Can you live solely off state pension?

eastcorkram

Richard1212 said:

Isn't it the dream that, if you work hard all your life, always in debt to a mortgage lender and/or others, you finally pay off all debts and retire at what is now a young age of 60-65-----and then enjoy the fruits of your years of labour and borrowing, without scrimping and saving ?

It's certainly not my dream, but then again I think I have some kind of poverty of desire, and a definite lack of imagination.

I'm 64 this year, planning to stop working at 65, simply because I've had enough of it.
The only plan I've got for retirement, is to not go to work. 

Flugelhorn

barnstar2077 said:

I'm living comfortably on just under a grand a month (after pension and ISA deductions.). My bills are well under £600, so I definitely could live quite happily on just a state pension.  I would want some savings to take care of new boilers etc though.

Owning your own home is probably what makes the difference. 

yes costs probably more predictable with own house but you do need savings to cover the bigger expenses 

Qyburn

In our early planning I reckoned the SP would get us halfway to where I wanted us to be, as a couple. Obviously "wanted" isnt the same as need and I think we could possibly make do on SP only with a lot of cutting back. We own the house and don't have any debt.

We do have savings which colours any discussion of this sort. I wonder how many who live off state pension alone will have any sort of savings, or own their home.

dealyboy

@WillowCat said:

It's worth noting that a single person on a state pension only and limited savings would be entitled to a proportion of council tax support (as well as 25% discount).  Full council tax support is only available if you are entitled to pension credit but if you're on just a standard new state pension you're only a few pounds over that amount so the taper would be very little.

I've just done an entitledto calculation for my own postcode, income new state pension only. A band B single person council tax charge is £23.69 per week (£1,275 per year) and the council tax support would be £23.56 per week - so only paying 13p per week.

This is a point well made for those of us living on state pension without benefits. 

Although there is the automatic 'passport' to other benefits and subsidies if you receive Pension Credit, some individual benefits can be claimed for independently, assessment is based on both income and capital.

In my case I am debarred from any of these due to savings for emergencies and care.

RG2015

scoobydoo8 said:

As per title, do you think you would be able to live just off a full state pension, currently £203pw /£10,6k per year, reasonably comfortably if you already owe your own home?

I think I could but then again I don't really do a lot! 

This thread has taken a fascinating turn. From being reasonably comfortable to being miserable if you cannot afford international travel and dining at fine restaurants. One focus is purely monetary and the other is verging on the meaning of life.

Then there is the wonderful post from @pseudodox , ending with such a heart warming sentiment.

“Just grateful to be happy, fit & healthy - all that money cannot buy!”

SVaz

How can someone’s total monthly spend be only £600?
Even with only £70 a week for food and petrol, add in utilities and insurance, running a car etc. 
would be a minimum of £700 a month and I live in a house with cheap Council tax.   We shop around and get the very best deals on things like broadband, house and car insurance and mobile phone plans. 

I couldn’t get my bills excluding food and petrol, any lower than £400.  No pets or things like gym membership etc.  either. 

pseudodox

Once I take into account the savings made by not going to work ( petrol, lunches, clothing, office "do's" & collections etc) I actually have more disposable income with SP as opposed to my final earnings.  My part-time job paid the level of a full time salary at the bottom of the ladder.  I never got anywhere near the national "average" salary.  

I could now blow my savings on travel, restaurants etc - I have a choice as I am independent.  But as I live comfortably now I prefer to keep that savings pot for absolute "essentials" & if none arise then it will go towards care in old age as I have no family to fall back on.  Knowing I have that cushion is what makes me feel quite content that I do not face misery even if I live until 100.

Anyone who does not own a house is in a different league to some of us here & I hope they claim everything they are entitled to.  

Yes - we have 2 "sides" here.  Or maybe 3.  Those who happily live within their means, perhaps because like me that is how they were raised & have always done so.  And those who don't accept the best things in life, for some of us, are free. I don't care how others live their lives or envy them their comparatively well-off status.  I would rather be me.  The third "side" are those who are not on here because they are struggling - they don't have a computer, an iPhone, their own home, good health etc.  Compared to them I am as rich as Croesus.

Sunnylifeover50plan

So perhaps money, even modest amounts can provide additional choice/ options.

Although by the same token, money especially modest sums can push you over the welfare safety net, given it's qualifying terms are binary without any obvious tapering.

Once well clear of the welfare qualification point - we might simply be left with choice & options - which are broadly recognised as positives. 
 

Audaxer

pseudodox said:

Once I take into account the savings made by not going to work ( petrol, lunches, clothing, office "do's" & collections etc) I actually have more disposable income with SP as opposed to my final earnings.  My part-time job paid the level of a full time salary at the bottom of the ladder.  I never got anywhere near the national "average" salary.  

I could now blow my savings on travel, restaurants etc - I have a choice as I am independent.  But as I live comfortably now I prefer to keep that savings pot for absolute "essentials" & if none arise then it will go towards care in old age as I have no family to fall back on.  Knowing I have that cushion is what makes me feel quite content that I do not face misery even if I live until 100.

Anyone who does not own a house is in a different league to some of us here & I hope they claim everything they are entitled to.  

Yes - we have 2 "sides" here.  Or maybe 3.  Those who happily live within their means, perhaps because like me that is how they were raised & have always done so.  And those who don't accept the best things in life, for some of, are free. I don't care how others live their lives or envy them their comparatively well-off status.  I would rather be me.  The third "side" are those who are not on here because they are struggling - they don't have a computer, an iPhone, their own home, good health etc.  Compared to them I am as rich as Croesus.

It's good that you are able to live on the SP alone, but if you have been in employment for many years before SP age, I am surprised that you have no private pension provision at all.

Silvertabby

It's like life - different for everyone.  We both retired at 60, but are now in receipt of our State pensions.  I get the full nSP because I had enough time between 2016 and SPA to pay the 4 years of voluntary Class 3s needed.  He didn't, and is £20 a week behind me - but certainly not complaining as our combined State pensions are more than they would have been under the old scheme.

Could we live comfortably on just 2 x State pensions?  No way.  Not with the standard of living we now enjoy.  It's not just our (not cheap) hobbies, it's being able to shop in M&S without worrying about the prices and popping into the garden centre for a coffee but coming out with whatever plants caught my eye. And when our fridge freezer went kaput last month, our only 'problem' was deciding which new one to buy from the JL website.

We are not ones for exotic holidays, having travelled during our time in the RAF, preferring instead to spend money on things for the house that we can enjoy all year round.  ie, opting for a Rhino greenhouse instead of a bottom of the line one (gardeners will know what I mean!)  Then there's our brand new car every 5 years.....not very mse, I know, but the pleasure of choosing exactly what we want, with the extras we want, in the colour we want - and knowing that it has never been smoked in or thrown up in -  is worth every penny to us.