Grim statistics on retirement age and life expectancy

[struth]

Government departments are sometimes more than a bit forgetful when it comes to letting people know what they might do, or not. It's probably easiest for the people working in DWP to assume that everyone will take their SP as and when they become entitled, and its too "complicated" for them to deal with people who want to do anything else - so they put those people on the back burner, and then (perhaps) forget about them until they resurface - or, relevant to this thread, pass over. There are departments which are supposed to deal with deferred pensions, but in all the time that mine was deferred (more than 4 years) I don't recall a single follow up mail, email or phone call. Perhaps those departments are overstretched, underfunded, short staffed etc., or maybe their computer systems don't keep up.

Other benefits which people aren't always aware of are things like Attendance Allowance for relatives. In the case of my f-in-law and m-in-law, my m-in-law became seriously incapacitated, which was causing great problems for her husband, mostly physical and practical. It was only a chance visit by me to my own doctor about something completely different which alerted us. My doctor said something like "but of course he's getting Attendance Allowance for carers ..." which resulted in a blank stare from me. On investigation it turned out that he was entitled to support to look after his wife, which was a considerable help, but his own GP hadn't mentioned that to him. Some departments work on the assumption that if you don't know you won't apply, and thus won't be a drain on the "system".
Also such benefits can often not be back dated, so the longer you are kept in the dark the better!

Actually it's not only the money - in the case of my f-in-law he probably could have afforded to pay for the carers himself, and after he died there was a sizeable tax bill, but he would not have been able to organise the carers without help, so getting some support from "the system" was a great help.

i got carers in to help with the wife but they were not a lot of good tbh. helped a bit but i still did 90%+. I get financial help now for myself but I didnt know I was eligible before so missed out on a lot. only when i had run out of stuff to sell was it brought to my attention. Then initially they made it difficult for me by having 2 different deparmtents trying to assess me separately and expecting me to be able to get myself all the way to the city by myself... My doc helped as did my neighbours in convincing them i couldnt travel that far.(still cant tbh) but at least i can get to shops etc without having to spend 3 days in bed after it. Hope to get further; just take it a bit at a time, but if i had known then i would probably be healthier now

[struth]

Applying the original formula you should be good till 81 - I hope you get past that.

I once opened the door to a woman selling/offering flowers who looked at me and said - "You'll live to be 93." If I make it to 94 she was wrong!

If I don't, then I won't know.

no real chance of that, but if i get another 10 i will be happy. a woman told my wife she'd live til 84; she made 56, poor soul.

[walpurgis]

that will put me in my 80's... i wish

The various formulae for calculating longevity go out of the window where I'm concerned.

My maternal grand father died before he was forty (never recovered from gassing in WW1). Uncle died at 44, doing what he saw as a good deed cost his life, an African immigrant he employed gave him TB. Dad died at 54, too much booze and a thousand fags a day! I'm now over 70 and my brother is 80.

[Minstrel SE]

I can claim my private pension this year. The state pension age is far too high. My uncle carefully planned for retirement at 50 and lets face it that nobody wants to work until the bitter end. The sad thing is my uncle had dementia at the age of 70 and died shortly after that

I have just finished a crappy MW job which would have been ok If I hadnt felt constuctively dismissed by vile management. My thoughts on middle age is that it becomes a no mans land if you havent made something of your life.

There is a lot of bollocks talked about fulfillment through work. This life is a rat race for most people and we are controlled by people with the real money and power. I would be quite happy to pluck grapes with a beautiful woman by my side. I wouldnt get bored of doing nothing much, I can assure you

I have some savings but not enough to give me any real sense of freedom. Most people work themselves into the ground in jobs they dont like. Enjoying my free time is more important to me

Im going sky diving this year and I promised Molly I would swim with dolphins. I cant think much beyond the next month or so. My last job had me stress smoking which Ive knocked on the head now.

Life is short. I tend to wonder if I will make it to the state pension

[struth]

Would quite like to pluck the fruits of a juicy sort myself. lol.

Yup it can be difficult if by mid 40's your still struggling to get somewhere good. But with higher retirement ages it's worth retraining or going to higher education. Take 4years out and get a skill set

[dave2010]

Yup it can be difficult if by mid 40's your still struggling to get somewhere good. But with higher retirement ages it's worth retraining or going to higher education. Take 4years out and get a skill set

The problem is working out what retraining to do, what skill set to acquire, and getting the funds to pay for the retraining. Does that ever work? One of my relatives (50+) studied law for a couple of years, but after that, she decided it wasn't going to work for her, and her opinion of the law went down considerably. However she has other skills, and is not in a bad financial position as far as I know.

Some people have greater problems, and really ought to be able to make it by retraining, but it's hard for them to find the best match to their abilities.
I'm not sure if there are good careers advisers for people of advancing age, who really can help people to find satisfactory jobs, or to retrain for such.

