How much pension for a comfortable life?

Sorry to be unhelpful but if you have sons or daughters living abroad and hope to see them regularly then you can get through your pensions quite quickly. I know quite. A few of you will be in'the same boat' as us and will know how tricky it is to make regular journeys often long haul.

And yes, I agree, this thread has me feeling

A very brief warning. If you are thinking of retiring abroad please be aware that your State Retirement Pension is not index linked in many overseas countries. The pension is frozen at the level at which it first becomes payable in the host country and places like Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa as well as Thailand and 120 others do not get the annual up-rate. Illogically and irrationally the USA and the Philippines, for example, do. So, too, for the time being at least, do those retired in EEA countries.
The downward spiral can be devastating as the years pass and about 2,500 pensioners return to the UK each year because this iniquitous policy means that it is no longer financially viable to live abroad and suffer the discrimination.

Abbey, for you there is a middle road, which is the one I took.

I was very lucky, I had a major mental break down at 55, and after that found work very stressful for a variety of reasons. At 57 I was made redundant, which forced my hand. My boss at the time, the financial director, help me decide the best way forward (I respected his judgement).
I decided to take all the monthly pension on offer from that day (no lump sums). I continued to work on contract for a few months, but the decided I'd had enough and we (Mrs P and I) decided that we could survive somehow.
And here is where the middle ground comes in, I found a part time job with Age Concern as a carer in a day center, this only paid minimum rate, bit was stress free and very worthwhile, hence enjoyable. Being part time 3/4 days a week it gave me time to enjoy other things. Whilst this still left us worse off financially at that time, it gave us enough to live on.

Going from a senior position in IT with a multi national company to being a carer was such a big change that it never seemed like work. During my 6 years with AC, I laughed and smiled more that I had in the previous 34. Life is too short to hate your job.

That's a thought though, abbey, you only need 30 years now, not 35

It was 30. You need 35 years now. They put it up in 2011. I got caught in that one too. If it were 30 years I would go without hesitation as I have 30 years NI contributions now.

Just like I got caught in the increase of pension age twice
(from 60 to 65 and from 65 to 66).

I don't have a huge pension, only around £10,000 in all, but suggest that if you really want to retire you should do it.

If your capital is invested you can use the income (or not) as you wish. But remember, as others have said, life is uncertain and you can't take it with you. So why not retire now and use some of your inheritance if necessary to make the most of your life. That is what we have done.

We don't like to go on expensive holidays, but we do run a car and live well. If age or infirmity require it, we will move to a smaller house later, but at the moment enjoy living in our lovely home.

Some years ago I invested part of my inheritance in a very small flat with a private garden which would suit one of us well if we should be alone in very old age, and in the meantime it delivers a decent rental income.

PS abbey Somebody may have said this, but you can make voluntary contributions to make up the shortfall in your NI contributions.

Maggiemaybe, I bow to your current knowledge, my experience of state pension was 7 years ago. I did have SERPS and also some other enhancement that I paid into (AVC's ???) and I do get more than £8k/yr/ Mrs.P on the other hand did not have a full entitlement, but she did get it at 60.

All very complicated.

If Mr Abbey is so focused on money why doesn't he go to work rather than put pressure on you. Focus on what you want out of life. Don't feel guilty. You obviously have concerns to have put this on the forum in the first place.

I'm with those people who think you - and your other half - should go and see a financial advisor. They have the training and skills to work out all the permutations, and can give you actual real advice based on your whole financial picture.

Just seen your post about the voluntary contributions - it may seem a lot but it is very good value in terms of the pension that you get for it.

Since my husband gave up work we don't have private health insurance, but we very rarely used it in any case. I've had two cataracts done this year on the NHS, locally it is done in a private hospital as this is obviously more cost effective for the NHS.

My husband has had problems with his heart and has had wonderful treatment on the NHS too.

No bowing required, Wobblybits - there are pension experts on here who'll probably now tell me I'm wrong!

I am sure it's only 30 years now though, not 35.

www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

You really do need to get a pension forecast, abbey.

The question is like asking 'how long is a piece of string?'

One person's idea of a comfortable retirement may be another person's idea of poverty.

I would feel very comfortable indeed if we had received a couple of substantial inheritances especially as I don't get a full state pension.

abbey you don't mention children; if you have any I hope you are not scrimping and saving and doing without in order to leave them a fortune.

