Is the State Pension enough to live on if you are single !!

zagfles

Silvertabby said:

Mustbeananswer?? said:

As an aside...


I read today there are 1.5 million Pensioners struggling with Credit Card Debt....what sort of country are we??

Are sure about the 'struggling' bit?  We are pensioners and put most of our shopping on our two cash back credit cards.  The returns aren't as good as they were, but it's still 'free' money.  Of course, we don't have credit card debt or pay stupid % rates of interest as we always pay the bills in full every month.  We are not alone.  

I checked my credit report the other day and was shocked that my credit score has gone down a lot, apparently because I've got a lot of debt and it's increasing. About £12k of credit card debt and £3k overdraft. Sounds bad? Nah, it's all at 0% and I could pay it off tomorrow if I wanted. But why would I when I'm earning about 5% interest on the money the banks are lending me at 0%? But I'm sure the stats will tell you I'm "struggling" since my debt is increasing and I'm only paying minimum payments on my credit cards. 

JoeCrystal

Julezy101 said:

JoeCrystal said:

Small Car (Fully Legit) NA
Regular Diet(food Bills) £84 per month
Typical Bills Gas Water Elec (£20+£20+£55) = £95 per month
Council Tax = £90 per month
Internet/Phone = £63 per month
Tv Licence = £14 per month
Boiler Insurance = £30 per month
Service Charge = £63 per month
Content Insurance = £22 per month

Yes, it is certainly possible if you don't have expensive luxuries like holidays. *shrugs* Easier to budget when one does not have a high income in the first place.     And there are always rooms to cut further if necessary.

Food £84 per month, are you rummaging through bins or foraging?
Council Tax £90 per month, where are you living?

In Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council: 25% discount living in Band A property, aka a one-bedroom flat. (BCP Council's Band A charge is £1,431.84, but with a 25% discount on single occupancy and over 12 months of direct debit, it works out to £89.49 per month. I am guessing it looks lower since I imagine most people pay it over ten months.

I recognise that the food budget looks low, though; I generally only eat a meal daily, often just "breakfast" or "dinner" if it is a work day or weekend. It is not exactly a budget for a person to eat three meals daily plus takeaways and buy coffee or snacks daily. 

justwhat

Julezy101 said:

JoeCrystal said:

Small Car (Fully Legit) NA
Regular Diet(food Bills) £84 per month
Typical Bills Gas Water Elec (£20+£20+£55) = £95 per month
Council Tax = £90 per month
Internet/Phone = £63 per month
Tv Licence = £14 per month
Boiler Insurance = £30 per month
Service Charge = £63 per month
Content Insurance = £22 per month

Yes, it is certainly possible if you don't have expensive luxuries like holidays. *shrugs* Easier to budget when one does not have a high income in the first place.     And there are always rooms to cut further if necessary.

Food £84 per month, are you rummaging through bins or foraging?
Council Tax £90 per month, where are you living?

Council tax at 90-100 is very common especially on ex-council moderate sized houses.
Food bill is probably do-able for one. Cutting out processed food and luxuries that are probably bad for you anyway.

We also now have food share and food banks , so in some areas you can get the food bill down very low. 

WYSPECIAL

Council Tax £90 per month, where are you living?

I live in Yorkshire and with single person discount my council tax has just gone through the £1000 a year barrier this year so still below £90 per month.

SouthCoastBoy

It can be, but I think there are a few caveats. My mum did it for 20 years, but she owned her own house outright which I think makes a big difference, she also received pension credit so didn't have to pay council tax, which was a big cost saving. She did manage to run a car but never went on holiday.

Pollycat

justwhat said:

Julezy101 said:

JoeCrystal said:

Small Car (Fully Legit) NA
Regular Diet(food Bills) £84 per month
Typical Bills Gas Water Elec (£20+£20+£55) = £95 per month
Council Tax = £90 per month
Internet/Phone = £63 per month
Tv Licence = £14 per month
Boiler Insurance = £30 per month
Service Charge = £63 per month
Content Insurance = £22 per month

Yes, it is certainly possible if you don't have expensive luxuries like holidays. *shrugs* Easier to budget when one does not have a high income in the first place.     And there are always rooms to cut further if necessary.

Food £84 per month, are you rummaging through bins or foraging?
Council Tax £90 per month, where are you living?

Council tax at 90-100 is very common especially on ex-council moderate sized houses.
Food bill is probably do-able for one. Cutting out processed food and luxuries that are probably bad for you anyway.

We also now have food share and food banks , so in some areas you can get the food bill down very low. 

But that's not strictly 'living within the state pension'. It's asking for financial help from another source.

JoeCrystal said:

Small Car (Fully Legit) NA
Regular Diet(food Bills) £84 per month
Typical Bills Gas Water Elec (£20+£20+£55) = £95 per month
Council Tax = £90 per month
Internet/Phone = £63 per month
Tv Licence = £14 per month
Boiler Insurance = £30 per month
Service Charge = £63 per month
Content Insurance = £22 per month

Yes, it is certainly possible if you don't have expensive luxuries like holidays. *shrugs* Easier to budget when one does not have a high income in the first place.     And there are always rooms to cut further if necessary.

