Retirement for someone with no dependents

DullGreyGuy

Marcon said:

Albermarle said:

I am considering that once I hit the magic number for my retirement pot, I would sell my house and rent for my remaining years (hopefully somewhere warm)

Renting can be insecure, many older ( and younger)  people renting would rip your right arm off to have the security of owning their own home.

... and an increasing number (who have enough money to have the luxury of such a choice) are only too pleased to rent, and they can leave repairs and other problems to a landlord....

In exchange for the annual negotiations over rent, risks of a Section 21, not having control over when/if repairs are done, if/when the kitchen is upgraded? 

Release the equity via moving somewhere warmer and cheaper or a financial product and retain the stability and control until you are no longer fit to do so and enjoy the monies released.

pterri

poseidon1 said:

Stanleychops said:

Hi - as per the title, I am in a situation where I have no dependents and therefore do not need to have any money or property when I eventually pass away.  I'm 49, above average salary, own my own home, a private pension, work pension and some savings.  I have come to the realisation that potentially it is no longer imperative to finish paying my mortgage or worry about leaving my non-existent children/partner any inheritance.  
I realise this is not the normal situation for most, so am curious what people think and if there are any other people in my position on here who could give advice.
I am considering that once I hit the magic number for my retirement pot, I would sell my house and rent for my remaining years (hopefully somewhere warm).  Obviously I cannot predict how long I will live, but as long as I have a realistic sum to live on each month/year, I assume I just need enough money to cover the years I have left?  Is this a feasible plan?

Pretty much in your position but already long retired. 

The idea of selling home and renting ( at least in this country) I would  personally consider extremely ill advised given the utterly dysfunctional state of the English rental market. That said I plan to have the largest equity release mortgage possible on the home, to ensure those funds can be used/squandered as I deem fit.

However you did say somewhere  warm so perhaps somewhere abroad?  If so that is a whole host of other considerations far too long to cover here, but keep in mind the number of foreign  jurisdictions where you would lose inflation linking to  your state pension, when that eventually comes on stream.

Given the large chunk of change HMRC will pocket out of your estate exceeding the meagre £325k NRB, totally understand your point of view.

Not sure what I’ll do but the idea of popping my clogs with £800k in bricks and mortar unspent seems mad. I’ll downsize if I can but not ruled out equity release. 

DRS1

Don't forget that when your joints begin to go you'll be looking for a bungalow and they aren't cheap!

BridgetTheCat

I’m in a similar position - just hit 55, no spouse, no kids and no nieces or nephews. I’m planning to retire at 60 and use my savings/pension lump sum to pay off my mortgage so that I have housing security in retirement. With no mortgage to pay I’ll still be able to live comfortably on a reduced pension income for the next 7 years until my state pension kicks in. 

It’s definitely worth getting figures from all your pension providers and spreadsheeting the projections for various retirement ages. I’d originally thought about taking 2 of my 5 pensions at 55 and working part time until 67, but when I ran the figures I found I’d be much better off toughing it out in full time work until 60 then retiring completely 😀

ali_bear

I am also on the solo lifestyle. I would want to mention that in the absence of any other party named as your beneficiary when the inevitable happens, you could do worse than bequeath it all to a charity of your choice. 

Moonwolf

poseidon1 said:

Given the large chunk of change HMRC will pocket out of your estate exceeding the meagre £325k NRB, totally understand your point of view.

I never understood this.  I'll be dead and I don't have any close dependants who will lose out, I don't care about the tax.

I am expecting to be on my own when I am in my late 80s if I live that long. I may need to pay someone to look after me, to do the gardening and cleaning. More than if I had kids.  I will need to keep some money back for that.  If I don't live that long and it goes up in tax, so be it.

FairWeatherWalker

Same age, similar situation except I still have a decent size mortgage to deal with. No one depending on me or expecting an inheritance. I will still leave something to a few people and charity, but I also want to enjoy whatever lifestyle I create for myself.

