amount of savings in the bank after retiring?

margaretclare

So where are all the poor OAPs who are now destitute when they retire?

According to Age Concern (now AgeUK) research, one in four retired women were living in poverty, the more so as they get older i.e. 80+.

So, many will be women living on their own especially at the older end of the scale i.e. not the recently-retired but maybe those who depended on their husbands for a pension and made no provision of their own.

DH and I are still saving, but we do spend - recently had a lovely holiday and are going away over Christmas.

tanith

Robert2009 wrote: »

I have a friend who is a council tenant and has also just retired.
As he doesn't own his house he doesn't need an emergency fund.
He no longer needs a car to get him to his work and as he gets free bus travel, he sold the car and just hires one when necessary.
He also got a lump sum when he retired and says he will try and maintain about £5000 to pay for him and or his wife's funerals but if it gets spent so what.
He also has more money left over every week since he retired, not much, something like £5 but he no longer has expences for working.

So he is spending his money as fast as it comes in.

Every one I know who has retired recently, me included, are either better off or about the same and don't need to work.

So where are all the poor OAPs who are now destitute when they retire?

I had to retire 3years ago and although I do have some occupational pension I really can't save , I wish I could, what comes in near enough goes out at present, I don't struggle and have enough for my needs and the odd trip here and there but if I could get a part-time job I probably would.. I along with other retirees are still paying a mortgage so if you are better off in retirement consider yourself very lucky.. I have savings but drip drip its going down very slowly , I am banking on being able to save something more when my mortgage finishes in 5yrs time..
As Margaretclare says there are going to be many women retirees struggling in the years to come who have to rely on the state pension

getmore4less

You either need loads of dosh to cover everything yourself or a little as possible and the state will pick up the pieces.

Even having small pensions are a waste of money since the pension credits bring you up to a minimum level anyway and other benifits can kick in.

Some modifications to houses for health needs will get paid for also if you have no money

With small amounts the best thing to do is get the house into tip top condition and ready for a long retirement.


Oh yes nearly forgot, £10k can get them 5, 2 week cruises.

Once retired and you have index linked non earned income there is no point in saving for savings sake, have a 10 year budget that identifies the future replacements and maintance spends allow for those and spend the rest of income.

seven-day-weekend

With all due respect, unless something unforseen happens, I can't understand why people are still paying mortgages in their retirement (my neighbours are older than us and still have to pay theirs). We'd paid ours off in our 40s. But even if you don't buy a house until you are 40, you should have paid it off by 65, surely?

I appreciate that some have bereavements/second marriages/ sickness etc and of course these people may be starting later with a new mortgage, or struggling to pay their existing one. I'm talking about people who have had no unforseen circumstances.

tanith

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

With all due respect, unless something unforseen happens, I can't understand why people are still paying mortgages in their retirement (my neighbours are older than us and still have to pay theirs). We'd paid ours off in our 40s. But even if you don't buy a house until you are 40, you should have paid it off by 65, surely?

I appreciate that some have bereavements/second marriages/ sickness etc and of course these people may be starting later with a new mortgage, or struggling to pay their existing one. I'm talking about people who have had no unforseen circumstances.

7DW I agree with your thoughts but if you look at divorce rates in the UK its not many families that manage to pay off their original mortgage without an 'unforseen circumstance' coming along.. your are indeed fortunate if you manage it, believe me it wasn't something I envisaged in my 20s and 30s.. many of my friends are like me on 2nd marriages and mortgages that extend into retirement.. we are paying extra when we can but it will still be another 5yrs for us

seven-day-weekend

Thank you tanith, I did include second marriages in my short list of 'unforseen circumstances' because I too know one or two people in this situation. xx

jamesd

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

With all due respect, unless something unforseen happens, I can't understand why people are still paying mortgages in their retirement ... But even if you don't buy a house until you are 40, you should have paid it off by 65, surely?

Not necessarily. It can be prudent financial planning to aim to start to clear a mortgage after you start to receive the state pensions and/or a work pension.

If you consider the situation before you receive those pensions, your personal pension, possibly a work pension plus savings and investments will provide one level of income. When the state pensions start, that may increase the income by around £7,000 per person. That's a good amount of extra income available to clear a mortgage that wasn't there before. Do it before the state pensions start and you're living to a poorer lifestyle than you could afford if you look at the long term income picture. That in turn can mean things like being forced to retire later than you otherwise could or living less well if forced to retire early due to ill health.

The risk of waiting could be low because the state pension income is guaranteed and can be backed up, if necessary, with life assurance. Only "could be" low because of things like interest rate uncertainty and reduced mortgage choice. The dearth of long term fixed rate mortgages is also unfortunate for this sort of planning.

seven-day-weekend

Thank you James, i hadn't looked at it like that.

pineapple

What to keep by is just what I am debating right now! If you own your own house and need a car, £10,000 is not a lot. I would say £5,000 as an absolute minimum. Think roof repairs, central heating goes kaput, car gives up the ghost. Think all those little extras that mount up. It also depends on your age of course. 80+ and I would blow the lot. At 60+, you might just want to keep over £10,000 - if you can.

That said, equity release schemes (there are some bona fide ones run by local authorities) can be a failsafe. I know these schemes are regarded as the spawn of the devil, but they can be just the ticket for singletons like me whose money is tied up in bricks and mortar. I have no kids and I don't care if my estate is swallowed up on death and I don't leave a bean :beer:.

bendix

vaporate wrote: »

£500, 000?

Keep dreaming lol

!!!!!! dreaming.

I'll leave dreaming to the dreamers, while I concentrate on making it happen.