Can you live solely off state pension?

Ganga

pseudodox said:

Diabolical?  What?

I and several pensioner friends cannot believe our good fortune.  We can do what we want to do 7 days a week.  Lie in bed, get up, stay home, go out, meet up etc anytime we like.  No daily journey to/from work.  No daily grind with someone looking over our shoulder.  If the sun is shining we can spontaneously have some outdoor fun. If it's raining we don't have to go anywhere.  We can go on holiday whenever we like and for as long as we like.  We can avoid bank holiday mayhem, school holiday inflated prices, shop when others are at work & grab the reduced bargains.

We are not all on the same pension income level (most are medium to much better off than me) but none of us can get over the fact that every 4 weeks the "government machine" drops a wodge of cash into our bank accounts. We get paid for doing absolutely nothing, regular as clockwork and guaranteed until the day we die.  And recent pension increases have been more than generous.  Plus we get perks like free travel, free prescriptions, free eye tests, age related discounts of all sorts.  With an assured income, and especially if we have good health and have paid off our mortgages we have none of the worries and anxieties of todays young, especially those with families, those in precarious employment.

We all call all that "living"!  It is A WONDERFUL LIFE!!

I am certainly NOT living in poverty.

Well put ,we both have our state pension although my wife gets slightly less than me as she paid a smaller stamp due to her wages.The bit about the gov dropping money into our bank every 4 weeks ( i get mine every week ) is true even if we lie in bed for 28 days ,we still manage to run a car and treat our two granddaughters .
I think the most important factor is people get used to living on the economy that they have had most of their lives ,high wage earners like the things that money can bring whilst people who earned a lot less get by on what they can afford, every body is different thank god.

eskbanker

barnstar2077 said:
When we were kids we didn't have central heating or double glazed windows.  I didn't feel hard done by at the time (and still don't), in fact I was just grateful that we had an indoor loo!  My parents didn't have that luxury initially, and my grandparents didn't have washing machines, dish washes, microwaves etc.

GC: House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!
TJ: You were lucky to have a ROOM! *We* used to have to live in a corridor!
MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph.
EI: Well when I say 'house' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpolin, but it was a house to US.
GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!
TJ: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.
MP: Cardboard box?
TJ: Aye.
MP: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day week in-week out. When we got home, our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!
GC: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!
TJ: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.
EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, (pause for laughter), drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad and our mother would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing 'Hallelujah.'
MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.
ALL: Nope, nope..

pseudodox

@eskbanker
Thanks for posting that.  Although I did just nearly choke on a coffee!  That is what is important in life - having a laugh.

zagfles

[Deleted User] said:

zagfles. Whilst I agree with a lot of your post above. I believe that to describe some people as 'completely useless' because they may not always go for the best outcome financially is a little harsh.

I never switch banks and have never swapped energy suppliers simply because I am happy with my providers. I may have missed out on some offers but on the whole I have done ok and my energy supplier has a very slim chance of going bust. At times loyalty has even been worthwhile.

I don't consider myself financially useless. I have a good DB pension, have paid voluntary NI payments to ensure I get a full state pension, have no debt and own my own mortgage free house. These things give me peace of mind. When making financial decisions the maximum financial gain is not always, for me anyway, the sole aspect to consider.

Fair enough, I've editted it. Although I never meant anyone who did any of the long list of examples I gave is "financially useless", I'm not perfect myself! In a lot of cases it'll be financial "laziness", they don't need to rather than they don't or couldn't find out how. I'd probably be able to run a marathon if I trained but I CBA.

BTW I was with Igloo when they went bust, it was no hassle, no cut in supply, my credit was moved to EON who took over. Think OFGEM guarantee it.

Generally, as far as this particular thread is concerned I have found it an interesting read. Throughout these forums there are many people living full and happy lives on low incomes of all types. They are certainly not all visiting food banks or sitting at home despondent. 

Although this section of the forum contains some fantastic information and advice it has to be remembered that many of the posters are not typical or average when it comes to pensions and incomes. Therefore some of them will struggle with the concept  of living a good life on £11000 or so a year. There is nothing wrong with having this view. What you require in retirement money wise will always depend on your lifestyle, needs and wants as well as personal priorities.

One example I will give though that sometimes worries people or puts them off from maybe asking questions or contributing is where a person describes their £6000 a month pension income (£72000 a year) as 'reasonable'! Most people will never earn that much per annum when working. I believe the average annual salary in the UK is about £28000 a year. I wish the person a happy and long retirement but would also like to think that they realise they are in a very  fortunate position in relation to the majority pf the population. If not, they perhaps ned to read some of the threads in other sections of the forum.

