How much pension for a comfortable life?

I am surprised that anyone could earn a pension of £10, 000 pa on a salary of £13, 000 pa
I think I've been short-changed!*

Jalima, I did not say that either. What I said was that as far as I could project, that would be the amount I would have in pension when I retire at 66. That is based on the government state pension forecast that tells me that when I get there ( should I make it and not die of stress and typing fatigue here) I will have around £10K take home, made up of an amount from the new state pension ( the alleged £155 a week) + a little bit. . I will have my full 35 years in at that time (my retirement age will be 66).I do not have any pension attached to my current (a little over) £13K part time employment is irrelevant,except I was asked what it was.

abby in one breath you say you don't know how much you spend, and then you brag as to how much you spend on maintainance of your BIG garden
Then you say you are saving. If you don't know how much your spending, how do you know how much your saving. As my mum would say: don't try and kid a kidder

Petra, I didnt say that! Go and read it again.I was asked what I would do when my large garden was too much to handle and what I would do when I had to "downsize" to a smaller house in the town because of ill health.

My reply was that I could afford a town house without selling my own ( and then you all concentrate on something that was not the issue, but just a n irrelevant fact - I can afford to move if I have to) and now you twist and turn that comment into one I never made saying I brag about having a man in to do my garden.

I DO NOT have a man in to do my garden presently. It is my only hobby and interest in life ( as is my house, I would rather not move anywhere). I said, I could afford to get a man in when the time came using my savings at that time. Not now.

You have the wrong end of the stick there. The only kidder here is you.

LuchkyGirl. I have let one person or another ruin almost every stage of my life

This seems to be something many do not understand ( is this the baby boomer attitude I hear so much of - spend it?) and seem to want to see reds under beds and wind ups at every corner. My mother, my school, teachers, various employers, my brother again and , yes my husband.

The only luck I had was my family inheritance ( shared with my step brother) and then , real luck, my elderly childless aunt died and left me her fortune (seriously). She too spent her life like me. But that should not figure in my calculations.

I do not intend wasting her gift to me, spending it on keeping my early retirement going. I have worked for my NI contributions and I am being made to work even longer before I get my state pension, the least that should happen is that I should get it, in its entirety and not give more scumbags money by leaving my work and letting someone else do it probably less well than I do it.

It was a simple enough straght forward , if slightly rude
(as no one discusses money really) question.

Thanks to those who gave the straight forward answer, that seems to confirm my feeling that what I will get will be plenty (I have took the liberty of reading between lines in some cases and reckon around £15K pa is "enough" for my lifestyle which doesnt include eating out and holidays but does include a nice home and a car).

Some seem to forget what I said about my hubby now seeming to think that what he has as a pension is now his ( Thanks to the government telling him this and feminists , I suspect making it a case of all women must do their own bit). He promised to look after me when we married but times have changed.

He made some provision for after his death in his pension,but I will need a full state pension to ensure I can live after he goes .... and despite all, I do not want to see him go too soon.

Thank you for the replies.

If you live on your salary of £13, 000 (minus tax and NI) how come he is worrying about living on £18, 000 (his pension) plus whatever your pension would be even if you retire now, plus what sounds like a very substantial amount in savings.

Quite honestly, when so many pensioners are struggling to survive on tiny pensions, I think your DH's problems are not about money.

I am surprised that anyone could earn a pension of £10, 000 pa on a salary of £13, 000 pa
I think I've been short-changed!

abby in one breath you say you don't know how much you spend, and then you brag as to how much you spend on maintainance of your BIG garden.
Then you say you are saving. If you don't know how much your spending, how do you know how much your saving. As my mum would say: don't try and kid a kidder.

nobody can be this naive.

Spot on Petra. How could anyone be as naive as this and yet have all the facts and dates about pension / N.I. changes at their fingertips? This sounds like an extremely switched on person, and certainly doesn't sound like someone who would need to come on here and ask advice about how much money they need in retirement.

#takingusforfools

My thinking is the same as Petra.

My OH had me worried to bits about poverty in retirement , now he is incapacitated and I have the finances to sort . We are well above the breadline ! but frugality is in bread in me now and the kids are trying to get me to spend lol

I think you have nothing to worry about - except that your DH doesn't want you to retire. I did find it difficult when I retired to get my head around no longer earning money, and then this money appearing in my bank account without having to work for it. I felt strangely out of control. Perhaps he feels the same,

Or is he concerned how you would manage being 'under each other's feet' all the time? Insisting that you intend to volunteer somewhere may help?

Of course you can retire!

