One in Four People Cannot afford to retire according to a new report

happyfella

I have just been reading about a new report regarding people wanting to reitre when they are at retirement age.

It says that one in four people cannot afford to retire. It says that people will continue to work or work part time due to the high cost of living.

I know how they feel. My wife is retiring in a few months even though we cannot afford for her to retire. But due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

It seems that all Government don't look after people who have worked all their lives. I worked all my life until i got seriously ill.

It says due to the rising cost of living, such as petrol prices, fuel bills, etc, that people are struggling to retire.

A woman who my wife works with had to carry on working past her retirement due to financial worries. She had to stay on working past her retirement age, and sadly, she caught Covid in the workplace and lost her life.

It is so tragic that the Government has got its priorities wrong

calcotti

happyfella said:

I have just been reading about a new report regarding people wanting to reitre when they are at retirement age. 

Always helpful if you can post a link when you are referencing something like this.

In your case you will indeed be badly hit going by your proviso thread, but as discussed in that thread you should be able to reduce the hit from £600/month by claiming Council Tax Reduction.

poppy123456

happyfella said:

due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

You were advised on a previous thread for your wife to start a PIP claim before she reaches state pension age. Although PIP isn't about being unable to work. Depending on how her conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors she maybe entitled to PIP.

If she doesn't start the claim and she reaches state pension age then it will be Attendance Allowance she will need to claim. This has no mobility part.

There's also Council tax reduction which Calcotti has advised several times but you seem to disregard that.

happyfella

poppy123456 said:

happyfella said:

due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

You were advised on a previous thread for your wife to start a PIP claim before she reaches state pension age. Although PIP isn't about being unable to work. Depending on how her conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors she maybe entitled to PIP.

If she doesn't start the claim and she reaches state pension age then it will be Attendance Allowance she will need to claim. This has no mobility part.

There's also Council tax reduction which Calcotti has advised several times but you seem to disregard that.

(Removed by moderator, inappropriate comment towards another member, please see our house rules)

happyfella

I am wondering if it is time for schools to now start teaching children about money and help them understand about the future. It would be interested for a survey to take place that ask people under the age of 25 if they have thought about their financial future for when they retire

calcotti

happyfella said:

(Removed by moderator)

It was you that specifically mentioned, in this thread, the £600 you are set to lose due to your wife reaching pension. Poppy, and I, were just reminding you that are steps you can take to try and reduce the hit, as discussed in your other thread.

poppy123456

happyfella said:

poppy123456 said:

happyfella said:

due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

You were advised on a previous thread for your wife to start a PIP claim before she reaches state pension age. Although PIP isn't about being unable to work. Depending on how her conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors she maybe entitled to PIP.

If she doesn't start the claim and she reaches state pension age then it will be Attendance Allowance she will need to claim. This has no mobility part.

There's also Council tax reduction which Calcotti has advised several times but you seem to disregard that.

(Removed by moderator)

I can't remove it because it's been longer than 1 hour. Even if i could i wouldn't, i was replying to a comment you made in your comment, which was why i only quoted part of your comment. You said about your income being £600 less and your wife with her disability.

Thanks for the advice but i did read the thread fully before i commented! You are always quick to jump down the throats of people that try to advise you.

calcotti

happyfella said:

I am wondering if it is time for schools to now start teaching children about money and help them understand about the future. 

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/601359

Something Martin Lewis has campaigned for over a number of years and helped create and fund a textbook that can be used in schools.
https://www.moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/financial-education-in-schools/

happyfella

calcotti said:

happyfella said:

I am wondering if it is time for schools to now start teaching children about money and help them understand about the future. 

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/601359

It does make sense to teach people about financial matters. I remember when my daughter was in school more than 20 years ago and they were talking about it then, but it has never happened.

happyfella

poppy123456 said:

happyfella said:

poppy123456 said:

happyfella said:

due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

You were advised on a previous thread for your wife to start a PIP claim before she reaches state pension age. Although PIP isn't about being unable to work. Depending on how her conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors she maybe entitled to PIP.

If she doesn't start the claim and she reaches state pension age then it will be Attendance Allowance she will need to claim. This has no mobility part.

There's also Council tax reduction which Calcotti has advised several times but you seem to disregard that.

Poppy you are always quick to jump in without reading the thread which you have been advised on before. We are talking about people in general and research which was published today. Please remove your reply and read the post properly

I can't remove it because it's been longer than 1 hour. Even if i could i wouldn't, i was replying to a comment you made in your comment, which was why i only quoted part of your comment. You said about your income being £600 less and your wife with her disability.