I could point people towards threads where contributors are managing quite well on not very much, either through choice or circumstance. However, it is not my my place to do so. I am pleased though that some contributors to this thread have been very open about how they manage on just the state pension or a low income. They provide hope and encouragement to others.

Indeed. It's the attitude of "I couldn't do therefore nobody can" that got me slightly into rant mode!

Richard1212

[Deleted User] said:

zagfles. Whilst I agree with a lot of your post above. I believe that to describe some people as 'completely useless' because they may not always go for the best outcome financially is a little harsh.

I never switch banks and have never swapped energy suppliers simply because I am happy with my providers. I may have missed out on some offers but on the whole I have done ok and my energy supplier has a very slim chance of going bust. At times loyalty has even been worthwhile.

I don't consider myself financially useless. I have a good DB pension, have paid voluntary NI payments to ensure I get a full state pension, have no debt and own my own mortgage free house. These things give me peace of mind. When making financial decisions the maximum financial gain is not always, for me anyway, the sole aspect to consider.


Generally, as far as this particular thread is concerned I have found it an interesting read. Throughout these forums there are many people living full and happy lives on low incomes of all types. They are certainly not all visiting food banks or sitting at home despondent. 

Although this section of the forum contains some fantastic information and advice it has to be remembered that many of the posters are not typical or average when it comes to pensions and incomes. Therefore some of them will struggle with the concept  of living a good life on £11000 or so a year. There is nothing wrong with having this view. What you require in retirement money wise will always depend on your lifestyle, needs and wants as well as personal priorities.

One example I will give though that sometimes worries people or puts them off from maybe asking questions or contributing is where a person describes their £6000 a month pension income (£72000 a year) as 'reasonable'! Most people will never earn that much per annum when working. I believe the average annual salary in the UK is about £28000 a year. I wish the person a happy and long retirement but would also like to think that they realise they are in a very  fortunate position in relation to the majority pf the population. If not, they perhaps ned to read some of the threads in other sections of the forum.

I could point people towards threads where contributors are managing quite well on not very much, either through choice or circumstance. However, it is not my my place to do so. I am pleased though that some contributors to this thread have been very open about how they manage on just the state pension or a low income. They provide hope and encouragement to others.

I'd nominate the above for the "post of the month" award.

MEM62

RG2015 said:

MEM62 said:

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?

No chance.  It would be poverty existence at best.  We are not far from retirement and, will kids grown up and gone and no mortgage or debt our basic bills, exclusive of food, are round £900 per month.  While there are two of us the SP would cover living costs but you need the additional income from private pensions to cover all the extras - running a car, holidays, eating out, fun money etc etc etc.....          

Are you saying that pensioners with only the state pension are living in poverty?

I cannot make any such statement based on personal experience or observation as know of nobody who's income is only £203 per week.  It is however, my opinion that even the best at being frugal won't have much of a lifestyle beyond the most basic existence as Council tax, utilities and food would take up most, if not all, of £203 per week.  That seems like poverty to me.     

michaels

MEM62 said:

RG2015 said:

MEM62 said:

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?

No chance.  It would be poverty existence at best.  We are not far from retirement and, will kids grown up and gone and no mortgage or debt our basic bills, exclusive of food, are round £900 per month.  While there are two of us the SP would cover living costs but you need the additional income from private pensions to cover all the extras - running a car, holidays, eating out, fun money etc etc etc.....          

Are you saying that pensioners with only the state pension are living in poverty?

I cannot make any such statement based on personal experience or observation as know of nobody who's income is only £203 per week.  It is however, my opinion that even the best at being frugal won't have much of a lifestyle beyond the most basic existence as Council tax, utilities and food would take up most, if not all, of £203 per week.  That seems like poverty to me.     

It seems very hard to find council tax info by band aside from band D but given the single person 25% discount it seems reasonable to guess that for band A/B it might be £100 per month.  Similarly average energy bill is about 2k so for a single person in a small dwelling again £100 per month does not sound unreasonable.  We are a family of 5 and our grocery bill is about 500pm including all toiletries etc so again a single person spending £150 does not sound impossible - so the 'essentials' you mention above could easily be about £450 per month leaving another £400 per month from the state pension for 'other stuff'.

Of course there are many other essentials not included in those 3 but it still sounds to me that a single person on the state pension could still have a decent chunk of discretionary spending each month assuming there were no ongoing rent/mortgage housing costs.

