Debt in retirement

I agree with the last paragraph of sarahellenwitneys comment that many people, especially when they're young, expect (if indeed they think about it at all) that the future will tske care of itself. 4 of my 5 children are excellent managers of their finances and live comfortably within their means, though not all at the same level of comfort as it depends it on income. Five of my 7 grandchildren are working full time having gone through college and done some travelling. The other two are still in education but have part-time jobs.
We are lucky that none of us have any health issues whatsoever, which is one issue which can hamper the ability to stay in work but you can never be complacent.
I worked 3 jobs when I left school so that I could buy the things I wanted and not be limited to just what one wage packet could buy me. Of course, I gave my parents board and keep at a rate much higher than most of my friends as I earned more and I'm now able to support Kssair and the RNLI plus volunteer at Sams. Many of GNs stories show how selfless they are and it's humbling to read of their struggles, triumphs and happy times.

My own situation is I am not wealthy financially nor will be in pension years.

Fled the ex 17 years ago taking 4 now adult youngsters by him after 16 years with him, enough was enough.

We had to start again with nothing. The aftermath was horendous. I still live with the ramifications today physically, emotional and financially wise.

I live in a council house now (ex is not in my youngsters live either as they chose to disown him) I get disability as I can not work to an employer's timetable or expectations.

I tell you this I have more today than I had with the ex. I am happily remarried to a man who treats me like a princess and is the dad he didn't have to be to my four. All of mine are stable good jobs and happy relationships.

We have worked hard to ensure they are happy and have good lives.

Tell you something stick all your money. Been there and had it. Bought me nothing worth having.

We live simple lives, don't drink or smoke. We save for what we do and live comfortable. I have insurance policies for my children and pre payment insurance plan.

This post is about giving another side of the equation financially. As 1 in 4 women will suffer abuse in there lives there is alot more women like me who won't have the financial stability of wealth

Life in the 1960's -70's wasn't a doddle either.Yes there were homes to buy as estates were going up all over the place making up for those lost, or were to be built, during the war years
It was a homebuyers dream. If you could afford one. Interest rates were high on savings if you were lucky enough to be able to save but interest rates were also high on mortgages. A mortgage we could afford was to be DH and my self problem. Unlike now, the social housing situation was much easier 60's-70's but we wanted to buy.Thrifty DH saw it as an investment as well as a present home and we ' won't always be young'.The only way DH and self were able to obtain our mortgage was to up our deposit so as to reduce the size of a mortgage. We were fortunate to have a relative lend us the extra. I got myself an evening job as DH was able to look after our two small children of an evening so we could pay this loan
DH cycled the three miles to his work winter and summer. We had no car.
I sympathise with those for who ill health has meant they are now struggling in their later years. For many unfortunately, and a couple I have encountered, the future appeared to them to be one that would take care of itself.Life can be and for many a struggle and hard work but aren't all of us capable in our earlier years, our health and our circumstances permitting, of looking ahead and not assuming all will be handed to us 'on a plate.'

For those of you who have retired and have health problems you can apply for attendance allowance which is a non means tested benefit. Simply Google attendance allowance and you will get all the information

Urmstongran You are right so don't be sorry!

I've been retired for 8 years although my state pension started 13 years ago.
In 2016 I had a letter from the DWP saying that an inspector would be visiting on a certain day...ooh-er ?
She asked me to sit down then told me that because they hadn't given me the option (in writing) of deferring my pension, they were in a position to pay me £22,766.80 which included interest at the relevant rates for each year.
I was shocked...
I had been working as a pa/carer after I retired from my original profession (lawyer) and wasn't short of cash so I decided to put it aside.
I live alone through choice and my partner (both divorced) lives about 7 miles away. He's a good many years younger and I'd feel uncomfortable living together, that said, I orefer my own space. I got half the house when I divorced but ex suggested that I could let it, invest the income and rent elsewhere which is what I do. When we jointly decide to sell it I will get half but neither of us are in a hurry. I moved to a smaller period house in a market town in Surrey green belt. The marital home was far too large for me to rattle around in anyway so I'm very fortunate not to have a mortgage, never use my credit card and bank reduced my £11k overdraft facility to £200 as I've never used it. I don't lend money to my children either as they are all working f/t and I expect them to live within their means. Did it twice with D3 and she changed phone number and declined to repay when I emailed. 30s, not married, no children, no idea of saving. Owed money to many. I said I would apply for an AoE and explained what that meant. She decided to offer a monthly DD. There's a difference between a loan and a gift which she chose to ignore and we haven't spoken since she paid in full. I can live with that.

I took early retirement and get a public sector pension which, because it was non contributory is less than those in the private sector doing a similar job. At first we were more than comfortable, my husband had his public sector pension (a bit less than mine) and his state pension as he was older than me. Then he died. I received bereavement benefit for a year but now have to manage on my pension and 50% of his until I hit the magic age of 66. I’m better off than a lot and I can manage but my social life has been hit hard (at a time when I need one) as I can’t afford to eat out so much and that is what my friends want to do when we meet up.

Nonnie I tried explaining that to younger colleagues too. I suppose they think ‘there’s plenty of time to worry about that’ but as we all know it sneaks up on us.

