How much to live on

Organgrinder

grahamgoo said:

The way things are going, unless the govt change tack, pensioners will be taxed on the new state pension.

On what basis to you mean?  Are you just saying that the amount of state pension might catch up with the personal allowance?

Yes. With allowances frozen we could have the ridiculous situation where those relying solely on the state pension get more than the tax allowance which then gets adjusted with pension tax credits.

Floss

For those like me who worked part-time while bringing children up before the law changed in 1994, we were not legally allowed to join a pension scheme as a part-time worker.

Add in a divorce before pension sharing plus an unsettled working life, and the outcome is a minimal private pension pot, poor employer provision and just one income to cover all expenses.

Luckily I am now in a relatively good scheme bbut having had cancer last year, I need to balance staying well enough to work with working long enough to be able to afford earlier retirement.

[Deleted User]

@Floss. When are you planning to retire? How are the figures looking? Best wishes with your plans.

Floss

[Deleted User] said:

@Floss. When are you planning to retire? How are the figures looking? Best wishes with your plans.

63 - I'm 60 next month & dropping half a day a week. Figures are OK-ish as long as I don't need a new roof & don't plan more than one foreign holiday.

I will drawdown from my pot, and live off that until SP & my small NHS pension kick in at 67. I'm currently adding to that every month & getting the tax relief benefit on that to bolster the value.

thepurplepixie

Floss said:

For those like me who worked part-time while bringing children up before the law changed in 1994, we were not legally allowed to join a pension scheme as a part-time worker.

Add in a divorce before pension sharing plus an unsettled working life, and the outcome is a minimal private pension pot, poor employer provision and just one income to cover all expenses.

Luckily I am now in a relatively good scheme bbut having had cancer last year, I need to balance staying well enough to work with working long enough to be able to afford earlier retirement.

I didn't know it was against the law.  I was in a pension scheme in the 1970s and I was working about 18 hrs a week.  Was that really illegal?

Silvertabby

thepurplepixie said:

Floss said:

For those like me who worked part-time while bringing children up before the law changed in 1994, we were not legally allowed to join a pension scheme as a part-time worker.

Add in a divorce before pension sharing plus an unsettled working life, and the outcome is a minimal private pension pot, poor employer provision and just one income to cover all expenses.

Luckily I am now in a relatively good scheme bbut having had cancer last year, I need to balance staying well enough to work .with working long enough to be able to afford earlier retirement.

I didn't know it was against the law.  I was in a pension scheme in the 1970s and I was working about 18 hrs a week.  Was that really illegal?

Not against the law, just contrary to some pension scheme rules.  In the case of the LGPS part timers (both male and female) couldn't join the pension scheme pre 1995.  Once the rules changed, those who were still active members could opt to pay back dated contributions to make all of their service pensionable - but not many did.

thepurplepixie

Silvertabby said:

thepurplepixie said:

Floss said:

For those like me who worked part-time while bringing children up before the law changed in 1994, we were not legally allowed to join a pension scheme as a part-time worker.

Add in a divorce before pension sharing plus an unsettled working life, and the outcome is a minimal private pension pot, poor employer provision and just one income to cover all expenses.

Luckily I am now in a relatively good scheme bbut having had cancer last year, I need to balance staying well enough to work .with working long enough to be able to afford earlier retirement.

I didn't know it was against the law.  I was in a pension scheme in the 1970s and I was working about 18 hrs a week.  Was that really illegal?

Not against the law, just contrary to some pension scheme rules.  In the case of the LGPS part timers (both male and female) couldn't join the pension scheme pre 1995.  Once the rules changed, those who were still active members could opt to pay back dated contributions to make all of their service pensionable - but not many did.

Oh that makes sense, I was a bit shocked at the idea that I shouldn't have legally been in the pension scheme.  I was working for the Co-op so it was a big reputable employer with a good scheme.

Floss

Silvertabby said:

Not against the law, just contrary to some pension scheme rules.  In the case of the LGPS part timers (both male and female) couldn't join the pension scheme pre 1995.  Once the rules changed, those who were still active members could opt to pay back dated contributions to make all of their service pensionable - but not many did.

Not many could afford to do so, especially if still working part-time. I know I couldn't.

TywysogLloegr

The Retirement Living Standards website new update shows a big increase. Having recently retired I have found that everything is just more expensive than planned for.

kimwp

TywysogLloegr said:

The Retirement Living Standards website new update shows a big increase. Having recently retired I have found that everything is just more expensive than planned for.

Hi @TywysogLloegr, how did you do your planning? I'm basing it off what I spend now, but there's a big unknown about costs filling in the time that I currently work, any tips or lessons learned greatly appreciated 😊