Thanks for the advice but i did read the thread fully before i commented! You are always quick to jump down the throats of people that try to advise you.

once again, i was not talking about me Poppy

poppy123456

happyfella said:

poppy123456 said:

happyfella said:

poppy123456 said:

happyfella said:

due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

You were advised on a previous thread for your wife to start a PIP claim before she reaches state pension age. Although PIP isn't about being unable to work. Depending on how her conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors she maybe entitled to PIP.

If she doesn't start the claim and she reaches state pension age then it will be Attendance Allowance she will need to claim. This has no mobility part.

There's also Council tax reduction which Calcotti has advised several times but you seem to disregard that.

Poppy you are always quick to jump in without reading the thread which you have been advised on before. We are talking about people in general and research which was published today. Please remove your reply and read the post properly

I can't remove it because it's been longer than 1 hour. Even if i could i wouldn't, i was replying to a comment you made in your comment, which was why i only quoted part of your comment. You said about your income being £600 less and your wife with her disability.

Thanks for the advice but i did read the thread fully before i commented! You are always quick to jump down the throats of people that try to advise you.

once again, i was not talking about me Poppy

Umm yes you were..

happyfella said:

I know how they feel. My wife is retiring in a few months even though we cannot afford for her to retire. But due to her health condition and due to me being unable to work, we will be over £600 worse off when she retires.

happyfella

I remember a few years back when B&Q launched a campaign to hire retired people. Some people love to work past their retirement because they enjoy being with people and if they did not work then they would be at home alone. There is a woman at my wifes work who is 70 and she works not for the money but because she does not want to be alone at home.

I do think we need to make life easier for people who are retired like reducing council tax and a discount on energy bills and removing licence fee. I would have no problem in paying extra for council tax.

We are entitled to have reduced council tax but i do not claim it. I would prefer that discount to be given to people over a certain age.

poppy123456

happyfella said:

We are entitled to have reduced council tax but i do not claim it. I would prefer that discount to be given to people over a certain age.

Yet you moan that you'll be £600 worse off when your wife retires. It doesn't make any sense why you're not claiming CTR.

Ross_Alumni

I think, as suggested by @happyfella, there is definitely more education to be done regarding financial management, both in schools and other educational settings but also in the workplace. Things like mortgages, taxes, bills and benefits all require so much learning on the job, and it's easy to make mistakes and feel completely lost in those areas. I think even a small amount of education would at least help people feel more prepared for the challenges, if not remove the challenges themselves.

I agree with woodbine that schools are already under so much pressure to deliver the education of subjects currently on the curriculum, but I'd consider the financial aspects of life to be essential enough to justify their place given the significance they have in all of our futures. When it comes to retirement, I can say with certainty that upon leaving education I had very little, if any, knowledge of what I could do to start preparing for it, and it has only been upon transitioning from education to working that I have realised the importance of starting preparations as soon as possible.

I'd be interested to read the report you mention in your opening post happyfella. 

I have re-opened this thread, I think it is a really important conversation to have and I have enjoyed reading the various perspectives.

happyfella

I think our school system works so different to many other european countries. Going a bit off topic now but how many people did french or german at school and then after three years could not put a sentence together in that language?

Children in other countries, when they learn english, they can speak it. I think our educational system is behind with the times. You also have children who are not academic but are great with their hands. We need to cator for them.

But getting back on topic, schools need more investment. If the government provided money so children could learn more about money then their would be less debt in the country. People would be better prepared for their retirement and have more financial freedom.

I breaks my heart when i read about pensioners having to choose between heating and food.

leeCal

I’ve heard of pensioners having to choose between heating and food too, but I haven’t read of any one specific case, not saying it’s an exaggeration by the media though, I just haven’t seen a specific example. 

In my house we have gas gas heating and cooking and of course electricity for the lights and we get just one state pension as an income and we are being careful with power and heating but not having to choose between food and heat, yet. 

I did stand behind an elderly woman in a supermarket who spent over £200 on cigarettes the other week and was amazed by how she could afford it, I certainly couldn’t. Nor do I subscribe to sky or Netflix or other things of that ilk. The only unnecessary expense I have is running a car but since petrol went up we haven’t been out. Rather than choose between heat and food I’d dump the car first!

poppy123456

I know personally know someone that reached state pension age last year and they were claiming CB ESA. They are now over £60 per week better off claiming their state pension.