How much to live on

sheilavw

I was 57 when I lost my Husband to MND, he was 59. He had a DB scheme pension. Before he passed he was in the process of trying to cash it all in and invest it. There was about £169k in it. I got a lump sum of just over 3k then my first year after tax I think I got £216.98 a month, this has gone up 2 or 3 pounds a year. He had left this employment about 1990. Later on they didnt have a pension scheme where he worked because it was a small company,  so he paid into his own with what was then Brittanic, later Phoenix.  it was only a small monthly amount but they paid me out after he died.

I am 61 and work in Education. I have worked 45 years so from September I am going 4 days a week. Our mortgage finished a few years ago. I can manage on 4 days pay. I have holidays and run a car.

I was told that because my Husband died at 59 I will be entitled to a small part of his state pension but I don't know if this is still true.

I would hope to maybe drop another day before state pension age.

BooJewels

sheilavw said:

I was told that because my Husband died at 59 I will be entitled to a small part of his state pension but I don't know if this is still true.

Your circumstances sound similar to mine, I lost my husband at 60 - but inherited his various pensions as lump sums, rather than a regular payment. 

I have enquired about the additional state pension situation and it's called a protected payment and I get half of whatever my husband would have got.  The amount I'll get seems to be equivalent to having 2 years of extra NI contributions - so 2 x £5.82 = £11.64/week at current rates.  You get it if you were married before April 2016 and he died and would have reached SP age after April 2016 - so it's more about when he died than his actual age, as I understand it.  You lose it if you re-marry.

Organgrinder

sheilavw said:

I was 57 when I lost my Husband to MND, he was 59. He had a DB scheme pension. Before he passed he was in the process of trying to cash it all in and invest it. There was about £169k in it. I got a lump sum of just over 3k then my first year after tax I think I got £216.98 a month, this has gone up 2 or 3 pounds a year. He had left this employment about 1990. Later on they didnt have a pension scheme where he worked because it was a small company,  so he paid into his own with what was then Brittanic, later Phoenix.  it was only a small monthly amount but they paid me out after he died.

I am 61 and work in Education. I have worked 45 years so from September I am going 4 days a week. Our mortgage finished a few years ago. I can manage on 4 days pay. I have holidays and run a car.

I was told that because my Husband died at 59 I will be entitled to a small part of his state pension but I don't know if this is still true.

I would hope to maybe drop another day before state pension age.

Have you considered a phased retirement? I'm just about to go to 4 days and am supplementing my income this way. 

NannaH

So Sheila,  I assume you are also taxed on that tiny amount of pension?  

Whereas if the transfer had been made,  you’d have got the entire pot tax free to do whatever you wanted , with probably double the income, how absolutely infuriating for you.    

It’s a shame there isn’t a choice between taking a lump sum of whatever the current cetv is or a regular income,  if you live to 90 it would have cost them a similar amount.  

To stop a transfer when already initiated seems particularly cruel,  although my experience of transferring a very small DB pension was like wading through treacle,  taking over 6 months. 

Albermarle

shabbychic12 said:

This senecio could happen at any age as with me at 50 losing my husband, lve made what l would say are good investments with the lump sum we received,he retired due to ill health, l now receive a 1/3 of his pension plus critical illness payed of the mortgage but it’s not always about the money. I’m 58 now and just stopped working if you can call it that (12hrs a week) l will have more than enough money to see me till my pension and if l don’t so what? Life is too short for what ifs. I’ve made my will and my daughter will be a very rich women unless l spend it all. My parents gave me nothing, my father is in a care home which was £1100 week which we funded and is now in a home £3000/week - luckily we Have CHC funding now, but this is where your money will end up caring for yourselves in later life no matter what you have. Life’s for living no pockets in shrouds .

Just highlighted your comment in bold.
There is a common perception that nearly everyone who gets old needs very expensive care. However in reality this is not the case. Only 15% of the over 85 population live in a care home, and the average stay is not much over two years.
There are clearly some distressing cases of people living in care homes for many years and losing most of any money they have built up and their home ( usually dementia is the issue) but there are not as many as you might think from reading newspaper headlines etc
Plus of course having to pay for some lower level of care at home is always a possibility.

Nebulous2

Albermarle said:

shabbychic12 said:

This senecio could happen at any age as with me at 50 losing my husband, lve made what l would say are good investments with the lump sum we received,he retired due to ill health, l now receive a 1/3 of his pension plus critical illness payed of the mortgage but it’s not always about the money. I’m 58 now and just stopped working if you can call it that (12hrs a week) l will have more than enough money to see me till my pension and if l don’t so what? Life is too short for what ifs. I’ve made my will and my daughter will be a very rich women unless l spend it all. My parents gave me nothing, my father is in a care home which was £1100 week which we funded and is now in a home £3000/week - luckily we Have CHC funding now, but this is where your money will end up caring for yourselves in later life no matter what you have. Life’s for living no pockets in shrouds .

Just highlighted your comment in bold.
There is a common perception that nearly everyone who gets old needs very expensive care. However in reality this is not the case. Only 15% of the over 85 population live in a care home, and the average stay is not much over two years.
There are clearly some distressing cases of people living in care homes for many years and losing most of any money they have built up and their home ( usually dementia is the issue) but there are not as many as you might think from reading newspaper headlines etc
Plus of course having to pay for some lower level of care at home is always a possibility.

I'm just heading out - so no time to look it up, but its more like 2-3% who actually live in a care home at any one time. The 15% may refer to who will ever need a care home, but I thought that was more like 25-30%. 

sheilavw

Thanks for your comments everyone. I was 57 when he died, we had been together 41 years and married just shy of 35. The financial advisor had done all the ground work to get the DB pension pot, it would have been tax free due to my late Husband having MND, he died just before the final paperwork could be signed. I know going 4 days I won't lose a straight 5th of my wage like some people have said. There will be less tax, NI and pension contribution. Yes I pay tax on the small monthly amount that I get from Smiths Pensions.

