amount of savings in the bank after retiring?

gab1

My father has just retired and to be honest he hasn't done much in preparing for his retirement in the way of savings.

In fact he doesn't even have a savings account, my mother dealt with all the finances.

His pay was paid into the bank but my mother had the card and took out what was necessary, even giving my father his "pocket money" every week

In fact he says what is the point of having a lot of savings as long as him and my mother can afford the necessities of life such as a couple of holidays a year and food and heat etc.

The mortgage is paid off.

Their joint income from pensions, my mother retired a few years ago, is about £14000 a year and they have never claimed any benefits so far.

They have £10000 in savings only because my mother got a lump sum when she retired and put it in the bank and never told my father:eek:.

She worked part time at a school and was in a local government pension scheme that is why she got the lump sum.

My father did know about the pension though:D.

Anyway someone told my father to apply for council tax benefit and other benefits since he retired, so he has found out about my mother's £10000 as she was worried that if it wasn't declared they would be in trouble:o.

So he wants to spend this money by doing up the house and going on a cruise and thinks that just keeping a couple of thousand pounds in the bank for emergencies will do.

So what is a reasonable amount of savings to have in the bank after you are retired?

bendix

gab1 wrote: »

So what is a reasonable amount of savings to have in the bank after you are retired?

How long is a piece of string?

I'd want at least half a million quid, but that's me. My definition of reasonable might not be the same as anyone else's

sairy2005

I doubt with that much pension they will get any benefits any way. We have less than that and we can't get any.
I suggest he keeps it for an emergency.

vaporate

£500, 000?

Keep dreaming lol

thistledome

gab1 wrote: »

They have £10000 in savings only because my mother got a lump sum when she retired and put it in the bank and never told my father.

Blimey, no wonder she didn't tell him, he's spending it already! She must have known it'd all get wasted.

I don't think anyone can tell you what's a "reasonable" amount to have saved, it depends on individual circumstances.

If it was me I'd want to keep that £10k in the bank, but maybe your Dad's right - you can't take it with you!

Perhaps your Dad regards their house as being as good as savings in the event of an emergency?

Linton

thistledome wrote: »

Blimey, no wonder she didn't tell him, he's spending it already! She must have known it'd all get wasted.

I don't think anyone can tell you what's a "reasonable" amount to have saved, it depends on individual circumstances.

If it was me I'd want to keep that £10k in the bank, but maybe your Dad's right - you can't take it with you!

Perhaps your Dad regards their house as being as good as savings in the event of an emergency?

Let's hope the emergency doesnt happen then, it would be a pity to lose the house at the same time.

CLAPTON

if they are in their sixties then they might live for 25-35 years
10,000 isn't a lot of money spread over that time scale and they would be well advised to save that rather than spend it.
if he wants to do up the house or go on a cruise then they should only spend what they can afford out of their income

Oldernotwiser

gab1 wrote: »

Anyway someone told my father to apply for council tax benefit and other benefits since he retired, so he has found out about my mother's £10000 as she was worried that if it wasn't declared they would be in trouble:o.

What other benefits?

Arthurian

I think you should post on the Benefits Board, too. I just had a look at their Benefits guide sticky, and found this posted by Alwaysonthego:-

"For Pension age (over 60)
You can have up to £10 000 in savings and capital before CTB is reduced by £1 for every £500 or part of above that amount." (CTB = Council Tax Benefit.)

You say the mortgage is paid off, and they've just retired, so might need one replacement boiler in their retirement. If they run a car, they might need two replacement cars during their retirement. I'd want to keep the lot for emergencies.

vaporate

Better off working till you drop, if you can.

margaretclare

It sounds as if your Dad is clueless about money and your Mum is anything but.

'Doing up the house might be an option', but why bother with a cruise?

It's often a good idea, at this stage in life, to take a good hard look at the house and see whether it will be easy-care and convenient as they get older. Does the bathroom need a revamp - modern shower cubicle rather than bath, maybe? Downstairs loo? Anything that makes life easier and less hard work is the kind of thing that is money well spent.

Talking about 'just keeping a couple of thousand in the bank for emergencies' is nonsense. They have decades to live ahead of them and they just do not know what 'emergencies' may occur out of the blue. To give an example, the asbestos-tiled roof on our bungalow needed replacing - cost, approx £3,500. Then when DH was in hospital I needed to replace the shower cubicle with another one with lower step-in, a modern one, total cost of bathroom upgrade: £2K. And one always needs to replace the car, a few years down the line and our 7-year old Peugeot will need replacing!

It's the reason why DH and I are still saving and have no intention of spending all we have!