Living on State Pension

Hi just wondering if anyone has any figures on what income would be needed to lead a modest to comfortable retirement lifestyle - assuming you own your own home (couples and single).

We have been in Australia for four years and our state pensions are frozen at the rate at which we started to draw them, although we would qualify for some Oz pension after a certain number of years. Australia is very expensive and we are trying to work out if we would be better staying here or better off in the UK due to lower cost of living.

I've pm'd you!

Ok! Change in circumstance may be the wrong reason. It should be 'mistake or ignorance do a material fact'
You have good grounds for an appeal as they appear to have superseded their original decision.

When it was granted, it was back dated a couple of months, and it said it was granted for a year, then we had to re-apply, but they stopped hubby`s after only 10 months. Still getting mine, haven`t heard anything from them since May.

No! Appeal, giving as much detail and supporting evidence as you can. Letters from GP, any helpers etc? Ask for an independant assessment from an EMP!
If there has been no change, then the reason is incorrect.
Was the original award time limited or indefinite?

numberplease, withdraw your current AA application, go back to Age UK and get them to fill in the form with you and apply again. It is surprising what a difference using one word rather than another to describe a condition can make and when I was a Benefits Advisor I found because most applicants become disabled gradually, not suddenly over night they fail to notice the many little adjustments they have made to their lives to cope with their disability.

A simple example is getting out of bed. When asked the applicant would say they had no difficulty getting out of bed. My reply would be 'So you jump out of bed each morning like a 20 year old?' The answer I would usually get is 'Oh no, when I wake, I lie there for a bit and then gradually get myself into sitting position, I then sit in bed for about 10 minutes while I loosen up a bit and then swing my legs out of bed, sit there for a while and then pull myself up to standing by holding onto the bedside table' and so on. The applicant doesn't see that as having difficulty getting out of bed as the changes have been made so slowly, but they clearly do have difficulties but it doesn't occur to them so it is not put on the form.

Yes FlicketyB and Purpledaffodil, expert help is vital. My Mum had a lovely person from AgeUK to help her. Mum is smart, articulate and certainly not stupid, but when Dad was ill, she applied for and got help. Pride means many of us will always pretend to be able to do more than we can, thus depriving yourself of any help.The allowance that Mum got, paid for help in the garden, and to get a cleaner so she could spend more time with Dad and just rest.

With help from a lady from AgeConcern last September/October time, we were each granted Attendance Allowance. However, a couple of months ago we received forms to re-apply, filled them in ourselves, tried to be as honest as we could, with the result that hubby`s has been stopped, due to "a change in circumstances", and I`ve had a letter saying that a decision has yet to be made regarding mine, they`re waiting on a GP`s report. But really, things aren`t really much different to when we were granted it last year.

Would like to second what FlicketyB said re getting an expert to fill in Attendance Allowance forms. I filled in a set for my Dad and they were rejected. A friend who was an experienced social worker helped me with the second set and he was granted Higher Level AA. No lies were told, but I had simply been too optimistic the first time round, rather than focussing on his worst days. The extra money made such a difference to his quality of life.

Mishap . I've just been DBSd; luckily for humanity in general, I didn't have to bare.

Especially if contemplating a career as a glamour model!

The CRB has been replaced by a Disclosure and Barring Certificate - I typed "baring" first time - that would be interesting! - you could have an Exposure and Baring certificate!

What instrument (s) do you play paula?

I think you do need some kind of qualification if you are going to teach any instrument to exam levels Paula, in order to enter candidates with the relevant boards. And I've just had a DBS done and it took six weeks.

Things must have changed recently if a CRB takes only a couple of weeks!

A CRB takes just a couple of weeks and you do not have to have qualifications, my brother in law has taught guitar for over ten years, after teaching himself, he is so busy he has to work Saturdays

Or Glastonbury

As long as you have the relevant qualiifications, paula just the abity to play an instrument does not entitle you to teach! Check out the Royal College of Music website. You will also of course need to have a CRB if you are teaching children. However there is always busking!!