I would not want to live on £3.00 per day for food..
I do have the skills to cut my food bill down (if I needed to) by batch cooking from scratch and menu planning (which I have done for many years anyway).
But I like my fruit and Greek yoghurt breakfast, my lunchtime sandwiches with quality ingredients and my home cooked dinner.

It's easy to say I can live on £3.00 per day just thinking about food.
But that not the whole picture.

And where does cleaning products come into this budget?
Loo rolls (do you use cut-up newspaper?)
Toothpaste?

And dentist costs?
And haircuts?

And car tax?
And car insurance?
MOT?

kimwp

BlackKnightMonty said:

Altior said:

Mustbeananswer?? said:

Altior said:

badmemory said:

With no debts & no mortgage then probably yes.  The real question of course is is surviving enough.  Then as you age & maybe not as nimble as you were are you likely to need a gardener or cleaner to help out.  What happens when cooking from scratch every day becomes a problem.  But a better chance on the new state pension than on the basic state pension

Surviving is enough if people expect others to fully fund their lifestyle. They have had 40-50 years of adulthood to prepare for this stage of their life. 

Thats deffo a bit harsh Alitor...Nobody knew what life was going to throw at people.Most of us have had to Duck and Dive a bit to get to this point??? 

Not really in my opinion, although many people don't like to look at it that way, the state pension is part of the welfare framework. Welfare should be the last resort. 

There is no miracle, no fantasy, no magic wand. If the state pension was high enough for people to live comfortably, and allow for discretionary spending then lots more people would not bother saving up/ build up capital to sustain their lifestyle in retirement, and expect others to pay for it.

This is the situation today. Back in 1977 only 37% pf households took more from benefits/services than they contributed in ALL taxes. Today it has risen to 53.8%; and will hit 60% in the 2040’s at this trajectory. With so few net contributors it is unrealistic to expect a reducing minority of wealthy people to sustain everyone else.

Wages need to be higher for people to pay more tax.

BlackKnightMonty

kimwp said:

BlackKnightMonty said:

Altior said:

Mustbeananswer?? said:

Altior said:

badmemory said:

With no debts & no mortgage then probably yes.  The real question of course is is surviving enough.  Then as you age & maybe not as nimble as you were are you likely to need a gardener or cleaner to help out.  What happens when cooking from scratch every day becomes a problem.  But a better chance on the new state pension than on the basic state pension

Surviving is enough if people expect others to fully fund their lifestyle. They have had 40-50 years of adulthood to prepare for this stage of their life. 

Thats deffo a bit harsh Alitor...Nobody knew what life was going to throw at people.Most of us have had to Duck and Dive a bit to get to this point??? 

Not really in my opinion, although many people don't like to look at it that way, the state pension is part of the welfare framework. Welfare should be the last resort. 

There is no miracle, no fantasy, no magic wand. If the state pension was high enough for people to live comfortably, and allow for discretionary spending then lots more people would not bother saving up/ build up capital to sustain their lifestyle in retirement, and expect others to pay for it.

This is the situation today. Back in 1977 only 37% pf households took more from benefits/services than they contributed in ALL taxes. Today it has risen to 53.8%; and will hit 60% in the 2040’s at this trajectory. With so few net contributors it is unrealistic to expect a reducing minority of wealthy people to sustain everyone else.

Wages need to be higher for people to pay more tax.

Or maybe expect/take less benefits/services?

Pollycat

kimwp said:

BlackKnightMonty said:

Altior said:

Mustbeananswer?? said:

Altior said:

badmemory said:

With no debts & no mortgage then probably yes.  The real question of course is is surviving enough.  Then as you age & maybe not as nimble as you were are you likely to need a gardener or cleaner to help out.  What happens when cooking from scratch every day becomes a problem.  But a better chance on the new state pension than on the basic state pension

Surviving is enough if people expect others to fully fund their lifestyle. They have had 40-50 years of adulthood to prepare for this stage of their life. 

Thats deffo a bit harsh Alitor...Nobody knew what life was going to throw at people.Most of us have had to Duck and Dive a bit to get to this point??? 

Not really in my opinion, although many people don't like to look at it that way, the state pension is part of the welfare framework. Welfare should be the last resort. 

There is no miracle, no fantasy, no magic wand. If the state pension was high enough for people to live comfortably, and allow for discretionary spending then lots more people would not bother saving up/ build up capital to sustain their lifestyle in retirement, and expect others to pay for it.

This is the situation today. Back in 1977 only 37% pf households took more from benefits/services than they contributed in ALL taxes. Today it has risen to 53.8%; and will hit 60% in the 2040’s at this trajectory. With so few net contributors it is unrealistic to expect a reducing minority of wealthy people to sustain everyone else.

Wages need to be higher for people to pay more tax.

By leaving the personal allowance tax threshold at £12,570 per annum, people are paying more tax anyway.
My state pension increased. So did the amount of tax I pay.

badmemory

So yes you can survive on state pension & no other benefits under certain circumstances, like homeowning.  But personally I did not spend a long working life to live a life merely surviving.  I have been taking my state pension for over ten years now & know that my costs are more than they were.  Not the normal cost of living though.  It is those things that become more difficult.  Stupid little things like not being able to buy the larger & normally cheaper items that my arthritis make difficult to lift, having to buy cans of coke (yes I know I shouldn't) instead of bottles because of the difficulty getting the tops off.  Really, really dreading not being able to drive.