Some people use their hobby skills as a way to make extra money, and it may lead to more. For example, some people who are keen on photography offer services to do photo retouching. I think a certain amount of determination is needed for people to make a living out of things they like doing, however, and another problem is that if economic conditions are generally not so good, other people are unwilling to pay for services which they might do in better times.

If there's something one is really good at, then with luck people will pay. I do know people who are really struggling, and it's hard for them to see a way out, a better way, and I really can't help them much.

[Macca]

The way I see it none of us is struggling compared to some bloke living on the street in Calcutta, so we should all thank our lucky stars and make the best of what we have even if it isn't perfect.

Perspective is everything.

[Marco]

Some people use their hobby skills as a way to make extra money, and it may lead to more. For example, some people who are keen on photography offer services to do photo retouching. I think a certain amount of determination is needed for people to make a living out of things they like doing...

Yup; that's it in a nutshell. And either you've got the required drive and determination or not. Fortunately, I was always the driven type (an achiever), and determined to make a success of my life, not just be one of the rats in the rat race, and so I set out to achieve my most important goals: to be as self-sufficient and in control of my future as possible - as soon as possible!

Leaving a well-paid sales job, with a company car and secure salary, to go self-employed and start my own business (doing the same thing, but with no such secure salary) was a big risk, especially at that time, as I had a considerable mortgage to pay and Del wasn't earning much. However, I was confident that I could make a success of it, and in the end I did. We went through some difficult times before that though, where we really struggled financially.

To pay the bills, I often had to work 16-hour days, and sometimes through the night too [and that took its toll in all sorts of ways], but through had work, diligence and a little entrepreneurial flair, not to mention some luck (although I'm a great believer in that often you make your own luck), I built up a very good business, the proceeds from which were significantly responsible for me being able to become semi-retired at 45, and still now at 53.

Would I swap having more money, as I did then, but needing to work ridiculously long hours to earn it, with now, where I have less money, although enough to be comfortable, but the time and freedom to do what I want, and also take care of the household chores, which helps Del cope with her job [as she doesn't have to think about any of that], and which she loves, but that is very demanding, as teaching is these days - and most importantly allows us to spend more time together?

NOT A CHANCE!!

Yet, I suspect that some would, as having more money would be most important.... Each to their own, of course, but it's a very different mentality from ours.

For me, working was always a means to an end, not an end in itself, as there are MUCH more important things in life than work or money. I wasn't particularly happy back then, when I earned rather more but was always too tired to enjoy it, but I am now, and so is Del. The important thing is that we now have more TIME to enjoy each other's company, instead of being like ships in the night. For us, *that* is ultimately what matters most!

If you've got a natural aptitude/flair or skill for something, and are confident that you could earn a living from it, then my advice is GO FOR IT, as you might never get another chance to do something you enjoy, and that could set you up for life. Take a risk and live your dreams - chances are, in the long run, you'll have more to gain than lose...

Bottom line? Don't sit and wait for something to happen - get off your butt and MAKE it happen!

Marco.

[spendorman]

For various reasons I retired at 53, I have no regrets, I'm only half mad, if I continued working I reckon that I would be completely mad. No I'm not being flippant, reckon I would have had a serous mental breakdown if I continued. Work pressure was extremely high.

[Joe]

A quick follow up to previous couple of messages. If anyone is reaching State retirement age, it may be worth considering options for taking the state pension. For various reasons I wanted to defer mine and I calculated that deferring for one or two years would have been optimal. Unfortunately (or was it? ...) I left things longer than that, so it looked as though I was going to have to wait until I get to be around 100 to break even. However, when I did finally get round to it, I was able to take a lump sum which was very useful for a large purchase which would otherwise have been quite difficult to do.

Each person's circumstances are different. If you need the money, then taking the state pension as soon as possible makes sense, but if you don't then deferring can be helpful. When you take the SP you still have the option of taking a larger monthly payment or a lump sum.

Having checked for my own SP, it looks like the lump sum option is not available for those reaching SP age after 6 April 2016, but deferral is:

https://www.gov.uk/deferring-state-pension/what-you-get

If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016

Your State Pension will increase every week you defer, as long as you defer for at least 9 weeks.

Your State Pension increases by the equivalent of 1% for every 9 weeks you defer. This works out as just under 5.8% for every full year.

The extra amount is paid with your regular State Pension payment.

Example:
You get £164.35 a week (the full new State Pension). This works out as £8,546.20 a year.

By deferring for one year, you’ll get an extra £493 a year (just under 5.8% of £8,546.20).
This example assumes there is no annual increase in the State Pension. If there is an annual increase, the amount you could get could be larger.

If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016

You can usually take your extra State Pension as either:

higher weekly payments

a one-off lump sum 


When you claim your deferred State Pension, you’ll get a letter asking how you want to take your extra pension. You’ll have 3 months from receiving that letter to decide.

Higher weekly payments

Your State Pension will increase every week you defer, as long as you defer for at least 5 weeks.

Your State Pension increases by the equivalent of 1% for every 5 weeks you defer. This works out as 10.4% for every full year.

The extra amount is paid with your regular State Pension payment.