The last company I worked for had a reasonable pension scheme but the youngsters wouldn't join. Even when I explained that with tax relief on contributions and the company contribution, the fact that it was taken out of gross salary etc that it was the equivalent of a 15% pay rise they still wouldn't join. Some said it was because they wouldn't stay with the company all their working life and I explained that they didn't lose the pension just because they moved but it was a waste of my time.

An average debt of £33,900 is terrifying! Is it mainly mortgage residues, do you think? I do think that people have got used to low interest rates. I'm 66 and I can remember when many mortgages were at 15%. I lost my first husband to cancer when I was 44, and our mortgage residue was paid off by our insurance. It was all of £16,500! I resolved not to borrow money for any reason, if I could possibly help it, because I realised at that point how fragile life is and I didn't want to put my daughters in jeopardy. My second husband developed early-onset dementia at 57 and retired early from his post as a university lecturer before he was humiliated into forcible retirement. Then I had to retire early from the NHS to look after him. Eventually, he went into a care home, and that was very expensive. He brought no money to the marriage because of a divorce and a child who needed extended financial support (although he did have modest equity in a house). However, fortunately, we were both employed in Final Salary Pension schemes, me in the NHS and him under the universities pension scheme (USS). Half of his university pension comes to me as his widow. Contrary to popular imagination, university lecturers are not paid very much - often less than secondary school teachers - but they did have a good pension scheme. Likewise me in the NHS. However, final salary pensions are a thing of the past and people in the public services will not be able to offset poorer pay against future pension benefits. Life's vicissitudes are not individually predictable, but you'd be foolish not to get a decent private pension if you possibly can or to go into debt for non-essentials such as holidays, cars or new kitchens! People in business for themselves are very much more vulnerable, and need to be very disciplined to provide for the future. I feel very sorry for people in gillybob's situation - through no fault of their own. It was easy for me, in a sense, because that money was taken from our pay at source. I hate the idea of going into debt, but I have been lucky in some ways. I do not condemn people who fall upon bad times, but I have no sympathy for the 3 holidays a year and fancy cars on the drive brigade!

We do a part-time job that pays well. I life model two days per week what I earn from that pays the mortgage. We have never inherited anything all what we have we have worked for. I do worry what will happen if we cannot continue to work. We were thinking of downsizing from our 3 bed house to a caravan site but the ground rent is nearly as much as our mortgage so it’s not worth it. We just plod on and live in hope.

I shall be a poor pensioner. I've gone from carer to single parent. It is what it is. I don't have any debts though.

GoldenAge I disagree it’s Brexit. Sorry.

Crumbs, that was a ramble, sorry.

Maggie "So much in life depends heavily on the hand we're dealt, however much hard work we put in and however much we try to plan ahead. Where and to whom we were born, family breakdown, bereavement, our health and that of our family, the sheer ruddy luck of being in the right place at the right time. Yes but only to some extent and with the emphasis on 'how much hard work we put in".

We were told that we coped with redundancy because we were strong but the person speaking couldn't do what we did to get a new job and couldn't move house because they were not strong. The hand we were dealt with at birth should have meant that we ended up living in much poorer conditions than we do. We now have a more comfortable retirement than many of our contemporaries because of the way I manage our money and because we were prepared to move as and when work required it. We still eat frugally, despite being able to afford not to but it is ingrained. We now spend our money on our family and on experiences to make memories. Several people we know who seemed very well off before their retirement have had to sell their houses to fund retirement and resent it.

I think it is very easy to blame all sorts of things for being a poor OAP, and in some cases it really is unavoidable but not as much as you might think judging by all the complaints we hear. When I walk into a home at this time of year and the heating is blazing and the occupants are wearing Tshirts I don't feel that sympathetic as I sit here wearing a camisole, sweater, bigger sweater and warm cardigan! We cook food from scratch for economy and so that we know what we are eating, a takeaway is a real treat not just because we don't feel like cooking. I could go on and on but basically think that we all knew retirement was coming so many of us could have and should have prepared for it. We made choices when we were younger and now have to live with them.

I've never been in debt at any point in my life and in retirement with no mortgage to pay I feel comfortable - but I still do some private work from home and this has enabled me to save until the last year when the fallout from the Brexit vote began to occur and absolutely everything I buy began to increase in price. So whilst I'm not going into debt my savings are at a standstill. I pity those who have no savings at all and see their weekly shopping basket rising by 25%. I also get very angry at the thought that millions of older retired people brought this on others by sticking their heads in the sand and voting to leave the EU - sorry for the political angle here, but it's entirely the fault of that Brexit lobby that more and more people are feeling the pinch and some living in poverty.

You can’t buy peace of mind. We are lucky if we can put our heads on our pillows at night with no financial worries.

