Pensioner poverty

The problem is that there are actually a lot of people who do not earn enough to be able to put enough money aside to provide a pension large enough to live on, even with a state pension.

Look at all those on zero hours, working in the gig economy where money is uncertain week to week and pay rates around the minmum wage, all those who receive working benefits. I doubt many of those can afford to pay into a private pension and if they did, it wouldn't even be icing on the cake, more a thin (very thin) sprinkling of icing sugar.

The state pension is not the icing on the cake you must have a exceptionally generous pension yourself, to see the state pension as 'icing'. The state pension IS the cake for the vast majority of people in this country and the occupational pension is the icing.

Surely the fact of the matter is that it is up to all of us to ensure that we will have enough money to live on in retirement.

There is the state pension which is only intended to be a top up, along with various benefits already outlined by GabriellaG54, but the majority of income in retirement must be generated by ourselves.

I have said this before, but it always amazes me how so many people seem to sleep walk into old age without having made any provision for it by, for instance, paying into a private or work pension during their working life.

Of course there will always be some who, through no fault of their own, fall on hard times, and they are quite rightly helped, but for the majority of us, it is up to us to start planning for retirement decades in advance.

I suffer from travel sickness in most types of transport, but it is by far the worst on buses. It is caused by a combination of the smell; a mix of diesel and the smell of the upholstery, the constant stop starting. the rolling bouncing movement of the suspension, exacerbated by the way air brakes work. Completely different to travelling in a car, or on a boat or plane.

There are plenty of rural places in England and Wales which have only one stopping train per day and one bus into and out of the area

There are many,many more that have neither and that number is growing fast. Even as close to London as South Oxfordshire there are villages without any access to public transport, and the number is growing as Local Councils reduce subsidies to these services and operators withdraw them.

Even though our yearly income is considerably less than when we worked full time and had children at school we are really much better off with State Pensions and private pensions we have never been so well off.
We don't have to think how we are going to pay the next bill or paying for holidays meals out etc.
Paying into those private pensions really paid off even though we struggled at the time it has been well worth it.

Gabriella my sister suffers awful travel sickness on buses but not on any other form of transport.She was involved in an accident when she was about 6 in a bus.Was thrown the length of it and badly injured and that has always been the cause .She can travel on boats in high seas and fly in turbulence with no ill effects but buses are a major problem when there is no other choice

No travel sickness in taxis or cars then M0nica?
There are plenty of rural places in England and Wales which have only one stopping train per day and one bus into and out of the area but that is still an advantage not to be sneered at.
The government cannot cover every eventuality or situation. The pot is finite and I think they do very well in the interest of pensioners.

M0nica
You are wrong.
I know of a family who received a £25 cold weather payment 3 weeks ago...in South Surrey.

The £25 for weeks when the temperature falls consistently below zero is available only to those in receipt of Pension Credit and it is quite some time since we had a winter cold enough to trigger it. No one above pension credit levels receives it.

Frankly I think all the bells and whistles Gabriella mentions except the commercial ones, which are offered by companies wanting to generate income at times when they are usually short of custom, should be abolished and Pension credit increased by the the amoont all these cost divided by the number of pensioners.

As for bus passes, it does assume that there is a bus route nearby and in many rural areas there are no buses.so a bus pass is as useful and as valuable as a chocolate teapot. not to mention oddities like me who suffer from travel sickness on buses and coaches, so do not travel on them and do not have a bus pass for that reason.

no ing should be living

A single person on pension credit is allowed up to £10k on savings, free heath benefits (scripts etc) £140 winter fuel allowance if the bill is in their name and is credited by their electricity provider (not gas) to their electricity account but not all elec providers are in the scheme.
It is not money in the bank.
Everyone born befire Nov 1953 gets the Winter fuel allowance whether working or not. It is not means tested.
The amounts are broadly the same even if you claim the guarantee portion of pension credit.
This is £200 for a single person no ing alone and £300 those born before Sept 1938.
The amounts differ slightly if you live with someone also claiming their pension and/or a benefit.
These monies are paid into your bank account between Nov-Jan.
There is also a £25 payment for weeks in which the temperature drops to below zero, plus a Christmas 'bonus' of £10.
A free bus pass and concessions at theatres, cinema, days out, hairdressers and restaurants all help people on a pension to live well.
I don't think pensioners have anything to complain about.

Don't forget the extra 25p per week after the age of 80!

Franbern
I've no idea where you live but in England, pensioners do not get their tv licences paid. They (at present) have to pay.
After their 75th birthday they can apply to have the licence fee rescinded.

