Can you manage on just a state pension ?

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

www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

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.

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

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

Crossed posts Karennat, I’m a slow typer!

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You seem to be concerned about your health, both physical and mental. Do please take that into consideration when making your decision. Healthy food and keeping warm are crucial as are hobbies, activities and outings. These things will safeguard your health as you get older.

Sandytoes I would double check your state pension forecast as I am 61 and need 46 years contributions under new pension rules for full state pension which will then be reduced as I paid into a company pension. The government pension helpline are very good.

Have you checked to see if you would get the full state pension if you retire early as the purpose of the government making it later before you can claim but also because people in work are still paying into the pot as it were. The other thought would be to take redundancy or part time option from your present jobs as when this lockdown period is over many employers will be looking to reduce outgoings so don,t give in your notice before exploring all options .

@Sandytoes You say mental health is more important than money, but don't forget being broke when an unexpected expense comes along or inflation makes a huge dent in your income will have an impact in mental health too.
I would worry about that and couldn't contemplate a life without holidays and the ability to buy what I fancy after a life of hard work. But, it 100% depends on your personal outlook, what really makes you happy and what you want your standard of living to be - just make sure you can cover the essentials and have money for emergencies.
Once you've given up work, it would be difficult, but not impossible, to boost your income again.
During lockdown, DH and I can live on about £1000-£1200 a month (no mortgage), but that's without annual bills, travelling or eating out and frankly, is miserable. I would hate to live like that every month.
Personally if I were you I'd carry on a while longer but, as I said upthread, perhaps change the type of work/reduce to part time.

Its hard at first to manage on just a state pension. But you can get by. Its amazing how little I spend now and take time to enjoy what I have rather than what I wish had. I would make the most of the time when you have two pensions and get the things done to your house that need doing while you can afford it, something I wish I had done before my DH died.

I think I’d try and carry on working until your state pension kicks in. The reality is you could live another 20 years. Use your last working years to build up your savings. I’ve dropped down to working 3 days a week, to get used to less money. Is this something you could both do ???

Our aim was always to sell our house. Downsize and use the extra money for holidays and such. But we’ve still got 2 AC at home and a grandchild. So that plan didn’t work.

I would double check the position re state pension. My sister is looking at early retirement due to redundancy. As part of the financial advice she has received during this process, she has been advised she will need to continue paying voluntary NI contributions until retirement age in order to receive full state pension. She too has 40 years contributions.

I see FarNorth has suggest equity release. Please be wary of this, and seek independent advice before doing so, these companies aren't covered by the appropriate governing bodies, to ensure the relevant terms and conditions are carried out according to UK law. Yes, they have letters behind the name, and while there are reputable companies our there, there are many, who find cleverly worded loop holes to make sure you end up owing a lot more than you were originally led to believe. Please exercise great caution, that's all I'm saying, I know so many people who have been duped by these companies. I guess its ok if you have no relatives to pick up any debts incurred, or your not worried about any inheritance that may NOT be left. I.m just trying to warn you, there maybe consequences related to equity release. But ultimately the choice is yours.