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Anyone else had trouble getting a credit card when having a drawdown pension as their only source of income? I just tried to get my credit card limit increased at First Direct and when I told them my source of income they said no as the drawdown can be taken in full at any time leaving me with no income. I said in that case they should reduce my current credit card limit! I pay it off every month but its a pain having to make interim payments if I'm getting close to my credit card limit.
Obvious answer is to take out an additional credit card which I did have with Amazon but Amazon have now pulled the plug on that relationship so the card has now gone. So, any advice on where to get another credit card from that takes drawdown as a source of income?
since i retired 18 month ago, today i visited a garden center for the first time............ ;o)
#properretirednow
@shinton amex charge cards (which you have to pay down every month) might assess your risk differently. note those are the green, gold and platinum charge card, not the platinum cashback/ba cards (which are credit cards)
Thanks @5lab all sorted now. It was all handled really well, with the person who declined me asking if I wanted to make a complaint which I did and was transferred to the complaints section. The person I then spoke to called me back a couple of hours later and said I had been misinformed and would I like a call back to reassess my request which I agreed to. An hour later I got a call and went through the financials which led to my credit limit being increased.
In hindsight I should have got my credit limit increased before I gave up work so something to consider if you are in that situation.
ton
since i retired 18 month ago, today i visited a garden center for the first time………… ;o)
#properretirednow
Since I retired 6 months ago I went on a first date to a garden centre cafe #properoldperson 😀
@MrOvershoot
i saw in another thread that you were dating. i hope you are very happy mate.
hope you have a very nice and merry xmas.
ton
@MrOvershoot
i saw in another thread that you were dating. i hope you are very happy mate.
hope you have a very nice and merry xmas.
Cheer Tony, wishing you and the family a great xmas 🙂
Yes I know its early days but I'm really happy she's also 6' tall so can use my bikes 😉
I put my notice in recently to finish march next year.
Yes my pension has taken a beating as has my s&s ISA.
I will be 52.5. It would have made more sense to keep going till 55 for another 100k in the pension but I'm done.
Plus the world could have been nuked by then.
Looking forward to it immensely!
Wondering what the government have got up their sleeve to ruin my plans for having the audacity to being an economically inactive citizen rather than a taxpaying wage slave.
... she’s also 6′ tall so can use my bikes 😉
Life goals . 👍
I will be 52.5. It would have made more sense to keep going till 55 for another 100k in the pension but I’m done
Id love to know what job you have whereby you can save £50k a year!!
Separate post but I’d love to know how those in their early 50’s and astute enough to be commenting onto this thread feel about spending significant amounts of money, which feels,like a “dent in the future” to me.
Mrs K has demanded an expensive holiday, we are getting to the point that her car can’t be relied upon, and we desperately need a new bathroom which will include new plastering. Add those together and £40k could be vanish very quickly. I’m deparately hanging on and saving but it’s going to have to be spent soon. It worries me.
Well, as I'm sure you know, you can't eat your cake and have it.
What plans does Mrs K57 have for her retirement and funding thereof?
We ever had that sort of money to spend so the question never arose. Id be saying /thinking thats another two years until I retire if i spend that much.
It's less what I earn and more about what I don't spend. I've been making the 40k allowance by salary sacrificing 80% wages into pension for a few years now and utilizing the previous 3 years to allow overpayments.
I live pretty frugally on less than 10k a year.
You mention a 40k spend above. That would simply never happen firstly due to no wife making demands, no interest in a spendy holiday. I couldnt imagine spending for than a few hundred on a bathroom refit or more than 10k on a used car.
o no wife making demands, no interest in a spendy holiday
To be fair this is more about seeing here family overseas for the first time since 2018 that a 7 star hotel.
Id be saying /thinking thats another two years until I retire if i spend that much.
this is exactly how I’m thinking!
To be fair this is more about seeing here family overseas for the first time since 2018 that a 7 star hotel.
Yeah, that's a specific kind of problem, especially as a family. However I do know folk who've simply had to accept the fact that sort of trip is unaffordable any more than once/twice in a lifetime. Particularly folk who've moved to Australia. Shit dilemma to be facing though.