I am not near a state pension and hate the thought of just having that to live on--hence I am thinking of starting up a small business that can bring in an income.

Also making money as you get older does not have to mean going out to work, for eg if you play a musical instrument you can charge £20 per hour to teach it, just one way to earn extra money.

You might care about your children's pension of your daughter turning 60 from 2013 and son at 65, whose retirement age now is after 2016.

Because from 2016 the Flat Rate Pension means forever losing food money:

- No pension credit for new claimants
- End of State Earnings Related Pension and State Second Pension, so no triple lock guaranteed annual rise from these additional pensions
- End of 60 per cent state pension for housewives from husband's contribution
- End of divorcees getting a share of husband's state pension contributions
- End of widows inheriting state pension from husband

Full flat rate means fully paid up SERPs / S2P as well as raised
NI contributions from 30 now to 35 years from 2016.

So not even 30 per cent of new claimants get full flat rate, which itself is less than many current claimants get as full state pension and pension credit. And Welsh pensioners already get more, so is less for new claimants.

And to family and friends who turn 80 after April 2016 who lose forever:

- End of Category D pension which is about £67 extra for those with no state pension or on a pro rata below basic level state pension.

https:// you .38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now

Without state pension, your children turned 60 / 65 from 2013, do not have access to Winter Fuel Allowance, but again this benefit is threatened after 2015.

Benefits can be delayed for months, and sanctions can be imposed for the least thing and last up to 3 years.

If you have not been on benefits or in work for last two tax years, you do not get the full contribution rate but only income rate but with the lowest amount of other income.

Some agencies are not giving out vouchers to food banks, to those who have lost or had benefit sanctioned.

If you do get contribution rate benefit, then your works and benefit is taxed even if way below the basic tax allowance.

There are other petitions in the comment section about this, for you to peruse.

Council tax benefit was devolved to cash-strapped councils and 100 per cent lost because the savings level was dropped from £16,000 to £6,000.

If one member of a couple is below the raised retirement age, then those who ask for help will get hit by the Bedroom Tax (ending for all in a Free Scotland with a yes majority on 18 September).

Women MPs kept pension payout at 60 from 2012, when us the public lost ours from 2013.

MPs are getting about the same money as the lost state pension payout, as an 11 per cent pay rise in 2015.

Thanks Flickety I'll get Mum to apply and see what happens, as you say they can only say no!

The fact that your mother is living independently does not preclude her from obtaining Attendance Allowance. The fact that you have come back from New Zealand to provide her with the physical and mental support she needs, suggests just the opposite. Apply for it anyway, the worst that can happen is that she gets turned down, which does not stop her reapplying at any time.

If you do apply for AA do NOT fill the forms in yourself. Seek help from the DSS/Pensions Agency or Age UK. I worked for Age UK as a Benefit Advisor and filling these forms in can be a black art. Certain words and phrases can aid or scupper an application and many people filling in the form themselves really delve deep enough into how they have unconsciously adapted their everyday lives to cope with problems arising from increasedinfirmity or illness.

Thank you for the advice about other benefits I might claim. None of them really apply as my mother is capable of living independently in her sheltered accommodation flat, just needs some support with the aftermath of cancer, regular 3 monthly check ups ups, fear of it returning etc. just pleased I am at hand to repay all her years of caring for me as a child

Your relative may well be eligible for an attendance allowance though. It was only about £25 a week but can be used to pay someone, like yourself, who is in attendance to help with their needs, such as housework, gardening, etc.

When my marriage broke up 12 or so years ago I just wanted out; retirement seemed such a long way off that I didn't give it a thought. Thank goodness I was given a small pension of my husbands as part of the settlement and was able to claim state pension at 61 3/4 or I would have been working forever, even though I only get enough to survive on.