Retirement Living Standards

NormalNorman

What would help is…

The SP should be paid tax free.

The personal allowance needs to be increased.

Energy prices are too high.

The standing charge needs reformed as not based on ability to pay.

Council tax needs reform as again not based on ability to pay.

If retired you should not be penalised by stamp duty for downsizing.

I don't think pensions should be marketed as they currently are being heavily taxed/restrictive/complicated products in reality.

I could go on…

Why - Lower income pensioners are expected to live on half the minimum wage!?

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82022847#Comment_82022847

Please remember to avoid politcal debate on the forum.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82022777#Comment_82022777

Similarly if a couple have had well paid jobs, bought a home, have two cars, have weekends away, holidays abroad, decent meals out, a busy social life and they expect that to continue they need more.
From my experience the figures aren't miles out,

Although expenditure on individual items, will vary from the report, I would agree that the overall figures for a comfortable retirement are probably not miles out as an average.

Although many on these forums will have a comfortable retirement on less, there will be many others ( not MSE types ) who have had good jobs, big pension pots etc who will be splashing the cash as 'you can't take it with you' .

mrklaw

people are different. But surely those expecting 65k a year are 75% percentile or higher? I don’t know if its reasonable for them to even use the term ‘comfortable’ in a ‘total UK’ summary of living standards with three options. Maybe add a fourth option and bring them closer together? Or if ‘moderate’ is actually comfortable for median household incomes of 70-80k then shouldn’t it really be called comfortable if thats for more people?

semantics maybe but moderate sounds like ‘eh, its ok I suppose’ so people will gravitate to wanting comfortable even if thats comfortable in their world view.

Minimum, comfortable, luxury might be more suitable, I dont’ know

imtiazahmad

Yeah I get the frustration. A lot of retirees feel like the system is stacked with fixed costs that don’t match income anymore.

The issue is most of those things are set up to fund services in a flat way, so things like council tax and standing charges don’t really scale with what people earn. That’s why it feels unfair for people on fixed pensions.

But realistically, changing all of that would mean big tax shifts somewhere else, so governments tend to tweak things slowly instead of fully redesigning it.

The point about the State Pension being tax free or raising the personal allowance is often suggested, but it would cost billions, so it rarely gets traction.

So you are not wrong to feel it’s tight for lower income pensioners, it is, but the fixes are politically and financially hard to deliver quickly.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82022920#Comment_82022920

Minimum, comfortable, luxury might be more suitable, I dont’ know

There was a similar type Which report ( which seems not to have been updated recently) and they used those descriptions I think, certainly the 'Luxury' one.

However this brought the problem that in most peoples eyes a 'Luxury Retirement' brought visions of Super yachts; Ferraris; half a dozen houses dotted around the world etc . Not something possible on about £50K pa ( Their figures were lower than PLSAs)

Nebulous2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82022920#Comment_82022920

Pensions UK who produce the report say that only 9% of people will make comfortable, 23% will make moderate and 82% will reach minimum.

So the moderate level is more like the 75th percentile than the comfortable….

NormalNorman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82023005#Comment_82023005

Without being political I think it's difficult now to take a break, kick back and take some time to yourself for whatever reason. Life's 'fixed costs' as you put it ensure you are kept earning to stand still. For example, 20 years ago wife quit work for a year to go to college. Can't image that now. Cheers

QrizB

For example, 20 years ago wife quit work for a year to go to college. Can't image that now.

As a counter-example, about 10 years ago my wife quit work to follow her interest in art. She hasn't felt the need to return to work and I'm still expecting to retire a decade before SPA.

ali_bear

We demand free tea cakes. Ooh yes