I couldnt imagine spending for than a few hundred on a bathroom refit
your idea of a refit and others may differ
2 tins of paint and new lino?
40k is a fair old lump. 4 years living for us now.
we are at the stage where the car we have will be our last, for the trips we do it will be cheaper to ditch a car and costs and use a taxi.
and holidays are done on the bikes, as that is what we enjoy.
you dont have to spend lots of money to have a good life and a good retirement.
"your idea of a refit and others may differ
2 tins of paint and new lino?"
2 tins? Unnecessarily extravagant. 1 at a push.
"you dont have to spend lots of money to have a good life and a good retirement."
This. It took the last few covid years for me to fully realise how little money is actually needed.
Super tough choice really. You have no idea what will happen next year and life isn't just about bathrooms. It's difficult to call without know the numbers but I tend to trade off against lower average spend and some very special peaks rather than a slightly higher average overall but all at the same level. It's a choice you make together though so you may decide just to live with the bathroom or put it off for a few more years in order to take the trip.
40k is a fair old lump. 4 years living for us now.
5 for me
"you dont have to spend lots of money to have a good life and a good retirement"
^ plus another one 😊
Unfortunately our bathroom is at the point that it’s causing concern, the point of “living with it for a few years” was reached a couple of years ago. Although we haven’t changed it for 10 years, it was installed a good 5-10 years before that.
And, as I said, floor to ceiling tiles on a partition wall can’t be removed without enough damage to need the wall sorting on the bathroom side, and the ceiling/spots is very bad due to rusted spots and a leakin the roof, I can’t see this being cheap - but maybe it will!
Anyway, maybe I just have to work for a few more years to replace the dent in the savings and assume that in the next 10 years theyll be enough of a recovery that means our pensions will start to show increases. Maybe I’ve also misjudged how much is needed post retirement according to the above.
I will be 52.5. It would have made more sense to keep going till 55 for another 100k in the pension but I’m done
Id love to know what job you have whereby you can save £50k a year!!
Is it just me that's confused about the arithmetic here?
Given that he's close to retirement I'd expect his increase in a normal year to outstrip his contributions, no?
But back to your question about priorities, you gotta find a happy medium. No point in saving too much for too long and missing your fitter years.
My missus has just booked new bathrooms in January for just south of thirty grand. Part of me thinks it's a waste of money but then...
Most of our life we've prioritised travel, adventures and sports kit. Fair enough if she wants to waste some of it now 🙂
It'll bolster the value of the house for when we sell it.
She earns most of the money so she can do what she wants with it.
It would be nice to retire two years earlier, but...
The best way to know how much you need and what you spend it on is to track it now.
I've been using the below for years.
Maybe I’ve also misjudged how much is needed post retirement according to the above.
I think there are two basic approaches to this:
1: decide when you want to retire and then live on as much as you have at that point
2: Decide how much money you need then work until you have that
I took 1 and retired at 60. My total income is around £8000 pa but no mortgage. Its doable but it tight if you want to do stuff This is why last summer I cycled and camped rather than drove and stayed in hotels. I am lucky (ha!) in a way tho as I do have a chunk of capital I can dip into if needed
And I am fully aware how privileged that makes me
Edit I have had to cut my cloth accordingly and very much reduce the cost of my lifestyle to suit. Stuff like I spent 3 hours on buses each way to visit a pal. It would have been under an hour by car
@daveylad I think you must be my doppelganger.
Being doing the exact same and also retire march 31st.
Happy April (fools).
I sort of retired by accident during Covid and moved to Portugal, I would've carried on as normal but what with Brexshit, mortgage finished, Covid and being immune surpressed, our daughter who had already settled here encouraging us ..... we suddenly found ourselves on a ferry heading to Santander on a stormy night in Oct 20.
Two years on, if we'd known then how hard it would be (bureaucracy and associated crap) we probably wouldn't have started but two years on I'm so glad we did it!
