Comfort Pension Level

atush

So live for today if that is what you choose.

But don't see why you are here in the pensions forum if you have no inclination to pay into one and want to spend the lot.

STAGEY

Pasturesnew - be aware retirement apartments are often cheaper as the service charges are quite a bit higher than normal apartments. £2k ish - so you'd need a reasonable income anyway. One way is if you are selling say at £250,000 and buying at £150,000 - putting some of the equity into a savings account to draw down on for the charges each year.

greenglide

STAGEY wrote: »

Pasturesnew - be aware retirement apartments are often cheaper as the service charges are quite a bit higher than normal apartments. £2k ish - so you'd need a reasonable income anyway. One way is if you are selling say at £250,000 and buying at £150,000 - putting some of the equity into a savings account to draw down on for the charges each year.

I suspect that Pasturesnew is talking about a flat, not an apartment. Where I come from flats are common, apartments are ponsy, expensive, things.

His contributions to the thread would tend not to indicate anything like "selling say at £250,000"otherwise a higher level of income during retirement would be expected.

JB9302

Just forecast our retirement income for Nov 2016 when the mrs retires , approx £37000 made up of our works pensions and her state one .
My state one is due in Jan 17 so it ups to £43000 gross roughly .
We have already downsized to 1 car ( I am retired ) and house is paid for so I am happy that we will be better off then than we have been most of our married lives .

Triumph13

JB9302 wrote: »

Just forecast our retirement income for Nov 2016 when the mrs retires , approx £37000 made up of our works pensions and her state one .
My state one is due in Jan 17 so it ups to £43000 gross roughly .
We have already downsized to 1 car ( I am retired ) and house is paid for so I am happy that we will be better off then than we have been most of our married lives .

The study that kicked this thread off found no statistically significant increases in happiness / satisfaction for any increases in pension amout over £40k so you look to have judged it pretty well!

greenglide

JB9302 wrote: »

Just forecast our retirement income for Nov 2016 when the mrs retires , approx £37000 made up of our works pensions and her state one .
My state one is due in Jan 17 so it ups to £43000 gross roughly .
We have already downsized to 1 car ( I am retired ) and house is paid for so I am happy that we will be better off then than we have been most of our married lives .

And it is more than our (and I think many people's) joint income before retirement:(

Several contributors on this forum seem not to understand that there are people around with a wide range of income levels:mad:

JB9302

greenglide wrote: »

And it is more than our (and I think many people's) joint income before retirement:(

Several contributors on this forum seem not to understand that there are people around with a wide range of income levels:mad:

I started work at 15 and paid in for 42 yrs went to night school etc to gain extra qualifications that enabled me to apply for better paid jobs. My dad worked from 14 to 67 and had no works pension and told me to get paying in early , best advice I have had .

atush

greenglide wrote: »

And it is more than our (and I think many people's) joint income before retirement:(

Several contributors on this forum seem not to understand that there are people around with a wide range of income levels:mad:

We Or at least I) realise, and try to explain to some of the the low paid how a pension could work out for them even better than those with higher incomes as their pension would probably not be taxed at all. So 80 saved really would be one hundred.

But they either can't save (although I have never seen someone who couldn't once they cut back like on the debt free boards) or wont save and want to live for today.

It is a conundrum and I do feel for them as I know I could not live on the state pension or 15K in total. Yes, I know some can and I take my hat off to you.

I mean I could live, as I know how to do things that cost more money (from DIY to Cooking from scratch) than the alternatives but I can't see being happy with out some of life's luxuries Living from week to week, worrying. Been there, done that and took steps to never have to again.

Thrugelmir

When you consider how little pension provision some people have. At least this is a wake up call. Auto enrollment is going to take years to build up to a sensible level of saving. As the UK has certainly lost the savings habit.

Living_proof

I don't have a private pension and I'm so delighted to get the new rate of pension when I retire in 2016. I don't have a mortgage but have a lodger so my house provides me with an income of about £300 per month (£250 adjusted for council tax) so I will have the best part of £1000 per month to live on and will have quite a bit of savings behind me. Everything is planned in advance and I can live very frugally. At the time of my marriage break-up I didn't have enough spare income to put into a pension - I was too busy supporting my children and paying the marital mortgage. Then when I could afford to pay into a pension it was too late and ISAs are a better choice. I think I will be better off than a lot of pensioners and my house is newish and incredibly warm and I may not plan a Caribbean cruise every year, but I think I will enjoy the challenge of being comfortable on a small income. It's all down to deciding what's a want and what's a need.