For five years we lived on my after tax pension income of £1700 amonth .Dipped inti aavings for holidYs No mortage One car Was fine DH now claiming pensions and our income is considerably more but we no longer dip into into savings

We've lived on benefits since I had to give up work to care for DH. Have about £125/wk state pension and £38/month work pension. DH has ESA about £130/week and top rates DLA totalling around £550/4-weeks. I recently lost my DLA and wasn't awarded PIP, but hoping to get AA, which will help. Would love to get away for a few days holiday. Did inherit £10K from mum, which put into P2P lending scheme which is bringing in a reassuring savings fund for the dreaded rainy day/decent funeral etc, and have a further £1600 in an ISA, which I've been investing in since I was working at £30/month. I feel we can cope with most eventualities, but we can't do much with our garden, so depend on supermarket shopping, which has become vastly more expensive over last couple of months. DH is fussy about good quality food - eats next to nothing, but insists on quality butcher, cheese, eggs, fish. I'm more or less completely veggie, but like quality eggs, cheese and vegetables. Don't think I've spent more than £20 on any item of clothing/shoes in 20 years, apart from a £65 Parka 2 years ago. Think you should be able to cope reasonably comfortably and if you don't like your job, you should leave it - either find one you do like or retire altogether. Until February I had a little pin money from a paper round which I'd done for about 16-17 years since I gave up work. It kept me fit, paid towards bills/spending money/luxuries and I was benefiting my elderly/disabled customers who wouldn't have got their papers otherwise, but decided I couldn't keep going any longer.

Carpe Diem for goodness sake!

It sounds as though you are cutting off your nose to spite your face, working at a job when you do not want to, just to make sure you get the full state pension because the new rules bug you.

We live on vastly less than you are describing, and our savings are meagre.

www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/qualifying-new-state-pension

Are you in debt do you owe money?it does not sound so or ever likely to be
It is a shame your husband is so insecure over money.Wait until you actually retire and take it from there.
Does you husband have time on his hands? if so and money does seem to dominate his life then what's to stop him getting some part time work.Life does not stop at 65.There are men I know who do a few hours a week and older than your man.

How odd. I usually go to www.gov.uk as this should be the horse's mouth, and they of all people should have it right.

Hey ho, who knows anyway. According to my pension statement I have 41 years of contributions but because I was opting out for much of it, I'd only get £100 under the new scheme. Full "old pension" under the old scheme, so that is what I'll get, if I can ever catch up to state pension age.

I couldn't agree more with Jalima. Long before we retired I started tracking what we regularly spent , then built in the cost savings of retirement , such as less formal clothes, cheaper holidays, no work travel costs. That gave us a target which will be different for everyone If our pensions wouldn't achieve that, we would have needed drastic changes such as down sizing ( or becoming tee total )

By the way, depending on your age etc the possibility of buying additional index linked government pension currently on offer seems very attractive.

I've found a new, time - consuming hobby, called bargain hunting. I have also made fundamental changes to our spending by calculating most things as annual costs , then deciding if we want to spend so much each year e.g. We rarely pay for parking; Ive saved hundreds by going fashionably grey, and have a package of haircuts from a good salon; mobiles are on PAYG and I email anyway; If we want to eat out, it's much cheaper at lunchtime. These choices will be different for everyone. I'd be very interested to hear the choices others have made.

If your husband is fit and thinks that you both need more money going into the pot send him out to work .!!!
It seems to me from what you have said that you could retire now .
Think long and hard about your life would you enjoy spending day after day with your husband ?
What are your plans for retirement what will you fill your days with?
Do you have friends that you go put with.?
What do and your husband do together in your spare time?
Does he look after the house shopping etc while you are work I expect you come home to a meal every day .

abbey, I'm new to ths chat and we are a few years behind, but my husband has been made redundant so we are also looking at future figures. Jus be aware that there are always hidden costs that crop up, particularly on the health side as we age, unfortunately.
Also, you say you don't take holidays but quality of life, as we get older, is also important so be sure to factor in some relaxation costs, even if it's minor. Good luck

Retire! You can afford it. My husband and I are living on less than £28 grand a year and honestly we go weeks on end without big expenses. We are even adding to our savings even though we upsized again to a bigger house because we have so many hobbies!

I am
Is this a grumble about the government, about your DH or just anxiety in general?

You have not mentioned major illnesses or other problems, you are extremely comfortably off by most standards, so take Luckygirl's advice, carpe diem.
You never know what's around the next corner.

Note to self: listen to petra

Ps Think about the age difference between you and your hustand. Would you really want to go straight from working to being his carer?