[More context, our spend ex housing costs but including council tax for a family of 5 is below 30k which includes a weeks UK holiday, a couple of weekends abroad, running 2 cars etc etc]

Silvertabby

MEM62 said:

RG2015 said:

MEM62 said:

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?

No chance.  It would be poverty existence at best.  We are not far from retirement and, will kids grown up and gone and no mortgage or debt our basic bills, exclusive of food, are round £900 per month.  While there are two of us the SP would cover living costs but you need the additional income from private pensions to cover all the extras - running a car, holidays, eating out, fun money etc etc etc.....          

Are you saying that pensioners with only the state pension are living in poverty?

I cannot make any such statement based on personal experience or observation as know of nobody who's income is only £203 per week.  It is however, my opinion that even the best at being frugal won't have much of a lifestyle beyond the most basic existence as Council tax, utilities and food would take up most, if not all, of £203 per week.  That seems like poverty to me.     

Again, everyone is different.  A friend's m-in-law lived alone in a council house on just the State pension plus pension credit - say £201 per week.  Plus housing and council tax benefits.  

She lived too far away from her family for them to take her shopping, on outings, etc, but they would take it in turns to send her a little home shopping delivery of the basics every month. Because of her claims that she couldn't manage.

When they cleared the property after her death they found over £12K in little stashes of rolled up banknotes.

 

MeteredOut

Silvertabby said:

MEM62 said:

RG2015 said:

MEM62 said:

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?

No chance.  It would be poverty existence at best.  We are not far from retirement and, will kids grown up and gone and no mortgage or debt our basic bills, exclusive of food, are round £900 per month.  While there are two of us the SP would cover living costs but you need the additional income from private pensions to cover all the extras - running a car, holidays, eating out, fun money etc etc etc.....          

Are you saying that pensioners with only the state pension are living in poverty?

I cannot make any such statement based on personal experience or observation as know of nobody who's income is only £203 per week.  It is however, my opinion that even the best at being frugal won't have much of a lifestyle beyond the most basic existence as Council tax, utilities and food would take up most, if not all, of £203 per week.  That seems like poverty to me.     

Again, everyone is different.  A friend's m-in-law lived alone in a council house on just the State pension plus pension credit - say £201 per week.  Plus housing and council tax benefits.  

She lived too far away from her family for them to take her shopping, on outings, etc, but they would take it in turns to send her a little home shopping delivery of the basics every month, because of her claims that she couldn't manage.

When they cleared the property after her death they found over £12K in little stashes of rolled up banknotes.

 

It's obvious that she had a side-hustle dealing to make ends meet

MEM62

michaels said:

MEM62 said:

RG2015 said:

MEM62 said:

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?

No chance.  It would be poverty existence at best.  We are not far from retirement and, will kids grown up and gone and no mortgage or debt our basic bills, exclusive of food, are round £900 per month.  While there are two of us the SP would cover living costs but you need the additional income from private pensions to cover all the extras - running a car, holidays, eating out, fun money etc etc etc.....          

Are you saying that pensioners with only the state pension are living in poverty?

I cannot make any such statement based on personal experience or observation as know of nobody who's income is only £203 per week.  It is however, my opinion that even the best at being frugal won't have much of a lifestyle beyond the most basic existence as Council tax, utilities and food would take up most, if not all, of £203 per week.  That seems like poverty to me.     

It seems very hard to find council tax info by band aside from band D but given the single person 25% discount it seems reasonable to guess that for band A/B it might be £100 per month.  Similarly average energy bill is about 2k so for a single person in a small dwelling again £100 per month does not sound unreasonable.  We are a family of 5 and our grocery bill is about 500pm including all toiletries etc so again a single person spending £150 does not sound impossible - so the 'essentials' you mention above could easily be about £450 per month leaving another £400 per month from the state pension for 'other stuff'.

Of course there are many other essentials not included in those 3 but it still sounds to me that a single person on the state pension could still have a decent chunk of discretionary spending each month assuming there were no ongoing rent/mortgage housing costs.

[More context, our spend ex housing costs but including council tax for a family of 5 is below 30k which includes a weeks UK holiday, a couple of weekends abroad, running 2 cars etc etc]

Based on our last month's bills stripped back to the essentials ;

Council Tax 193.00 - so with single person discount £144.75
Water £35.00
TV Lic £13.25
Utilities (Fairly modern 3-bed) £200.00
Window Cleaner £20.00
Total basics £413.00

If our pensioner has £880 per month coming in then they are taking care of all of their other needs (food, clothing, travel, house upkeep etc. etc.) out of £467 a month.  I don' t think there is much wiggle room there.