Having seen what some of you are living on I'll be reducing my forecast final retirement date! Thanks all
2 tins? Unnecessarily extravagant. 1 at a push
Pah, sugar soap and refresh with what was left from the last time
Change the colour? Mix all the colours that were left from the last time
Well I played with various retirement calculators last night, and as a couple we’d have an income of £14k from my age 60 and £22k (all per annum) from my age 67. It doesn’t feel as though that’s quite the comfort blanket I want but it’s interesting to watch others experience of actual financial needs, but it looks as though I’ll be working harder for longer than I thought, and praying that markets returned to normal / grow over the next 9-16 years.
Re planning my future over the Christmas break will be job number 3 after putting new batteries in the house alarm siren and selling my youngest Frog bike.
Must be a challenge living on 8k a year,not sure i want that level of challenge in retirement.
I'd not be putting much store in some of the numbers being quoted here, especially if you have children. I was lucky enough not to need any financial support from my parents once I started work but I'm keenly aware that subsequent generations have a tougher time. I'm happy to help my daughter out on a regular basis and would like to keep doing so, especially if that means she is able to pursue opportunities that aren't just about maximising her income at all costs.
I'm planning on tapering slowly into retirement but probs working till I'm 70, so at 58 already gone down to 4 days & hoping to take extended leave at 60 for a world "tour" seeing family etc. Also plan to downsize to somewhere cheap to run & with good transport links so we can ditch the car & cut our expenditure but live well.
I’m keenly aware that subsequent generations have a tougher time.
This.
I will probably end up working a fair bit longer than I could get away with, to support my kids.
I've just realised (yes, I'm slow) that it makes sense to continue to contribute to your pension after you've retired, e.g. by shifting money from other investments to a pension fund. Any thoughts on the best way to do that? Open a SIPP account maybe?
Would feel very selfish to turn down a good salary if you can see them struggling to get a foothold (where I had it easy.)
60 here and going down to 1 day/week from Jan and then 1day/2 weeks from April. As much as I love what I do I'm done with work. Will live off wife's pension until mine kicks in. Expect lots of DIY threads starting in 2 weeks time 🙂
your pension after you’ve retired, e.g. by shifting money from other investments to a pension fund. Any thoughts on the best way to do that? Open a SIPP account maybe?
Hmmm. Confused, tell me more.
What are you living on when you retire? If pension then bear in mind your annual contribution tax thingy will decrease by 90% if you start taking pension.
Hmmm. Confused, tell me more.
What are you living on when you retire? If pension then bear in mind your annual contribution tax thingy will decrease by 90% if you start taking pension.
I could be living on eg savings, or pensions that are not "flexibly accessed" {not 100% sure I understand what that means, but seems to allow receiving an annuity). Some info here:
https://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/insights/can-i-still-contribute-to-a-pension-after-retirement
To answer my own question, one good way looks like a SIPP account with Vanguard (if you like their funds).
To the people living on £8k a year - how do you factor the state pension in?
It's £9.5k a year - if you're under 67 are you expecting your income to double in a few years time? Or something else?
the wife and myself 57 and 58 years old, are living quite comfortably on 19k a year.
we also have a tidy lump sum in the bank, so by the time state pension comes along we will be a bit better off.
I was working on a very simplistic formula.
£300 a week till state pension age, then £100 a week to top up the state pension.
Plus, you will need a lump sum for emergency things, not £30k for a bathroom but new roof, central heating system, car (s), teeth etc. This is hard to judge, but its probably over £25k.
So £250,000 give or take in ppp's should see you stop in your 50's. If your not on a final salary sheme.
Surprised by some of the figures on here based on what I have read:
https://www.plsa.co.uk/press-centre/news/article/retirement-living-standards-updated-to-reflect-expectations-changed-by-lockdown-living
I guess these are figures from companies who want you to save! But they are saying for a comfortable living standard you need £33,600 a year for a single person and £49,700 for a couple.
I d expect to live like a king on 34k. Assume no debts I reckon 20k net is a decent standard of living as long as you have a cash pot to dip into for a new roof, car etc.
With utiliy prices as they are it's worth it leaving your boiler on frost protect and taking a winter rental somewhere warm.
Yeah that figure is for the 'comfortable' level and I imagine I'd certainly be pretty comfortable on that.