I’ve been building my pension pot while planning a route to mortgage freedom, with a primary goal of having options by my mid-fifties. This is in case I either have to or want to work less before I get to 60, although at the moment I can’t see myself wanting to fully retire for a long time yet.

I’m thinking that equity release will be an option for me later on, but it makes me wonder why I’m working so hard now to pay down a mortgage only to ER the same amount in years to come! But I also don’t like the idea of having no plan for the mortgage in case I need it to be significantly smaller/gone when I’m 55 due to lower income. 

Personally I wouldn’t consider renting in retirement unless necessary, because I look at my 70-something mother delaying an inevitable downsize and can’t imagine multiple house moves being imposed on her at the whim of each landlord. But I plan to retire in the UK and I appreciate other (warmer) locations may be more favourable for tenants. 

Cairnpapple

Depending where you are, it's possible that there may be more stable options for renting in retirement that there are pre-retirement, for example council sheltered housing, retirement flats or almshouses.

I have a spouse but no kids and we're planning to go the downsizing route when we no longer need 2 home offices (we're currently late 40s/early 50s with mortgage paid off). We have friends a generation older than us who downsized basically as soon as they turned 60 and it looked like exactly the right time to do it, while they still had the energy. They also prioritised walkable amenities and public transport.

Albermarle

Cairnpapple said:

Depending where you are, it's possible that there may be more stable options for renting in retirement that there are pre-retirement, for example council sheltered housing, retirement flats or almshouses.

I have a spouse but no kids and we're planning to go the downsizing route when we no longer need 2 home offices (we're currently late 40s/early 50s with mortgage paid off). We have friends a generation older than us who downsized basically as soon as they turned 60 and it looked like exactly the right time to do it, while they still had the energy. They also prioritised walkable amenities and public transport.

This is true ( in bold) although I think getting an almshouse is not very easy.
Also retirement flats are notorious for being poor value and being very difficult to sell, even with big price drops. So can leave behind an headache for family/executors.
An alternative for the better off are retirement villages and the like.. Upmarket and secure with facilities on site.
However you need a good cash flow !

Linton

pterri said:

poseidon1 said:

Stanleychops said:

Hi - as per the title, I am in a situation where I have no dependents and therefore do not need to have any money or property when I eventually pass away.  I'm 49, above average salary, own my own home, a private pension, work pension and some savings.  I have come to the realisation that potentially it is no longer imperative to finish paying my mortgage or worry about leaving my non-existent children/partner any inheritance.  
I realise this is not the normal situation for most, so am curious what people think and if there are any other people in my position on here who could give advice.
I am considering that once I hit the magic number for my retirement pot, I would sell my house and rent for my remaining years (hopefully somewhere warm).  Obviously I cannot predict how long I will live, but as long as I have a realistic sum to live on each month/year, I assume I just need enough money to cover the years I have left?  Is this a feasible plan?

Pretty much in your position but already long retired. 

The idea of selling home and renting ( at least in this country) I would  personally consider extremely ill advised given the utterly dysfunctional state of the English rental market. That said I plan to have the largest equity release mortgage possible on the home, to ensure those funds can be used/squandered as I deem fit.

However you did say somewhere  warm so perhaps somewhere abroad?  If so that is a whole host of other considerations far too long to cover here, but keep in mind the number of foreign  jurisdictions where you would lose inflation linking to  your state pension, when that eventually comes on stream.

Given the large chunk of change HMRC will pocket out of your estate exceeding the meagre £325k NRB, totally understand your point of view.

Not sure what I’ll do but the idea of popping my clogs with £800k in bricks and mortar unspent seems mad. I’ll downsize if I can but not ruled out equity release. 

Leaving a large amount of wealth tied up unused in a house didn’t seem a good idea to us either. So  we used ER to get a bigger house in a more attractive area.  Better that we get the benefits whilst alive.