where anyone and everyone is looking cheap accomadation so I let a tent in the garden and 2 vans on my drive - that's £40 a night and I dont supply anything. If they want showers, breakfast etc, I charge more for showers, food and electric charging - I have a loo they are welcome to :)

Keeping it cheap and no frills means I get solid bookings, no hassle cos they are repeat bookers and I know a wee bit extra is coming in