GillT57
I was answering an earlier post about energy/water bills.
Those on pension credit would not have to pay council tax (or rent if they were renting)
Most retirees over 65 have finished paying their mortgages and are just paying their council tax.
I was not comparing like for like.
Just saying that my monthly
outgoings such as council tax, gas, elec, water, broadband, contents insurance and mobile phone bills are eminently doable out of my basic state pension.
They are the bills we all have to pay.
Everything else such as tv, car, Sky/Netflix, food bills are fluid depending on how much is left over.
People on pension credit can still have £10k in savings without being penalised.

Apologies for my last post on Wednesday. The amounts I gave for Pension Credit and Basic State Pension was totally wrong - no idea where these figures came from
At present the amount of State pension for a single person is £8476.00 pa. and for a couple £12,837.60.
In order to claim Pension Credit, the person must have under £10,000 in savings, otherwise £1 is deducted for every extra £500.
All pensioners receive the Winter Heating Allowance £100/£200/£300 and the £10 (? Yep still that amount) Christmas Allowance). Pensioners are entitled (at present) to have their TV Licences paid. For those on Pension Credit and some other benefits there is an additional Winter fuel payment made via some of the energy companies, which this year is £140.00.

My thoughts exactly mcem. If you live in your owned home you also have expenses such as maintenance, new boilers etc. Not knocking your figures GG4 but not really a true comparison with someone who only has state pension to pay for absolutely everything.

If payments for rent and council tax come from a source other than state pension then we aren't comparing like with like are we?

Wow, Gabriella, I thought I managed my finances well but my bills are way more than yours! My gas and elec are over £90 a month, water £18, phone etc £35, council tax £140 and insurance £25 (annual cost divided by 12). Then on top is food, car, household repairs, clothes, socialising, presents for family etc.

I do not have my state pension yet ( got to wait until I am 66) but I am retired on my work pensions and some savings. I have worked had for many years to support my family both when married and divorced and am appreciative of the pensions and savings I am able to have now. I know that I would not enjoy the lifestyle I have on the basic state pension alone.

I empathise with people who have to manage on the state pension through no fault of their own but not with people who could have saved money or paid into a pension scheme years ago but chose to live a good life. I struggled financially at times but always tried to have an eye to the future and paid pension contributions while working and also saved when times were right.

I don't begrudge pension credits for people who are living under the poverty line, only for those people who made conscious decisions not to make provisions for their retirement.

Apologies if that upsets some folks!

GG54 your electricity is extraordinarily cheap. We have a very well insulated home, new efficient boiler, house rewired etc and we spend the £14 you pay in just 3 or 4 days! Lucky you.

The WASPI situation is a disgrace and needs to be sorted out.

My relatives (older than me and neither DH nor I are 'baby boomers!) managed very well indeed but it was rather irksome to hear their neighbours talking about their holidays in America, New Zealand, their new caravan and car etc and all the benefits they got! At least, I suppose, they appreciated their benefits.

Hi Jalima, I know - it also seems extraordinary that given the very financially favourable times us 'baby boomers' have lived through, so many people do not seem to have been able to accumulate much in the way of savings or buy their own home. I can only go on my own experience of a couple who had always lived in subsided housing (in those days council housing). Whenever we met at a family event, his first question was always 'where are you going for your holidays?' and they seemed to have several each year!! They worked the system a treat - with the widow ending up in beautiful sheltered housing paid for by the public purse. Still I always ask myself - who would I prefer to be? and I know the answer is 'me' every time. Especially now that services for the elderly are being slashed. Having money and savings gives you choices. Some people claiming benefits are incredibly defensive and view it all as their 'right' not appreciating that it's other financially prudent people who pay the taxes to fund and subsidise their lifestyle.

Greta8 I agree, when I mentioned this once before I got a very unfavourable reply from another poster (no longer on here). Some of my relatives found themselves in that position whereas their next door neighbours seemed very well off on almost twice their income because they were able to claim several benefits.

I think it's most tough on people that are just above the minimum income to qualify for pension credit. Let's face it, having your rent and council tax paid is a huge advantage. In the future these benefit bills will be huge, since so many younger people are now renting as they are unable to buy a home. We have tried to be self-reliant but it's totally a poisoned chalice - add in income tax and council tax, and I honestly do wonder who is better off. Having said that I have always worked so have occupational pensions but am a WASPI lady shafted, as many are, by the Government.

Billions of pounds in benefits go unclaimed every year - much of this which could be going to alleviate pensioner poverty.

Perhaps more publicity is needed or help to access these benefits?

Blimey my electric bill for the two worst quarters is nigh on £900 !! Nov to May.