I have tiny occupational pension pots to look to when or if? I ever get to retire! I am still early 50’s so probably won’t see state retirement until I am 67! Assuming that the goal posts are not moved yet again?
I am luck to be mortgage free, but do have a couple of loans taken out to do structural repairs which were hideously expensive?
my savings have gone over the last few years in helping two of my three adult children who were struggling, one at university with a small child the other as a lone parent; we live in the SE so cost of living and housing are out of all reason here and bear no relation to average salaries!
I am still working full time but like many others am a single person, my salary is decent and if there were two of us bringing in my salary we would be laughing, but It’s so much harder with one just salary! That said I have a good life now that I am not bailing out the adult children! I earn enough to be able to eat out when I want and can afford holidays, I don’t run a car though and can walk to work
While my children’s situations are now stable (their household incomes are now higher than mine thank goodness) I feel it’s underestimated in the media how much parents now have to heavily financially support the younger families, and not just with the oft cited house deposit!. Over the last 10 years I paid rent for them sometimes for long periods, cleared accrued fuel bills, paid for 2 DGC nursery costs and assorted activities, monthly bank transfers on top. I understood what a struggle it was for them and looked back at the virtually no help my own parents gave us when they could have done! So I don’t regret it but it’s left me with little rainy day money now?
I do plan to cash in my pension pots when I reach 55 (I read others criticisms) but will invest it (assuming the market is the same as now) in a holiday property to rent out in the SW I have already researched this, and worked out that even allowing for the running costs, empties, and repairs, the income will be far higher than my measly pensions would return for me when that time came! And I consider this a sensible way to use the money. I also plan to downsize in the next year, I am luck to live in a large house in SE and will be planning to move to a smaller 2 bed place freeing up equity to hopefully buffer me later on. However so much depends on the state of the economy and assuming I don’t get ill?

We survive on my state penison and a small works pension plus my DH'sESA as he isnt of penion age just yet. I was the main breadwinner for nearly 20years before retiring and we never had a luxury life but i saved as much as i could plus my mother left me a very small amount when she died so that was added to my savings for our old age. I draw on my savings every week to buy food or anything else we need as pensions and DH's money pays all the bills, rent and council tax.We don't claim HB or CT rebate as i saved too much to qualify for any help with those. I have also managed to go back to work on an add hoc basis for my old company which also helps. Every month i put money away for car insurance, Christmas, petrol, window cleaners this goes into envelopes and is locked in a tin money box. All other bills are paid by direct debit so we are very lucky that we are not in debt to anyone. I also grow some fruit and veg in the garden which helps with the shopping bills in the summer months. I put half the cost of these items if i had purchased in a shop into a tin and this pays for seeds, compost etc the following year. Everyone is different in how they handle finances and i have always been a saver and quite frugal and i am terrified of debt, it was drummed into me by my mother never ever owe anyone money and i have lived by that rule all my life. Sometimes i wonder if i have missed out but i feel content really that i dont have to worry to much about money in my later years.

There again though, Lady Luck has her way with us! I know there are better compensation schemes in place now, but not all pension planning goes well. One of my private pensions was embezzled many years ago, so that was money down the drain, and another is worth little more than what I put in but has conditions attached that mean I can't access it till my 66th birthday. As that's the day I finally get my state pension and become a tax payer again, I'll immediately lose a big chunk to tax. And yet, as I understand it, the opted out years I paid into these useless pots don't now count towards my state pension. Oh joy!

Now I don’t want to upset anyone, and there are situations like Gilybob’s and others on here where ‘things happen’ and an unfortunate circumstance or poor decision means people do end up in a bad financial situation through no fault of their own. And once in these situations it is very difficult to turn things around.

BUT I’ve come across a fair amount of people who simply do not plan for their old age and are reduced to trying to live on a State Pension. The number of times I tried to talk some of my younger colleagues into investing in a pension fund and it fell on deaf ears. The usual complaint being ‘I can’t afford it’ when in fact they couldn’t afford not to. Another explanation was that they wanted to enjoy the good things in life now and worry about the future when it happens.

We've no debt now, thank goodness. Our worst time financially was when all three DC were at university at the same time, and we were paying our mortgage, three lots of rent for them and tuition fees (fortunately nowhere near what they are now). We got by then by constantly moving from one interest free credit card to the next. It wasn't a problem then, when we both worked and we could see an end to it, but I would hate to have debt now that our income is fixed and our savings won't be replenished. I feel for anyone in this position, or anyone still having to shell out housing costs in retirement, whether mortgage or rent. So much in life depends heavily on the hand we're dealt, however much hard work we put in and however much we try to plan ahead. Where and to whom we were born, family breakdown, bereavement, our health and that of our family, the sheer ruddy luck of being in the right place at the right time - there but for the grace of God go any of us. As some replies have already highlighted, changes to the state pension age have hit a lot of us very hard indeed, and I do know women who are really struggling to cope, especially those on their own with poor health.

We have never been in real debt. We have had the odd loan to buy a car but have always paid it off quickly. I suppose we have been very lucky. We bought our house for peanuts , lived in it for 40+ years and then sold it . As we lived in the SE we made enough money, after buying a new house in the SW to live comfortably. We both have occupational pensions also.
I know sever all people who also believe that when their money runs out, the state will keep them. They could be right.

I totally sympathise with your position Gillybob. To have worked hard, and not only for your own futures but for your employees, and then end up in this position seems such a kick in the teeth.

Oh Gillybob. ?