Can you manage on just a state pension ?

I retired at 57 on ill health and received a very small pension but at 60 I received my state pension. Mr Barmey then started thinking about retiring at 60, he might be dead by 65 like his father , so we did our sums, our and thought we could manage for 5 years until he received his state pension and a private pension. Our hobbies and lifestyle was cheap and we were quite content to have our main meal as beans on toast and eggs. Before he retired we made sure our house was in good order and we had all we needed. As we had some savings we decided to go to SE Asia for the winter and travel. At the time the exchange rate was excellent and the interest rates on savings was good and it was costing us no more than a winter in England. We would spend 4 months over the winter travelling, we managed to do this for 10 years.
I think as you have done you sums, try living on £1400 for say 3 to 6 months before you make any decisions and see how you get on. Neither of us has been bored in retirement, our hobbies are cheap, fell running (not me I might add), cycling, reading, gardening etc. Just see how you could manage and if thats what you want go for it.

Goggins

Sandytoes, do look at your pension forecast carefully, it is only a forecast. I was forecast a full pension if my contributions continued at the same rate, £175 ish, in the following paragraph the forecast read... that if I stopped paying NI I would expect £134 per week! I thought I would retire early and like you I had worked from being 16 but I had been in a local government pension scheme, contracted out, and hadn’t paid enough NI contributions. I was made redundant 8 years ago and have paid Voluntary NI contributions and worked part time. Don’t forget that if you take a part time job you may not earn enough to continue paying NI and therefore will have a shortfall. Do talk to government pensions people they were really helpful. Good luck, I hope everything pans out for you both.

This is true. The SP forecast is assuming you will continue to work /contribute. You could find yourself 6 years short. It doesn't matter how many years you have paid in I'm afraid. I'm in this position and I'm looking at possibly making contributions if it makes financial sense to do so. By working part time at least you'd be paying NI.

If your house is mortgage-free, why not release equity? You don’t have to move to do that. Worth checking out before making any big decisions.

I did this when I was 60, almost 6 years ago as my mental health was not good. I cut back on all non-essential buying until I was convinced we could manage. We run a car and have a caravan so site fees to pay. We were going to sell the van if we found we couldn't afford it. 5 1/2 years on we have managed ok with holidays paid from our savings. I get my state pension in September so I am hoping things will get even easier from then on. Best thing I did.

I have just received my State pension having waited 6 years (part of the 50s women group). As soon as I received it they stopped my husband's pension credit and my carer's allowance, so now we both only receive the basic State Pension. He has dementia and is bedridden so when the inevitable happens, I will only have my SP to live on, we have no savings and our only equity is the house. It's worrying beause we can just get by now, but if he goes first I wouldn't be able to manage financially on what I receive.

Find out if you will get full state pensions before making up your minds. I took a redundancy package and didn't return work but now I find those missing work years means I won't get a full state pension which I didn't know about.

You may both have a full state pension while you both live but what happens when one of you dies, could you live on just the one pension. Honestly I worried if I'd survive when I got my pension as I'm on my own and I manage very well, I didn't realise how well I would do but my income is 2k a month I shudder to think how I'd survive on just my state pension alone.

Mealybug; check whether your husband can claim Attendance Allowance via GOV.UK. Also, Dementia illness is classed as a mental health problem and therefore would make you entitled to other passported benefits such as reduced CouncilTax.

When we retired we took on a part time gardening job that was advertised in local paper. 8hours a week over 2 days. There is a huge demand out there and simply by word of mouth extended this to a few other ‘customers’ and turned down loads. If this is something you were fit enough to consider go for elderly people no longer able to do it themselves. They greet you like a friend. Others are more pernickity!!

I do not live in the UK, so this may be a silly question to ask, but if your health is so poor, are there really no possibilities of getting any help from social security, or finding a part-time job that you could live on?

Have you discussed this issue with your GP? He/she may be able to help.

To me it sounds as if you have considered the financial aspect thoroughly and you should be able to manage, but what about upkeep of your house?

If you feel you can manage, go for it. If it turns out to be a mistake then start looking for part time jobs.

Mealybug your situation sounds very unfair. If you were receiving carer allowance before reaching pension age, and if anything your husband’s care needs have unfortunately increased, then you surely must still be entitled to help.

Have you spoken to a welfare benefits advisor? You can phone your local council to arrange this. Or if you are able do a benefits check online.