Most people manage very comfortably on far less in retirement.
We have a reasonable income but not much savings due to enforced early retirement because of ill health.

petra I did wonder

Two current accounts, each with 20K in them.

Sigh...if only!

Yes petra the same thoughts crossed my mind too!

This is either a wind up or a 'look how much money I've got' nobody can be this naive.

Hear, hear mcem!

I'd look closely at a DWP pension forecast. It isn't all or nothing! Working extra years makes little real difference.
Sorry if it sounds harsh but it's hard to feel sympathy for a couple with a decent income and substantial savings when it's obvious that so many of us live comfortably on far less. How can he 'make you' go on working? Make up your mind and if you want to retire then do it. He isn't paying any attention to your feelings so stop pandering to his!

See a good financial advisor and arrange an income without depleting your capital. You can take up to 5% of interest without paying tax. This is what I did.

Hubby has an issue that is affecting your quality of life.
If you want to retire do so. Stand your ground. Your wishes matter !!

abbey If you have enough money to buy two houses if you wanted to, then you have enough to invest safely and possibly get £10,000 a year without losing your capital. With his £18K that is damn near his target of £30K. What are you waiting for? Retire and enjoy one another's company while you can. There are no pockets in shrouds.

See a financial advisor.

Just do it, abbey. We manage perfectly well on a lot less than you have, but you can't put a price on that wonderful feeling of freedom. Of putting your head on the pillow at night with a contented sigh because you don't have to get up and force yourself off to that job ever again. And no, we none of us know what's round the corner. Live life while you can.

One word of practical advice. Get yourself a pension statement from the DWP. The whole situation now is so complicated and you need to know what you are in line for. Because I was opted out for many years, I would have got more under the old system than under the new one, so will be paid according to the old system. My "new system" forecast probably wouldn't come up to that level even if I did (perish the thought!) go back to work until I reach state pension age at 66.

Are you going to let this worrypot of a husband stop you enjoying this phase of your life? The next phase is decrepitude with plenty of sedentary time to wish you had got on with life while you could!! heaven's above, anyone would think we were immortal!

I have to agree that you should be able to live pretty well on less than £30K. DH and I get less than that between us and on that we find that we have a good lifestyle, run a good car, go out for meals and outings, the occasional weekend away, holidays, pay for things that need doing to the house, and we still manage to save out of it. There is always a surplus in our current account that we move into a "safety net" account. The only time we have broken into our main savings was to use some of the money to move to a better house. It wasn't earning anything anyway and we still have a decent cushion. We had this same conversation recently with a friend who was fretting about his upcoming retirement. He would get significantly more than we get but still didn't think it would be enough. I don't think it is uncommon as people approach retirement. Now he has actually retired, he sees differently. Don't overthink things - get on and enjoy your lives.

What are you saving for? You can't spend it in the tomb. I'm living on a lot less than any of the amounts you mention but I'm happy and have everything I want.

You certainly don't "have to work." Why slave away at a job you do not like in order to accumulate enough contributions to boost your pension? - what you gain per week will be peanuts!

Sounds quite bonkers to me frankly!

We jumped off various wheels and took the risk that our pensions would be smaller (as indeed they are) and how glad I am that we did - OH now has PD and our jolly retirement has faded into the mist. We had time to do some of the things we wanted before illness curtailed this a bit. He is now 70 and I am 68 and we are not able to rush about doing nice things as much as we would have wished.

Why are you chaining yourself to this job when you actually have capital behind you - and it sounds as though it would be enough to keep you solvent for a bit till the pension kicks in and then to sub that pension.

I think your OH is making a right meal of this - get out and enjoy yourselves while you can for goodness sake! - you do not know what is around the corner!

Couldn't agree more Katey. Life is for living. Non of us know what's round the corner. I believe in doing things I want to do whilst I still can. I'm in a lucky positioning that I retired 5 years ago and now just do supply teaching when it suits me. I still enjoy the odd days I work but would stop in a heartbeat if I didn't want to carry on. I've told the kids I'm spending their inheritance and they will get the house when we die( in many years time. I hope!!)

You are not stuck working!, you can retire if you want to!, we have both 'chucked' in our jobs and are living on our savings, have a fab time, holidays when we want, meals out, etc., basically anything we want and we do it all (and treat our kids and grandchildren) on much less than £30,000 a year. We pay ourselves a monthly allowance which will more than last until he gets his state pension at 65 and I get mine at 66. We planned this as my Dad didn't even get to retirement age, but had a cardiac arrest at work age 57 doing extra shifts as we were a very poor family, this happening made us prefer not to die with loads of money in the bank, but to try to have a good carry on and not work ourselves to death, our kids will inherit what ever house we live in when we pop our clogs!