Is State Pension Alone Enough To Live On?

steampowered

sevenhills said:

Why would someone that is able to buy their own house and likely have £100k+ in equity need more state help?

People bash the state pension, but people have known for decades that the state pension is not a millionaires income, so they need to save.

Exactly. Especially when you consider that retired people today on average receive about 33% more in state funded services and benefits during their lifetime, than they paid in taxes. So they are being subsidised by the generation before and the generation after.

Why do people expect the state to pay for everything in old age?

Standard universal credit is worth about £3.9k per year, to my mind state pension should be the same. 

I've got no sympathy for people who didn't bother to save for their retirement. 

Albermarle

I've got no sympathy for people who didn't bother to save for their retirement

Although many will have wasted money they could otherwise have saved for retirement , many will have never been in a position to save for retirement, not significantly anyway .

maxmycardagain

Conan1Sett said:

eastcorkram said:

Where can you get a care home at £77 a week?
Wouldn't it be more like £1,000 a week?

I live in the North East of England and the amount quoted was £77 a week. 

absolutely no way

£600/week residential

£1000/wee nursing

maxmycardagain

comeandgo said:

The state pension would be £179 a week, not a month.  

£740/4 weekly from April

£801/PCM

£185/week

maxmycardagain

Conan1Sett said:

Talking a residential care home at £77 per week, council tax, power, water and food. Possibly a TV subscription and basic phone contract?

I think thats residential care AT home (visiting carers) and even then probably double

jimpwarsop

steampowered said:

I've got no sympathy for people who didn't bother to save for their retirement. 

Neither have I, but we dont make the rules.

Steve182

steampowered said:

sevenhills said:

Why would someone that is able to buy their own house and likely have £100k+ in equity need more state help?

People bash the state pension, but people have known for decades that the state pension is not a millionaires income, so they need to save.

Exactly. Especially when you consider that retired people today on average receive about 33% more in state funded services and benefits during their lifetime, than they paid in taxes. So they are being subsidised by the generation before and the generation after.

Why do people expect the state to pay for everything in old age?

Standard universal credit is worth about £3.9k per year, to my mind state pension should be the same. 

I've got no sympathy for people who didn't bother to save for their retirement. 

I've no sympathy for people who didn't bother saving for their retirement either. I know plenty of them, such as self employed tradesmen earning quite decent money, sometimes £200 to £300/day, who save no more than a token amount into pensions.

However there are also a significant number of people who for whatever reason have lived on the breadline most or all of their lives, and who have so little cash at the end of the month that their main challenge is simply trying to avoid the need to use loan sharks. Investing for retirement is simply not be an option for them, and they will continue living on the breadline in retirement as well.

sevenhills

MattMattMattUK said:

Population growth in the UK is entirely caused by immigration (te reproduction rate in the native population is below replacement levels), low home building is in many ways a planning and community issue, with local populations almost always objecting to any building of new homes.

Population growth is driven by two things—net migration, and “natural change” (the difference between the number of births and deaths). From 2001 to 2016, migration accounted for 58% of this change in the UK.

https://fullfact.org/immigration/population-growth-migration/

Kim1965

steampowered said:

sevenhills said:

Why would someone that is able to buy their own house and likely have £100k+ in equity need more state help?

People bash the state pension, but people have known for decades that the state pension is not a millionaires income, so they need to save.

Exactly. Especially when you consider that retired people today on average receive about 33% more in state funded services and benefits during their lifetime, than they paid in taxes. So they are being subsidised by the generation before and the generation after.

Why do people expect the state to pay for everything in old age?

Standard universal credit is worth about £3.9k per year, to my mind state pension should be the same. 

I've got no sympathy for people who didn't bother to save for their retirement. 

Bit harsh. Many do squander and not save, some dont have tge means to save adequately.
The tax system is certainly geared up to allowing the more wealthy save for retirement. Getting rid of 40% relief, s/ sac etc that would save the government a wedge. 

sevenhills

Kim1965 said:

Getting rid of 40% relief, s/ sac etc that would save the government a wedge. 

It will be the April budget soon, I don't think that will be in it.

Despite record employment, nearly 10% of adults have never done paid work. These are the people that complain about the low state pension. Some of the above adults will be disabled, some others will have worked very little.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/economicinactivity/articles/despiterecordemploymentnearly10ofadultshaveneverdonepaidwork/2019-02-28