I will look forward to that day off because as a family we care for my 56 year old Brother who has downs syndome. He goes to a charity gardening centre mon, tue and wed 9 until 3. Today I have been to aqua aerobics and had a swim. I intend to make the most of my day off.

As mentioned, life is too short. MND cruelly entered our lives and took my Husband within a year. All our hopes, dreams and plans were gone in an instant

Albermarle

Nebulous2 said:

Albermarle said:

shabbychic12 said:

This senecio could happen at any age as with me at 50 losing my husband, lve made what l would say are good investments with the lump sum we received,he retired due to ill health, l now receive a 1/3 of his pension plus critical illness payed of the mortgage but it’s not always about the money. I’m 58 now and just stopped working if you can call it that (12hrs a week) l will have more than enough money to see me till my pension and if l don’t so what? Life is too short for what ifs. I’ve made my will and my daughter will be a very rich women unless l spend it all. My parents gave me nothing, my father is in a care home which was £1100 week which we funded and is now in a home £3000/week - luckily we Have CHC funding now, but this is where your money will end up caring for yourselves in later life no matter what you have. Life’s for living no pockets in shrouds .

Just highlighted your comment in bold.
There is a common perception that nearly everyone who gets old needs very expensive care. However in reality this is not the case. Only 15% of the over 85 population live in a care home, and the average stay is not much over two years.
There are clearly some distressing cases of people living in care homes for many years and losing most of any money they have built up and their home ( usually dementia is the issue) but there are not as many as you might think from reading newspaper headlines etc
Plus of course having to pay for some lower level of care at home is always a possibility.

I'm just heading out - so no time to look it up, but its more like 2-3% who actually live in a care home at any one time. The 15% may refer to who will ever need a care home, but I thought that was more like 25-30%. 

Usually with these sort of things you can get different answers from different sources and different angles, I found this ( Anyway I have highlighted the main point I was trying to make in bold.)

• The number of people living in specialist retirement housing or in care homes is relatively low; most older people live in their own homes:
  
  
• According to LaingBuisson (2018), there are 11,109 care homes for older people and those living with dementia. Of these, 42% (4,632) were registered nursing homes.
  
  
• Approximately 418,000 people live in care homes (Laing and Buisson survey 2016). This is 4% of the total population aged 65 years and over, rising to 15% of those aged 85 or more.
• From
• Facts & Stats - Older People in the UK | MHA
  

shabbychic12

Thanks for your feed back on my post. My sister is a care assessor and she’s sees the side that many don’t. Older people who have savings actually don’t want to use their money for care and after the free period cut the care to a minimum sometimes to save costs. Family’s struggle sometimes to care for theses people but rather than look for alternatives ie carers or nursing homes to protect their ‘inheritance’ they often take on the care role. So the figures often quoted don’t reflect the reality, care is often a hidden cost emotionally and financially. Can l say that this is not finger pointing post at carers as they do a wonderful job but we should be mindful of care cost because like my fathers case they are real and could not be avoided ( he has vascular dementia)

Nebulous2

Albermarle said:

Nebulous2 said:

Albermarle said:

shabbychic12 said:

This senecio could happen at any age as with me at 50 losing my husband, lve made what l would say are good investments with the lump sum we received,he retired due to ill health, l now receive a 1/3 of his pension plus critical illness payed of the mortgage but it’s not always about the money. I’m 58 now and just stopped working if you can call it that (12hrs a week) l will have more than enough money to see me till my pension and if l don’t so what? Life is too short for what ifs. I’ve made my will and my daughter will be a very rich women unless l spend it all. My parents gave me nothing, my father is in a care home which was £1100 week which we funded and is now in a home £3000/week - luckily we Have CHC funding now, but this is where your money will end up caring for yourselves in later life no matter what you have. Life’s for living no pockets in shrouds .

Just highlighted your comment in bold.
There is a common perception that nearly everyone who gets old needs very expensive care. However in reality this is not the case. Only 15% of the over 85 population live in a care home, and the average stay is not much over two years.
There are clearly some distressing cases of people living in care homes for many years and losing most of any money they have built up and their home ( usually dementia is the issue) but there are not as many as you might think from reading newspaper headlines etc
Plus of course having to pay for some lower level of care at home is always a possibility.

I'm just heading out - so no time to look it up, but its more like 2-3% who actually live in a care home at any one time. The 15% may refer to who will ever need a care home, but I thought that was more like 25-30%. 

Usually with these sort of things you can get different answers from different sources and different angles, I found this ( Anyway I have highlighted the main point I was trying to make in bold.)

• The number of people living in specialist retirement housing or in care homes is relatively low; most older people live in their own homes:
  
  
• According to LaingBuisson (2018), there are 11,109 care homes for older people and those living with dementia. Of these, 42% (4,632) were registered nursing homes.
  
  
• Approximately 418,000 people live in care homes (Laing and Buisson survey 2016). This is 4% of the total population aged 65 years and over, rising to 15% of those aged 85 or more.
• From
• Facts & Stats - Older People in the UK | MHA
  

To my surprise it looks as if you are right. Every day is a school day as they say. I agree that many people expect to need to pay for care, and often take measures to avoid it, when the reality is that it is rarer than people realise. 

I've struggled to get figures, despite spending a bit of time on it this morning. The best I can find is that there were over 1.4 million over 85 year-olds in England in the 2021 census, and there are 167,000 over 85s in residential care, so just under 12%.

A lot of the available figures pre-date the pandemic, and things may well have changed since then.