How much to live on

kempiejon

@Bravepants

If you are suggesting I mean so called boomers, no that's not what I mean at all. I don't see how you could infer that from what I wrote!

Oh, sorry if that's upset you. I'm not sure that is what I meant nor was it personal. The quote was for context. It's not as good now, kids are feckless, I blame the parents. Is that what you inferred from what I wrote?
Boomer is a distraction to me.

Bravepants

kempiejon said:

@Bravepants

If you are suggesting I mean so called boomers, no that's not what I mean at all. I don't see how you could infer that from what I wrote!

Oh, sorry if that's upset you. I'm not sure that is what I meant nor was it personal. The quote was for context. It's not as good now, kids are feckless, I blame the parents. Is that what you inferred from what I wrote?
Boomer is a distraction to me.

No worries  

Mostly I have in mind my partner's brothers' families who tend to reward failure or (as you say) fecklessness, but without any encouragement to do any better! 

Bravepants

[Deleted User] said:

Surely recent posts belong on other threads rather than 'How Much To Live On'?

You're probably right...but bear in mind should this thread continue for a few decades we might see some whingers popping up in here. So best to be forewarned I say!  

Phossy

My number hasn't really changed over the last year, if anything it has gone down due to the drop in Gas/ electric over-riding any changes in smaller bills/ payments. It is the trouble with folks quoting percentage increases or decreases rather than absolute values - I suppose it feeds into the sensationalist headline world we live in (which in turn breeds the fear and decline in mental health that lies behind some of the economically inactive).

Organgrinder

Everyone's figures are fluid. Needs and wants are fluid.

You cannot simply define "how much to live on" as a static figure. Even with index linked pensions there is a risk. Eg ...should energy prices jump 30%, even index linked pensions will leave people worse off.

That is why the whole debate around how much to live on is fluid too. 

We could all live on X if our outgoings were always X and never changed.

That is why I think it is important that we always look at ways of maximising what we have. It's also why I have no issue when the thread debates other things . It is not for me to judge what is important to others. But I can filter what is important to me 

Caeraugirl

dinosaur66 said:

i fell into the 1 more year trap

58 now and retired 6 months ago from a job i had been doing since i was 16

wish i could go back and talk to my 38 year old self and give myself some advice.

As a 56 year old currently contemplating retirement next summer, I wondered what advice you would have given yourself?

And do you wish you'd gone earlier or that you'd hit the right time for you? 

Organgrinder

I wish too that I could give my younger self advice. But....as I navigate the paths to retirement, I can at least appreciate how others have done so.

Whatever anyone's circumstances, I hope there are things we can learn from each other. I am grateful to many contributers who have made me realise that either "I don't need X" or "there's something to be had in y".

My retirement journey only started some 21 months or so ago. I had until then, thought I'd be working for far longer than I now plan to do. 

Whether it be money saving, money earning, or just general advice on what works, I am grateful. For without mse and the mse forum I'd be far worse off than I am.

Clowance

I think what all of us should bear in mind is that any of us could die suddenly, and many know instances of where someone close to them never made it to retirement. "Just one more year" may make it too late if you lose a partner .
I still do 2 days a week but only because my husband is younger and will have to work another 15 months before he can afford to retire, he will be 65.5 then so one year before state pension. But those of you who can go sooner and don't enjoy your job or it is stressful, please do so. No pockets in a shroud as the saying goes!

Pat38493

One of my wife's closest friends retired a year or 2 back.  She worked in the NHS and took the full optional PCLS.  I remember saying that the time that she shouldn't do that as the commutation factors are terrible.

Within a year of retiring she got ill and has been in poor health, and eventually she has now been diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive illness which means she probably only has a few months to live.  In this case I guess my comments were misplaced and she will be glad she took the full PCLS amount and enjoyed it while she could.

Organgrinder

I had relatively large commutation factors when I took two pensions at 56. From memory both were around 22.

The schemes themselves significantly reduced the commutation factors the older I got. Obviously the pensions were reduced at age 56 but, assuming a 20 year life expectancy it made more financial sense to take the lump sum and reduced pension than to wait to take it at 65 when the lump sum was far less.

I'm currently reinvesting both pensions in a variety of ways due to some changes in my income and they're both beating inflation comfortably so all in all I've been very fortunate