You should be able to claim attendance allowance on your husband’s behalf. If he qualifies for it I think you in turn would qualify for pension credit. Please ask for advice as your situation seems wrong.

Crossed posts Karennat, I’m a slow typer!

In my mind, that's the only thing you can do. Food is our biggest expense.

I meant add up your expenditure and subtract it from your expected income.

Health is far more important. Add up your outgoings based on where you live now. Being mortgage free is a bonus as you don’t have rent to pay or mortgage to pay which takes a large chunk of your money.
Set up, if not done already, a household account for the basics such as insurance, energy, tv, phones, food, water, car expenses and petrol. Look at getting cheaper quotes for services.
I had 2 years of no state pension but had occupational pension so survived with savings. Try not to touch lump sums unless really necessary.
At 60 look at what you get free such as eye tests, prescriptions.
You need fewer clothes not working, less transport costs ( get a season ticket until you can access a bus pass), better lunches, time to cook from scratch . All good news.
Do it! No regrets here@!

I manage on a salary that is less than state pension. I live alone and run a car, no mortgage. Actually worked out that if the government had paid my pension out when I was 60 they would be paying out less than they currently are on furlough ? I have small savings pot for emergencies and I manage and as I said on less than pension.

Mealybug this is the link to government benefits calculator. It will help you check your benefits entitlement

www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

I admit to being a pessimist, but just have to say that you should expect the unexpected and be sure you can deal with it. Last year my worst unexpected was needing a new boiler at the beginning of lockdown , followed not long afterwards by accidentally leaving the freezer door open overnight and losing all the contents, which was about £100 worth , then a few months later discovering that my perfectly good car tyres were "crackled" and dangerous ( apparently caused by car staying parked in same position in the sun during lockdown) and had to buy a full set of new ones.
I wish you well whatever you decide!

Grannynannywanny

Mealybug your situation sounds very unfair. If you were receiving carer allowance before reaching pension age, and if anything your husband’s care needs have unfortunately increased, then you surely must still be entitled to help.

Have you spoken to a welfare benefits advisor? You can phone your local council to arrange this. Or if you are able do a benefits check online.

You should be able to claim attendance allowance on your husband’s behalf. If he qualifies for it I think you in turn would qualify for pension credit. Please ask for advice as your situation seems wrong.

The theory is that carer's allowance is compensation for not being able to do paid work. After pension age, you're not expected to work, so don't need compensation. You receive state pension instead.

I pay rent and council tax. I have calculated that my state pension will cover all my other outgoings. It depends on what you expect.

Sandytoes - I would definitely not give up your jobs right now because your calculations may be wrong for all sorts of reasons, and you can't predict the future (higher prices for many groceries, fuel etc.) But, I would definitely put your plan of living more frugally into action now so that while you still have the safety net of your salaries, you can actually find out for sure what amount you really need to feed yourselves, maintain your house, and add in the car expenses. You should do that for a year as monthly outgoings change especially when you have a car, there'll be tax and insurance and MOT. During that period you should be able to save and then after a year you'll see the difference between your outgoings when you're living frugally and your normal outgoings. Only then will you really be able to gauge whether you can manage on the pensions you envisage receiving.

growstuff I’m no expert but it does sound like Mealybug’s husband is entitled to attendance allowance, possibly at the higher rate if he requires care both day and night. It would make a significant difference to their income and possibly be a gateway to other help.

I went to see a free advisor from Pension Wise, the government department. Although the advisor was slightly older than me they had never heard of HRPS and googled it there and then! Not very reassuring...

I’m one of the WASPI women, born a month or so too late to get my pension at 60. My husband and I planned extremely carefully for me to retire at 60 then found half way through it had been changed to 65. We therefore lived for 5 years on a very reduced income, picking up part time work where and when we could. It wasn’t pleasant and I look back at that time of penny pinching and worrying with dread. Now my pension has kicked in and we are living the life we had planned. Not extravagant by any means but not scary either. It’s all about balance isn’t it? Having sufficient to make you feel happy but not working your guts out in something you hate. The very best of luck to you.

It's a good idea to know monthly outgoings. But something else always pops up -car goes wrong, expensive dental bill, boiler breaks down... We find that there is always something costing several hundred pounds. Working part-time may be the answer. I'd love to have a part-time job as I felt lost when I retired.