How much pension to plan for

Ratpick

I've seen several articles eg The Telegraph and elsewhere which suggest how much pension income you need to maintain certain levels of how well off you will be eg modest lifestyle, comfortable, etc. What none of them have ever said is whether they are referring to income pre or post tax! A fairly important point! Anyone got a definitive answer please?

Marcon

Ratpick said:

I've seen several articles eg The Telegraph and elsewhere which suggest how much pension income you need to maintain certain levels of how well off you will be eg modest lifestyle, comfortable, etc. What none of them have ever said is whether they are referring to income pre or post tax! A fairly important point! Anyone got a definitive answer please?

From PLSA website: 'The figures shown are the amounts of expenditure required to achieve a given living standard.'

So post tax...and their figures don't include any allowance for rent/mortgage.

NoMore

The PLSA standards, which probably most newspaper articles are quoting are the expenditure required, so that means post tax.

Home - PLSA - Retirement Living Standards

The figures shown are the amounts of expenditure required to achieve a given living standard.

NoMore

However you probably want to plan for your own actual expenditure not what somebody else thinks you should have.

See the number thread for more: Pensions Planning: The NUMBER - Page 249 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

JillyC8

One of the funniest things I've noticed on the advisory pension income articles, is that it states for the poorest pensioners with the lowest incomes, holidays will only amount to a couple of breaks in the UK per year. Do they not realise how expensive it is to holiday in the UK? I can go to the Greek Islands more cheaply than I could for a week in Cornwall. These predictions are dreadful and designed to make us all panic into flooding our pensions with more and more money - just so the government doesn't have to give us anything when means testing comes in.

Albermarle

JillyC8 said:

One of the funniest things I've noticed on the advisory pension income articles, is that it states for the poorest pensioners with the lowest incomes, holidays will only amount to a couple of breaks in the UK per year. Do they not realise how expensive it is to holiday in the UK? I can go to the Greek Islands more cheaply than I could for a week in Cornwall. These predictions are dreadful and designed to make us all panic into flooding our pensions with more and more money - just so the government doesn't have to give us anything when means testing comes in.

These figures have been debated at length previously.
Cloud Cuckoo Land — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Which also publish some figures that tend to be a bit lower.

The general 'suspicion' is that it is not the Govt but pension providers looking for more business.

However on the other hand it is true that a significant majority of people do in fact underestimate what they will need to maintain a decent retirement income ( and underestimate how long they will live) . So some prodding to save more is no bad thing for many.

Somebody

JillyC8 said:

One of the funniest things I've noticed on the advisory pension income articles, is that it states for the poorest pensioners with the lowest incomes, holidays will only amount to a couple of breaks in the UK per year. Do they not realise how expensive it is to holiday in the UK? I can go to the Greek Islands more cheaply than I could for a week in Cornwall. These predictions are dreadful and designed to make us all panic into flooding our pensions with more and more money - just so the government doesn't have to give us anything when means testing comes in.

From the published analysis they are basing it on a half board coach tour:

   

Albermarle

From the published analysis they are basing it on a half board coach tour

Probably staying with the Brittannia hotels chain ....