State pension: Britons urged not to rely on £185.15 sum for retirement | Personal Finance | Finance
What people receive in the state pension will vary according to their National Insurance record. However, the full new state pension sum is currently £185.15, rising by 3.1 percent from last year’s £175.20 sum.
Some will have put aside private pension savings for retirement, whereas others will be looking towards the state after contributing years of National Insurance.
Reddit user u/Comp_Sci_London questioned whether it was necessary to save for a pension now, or whether the state pension would be enough.
Writing last year, they stated the then full state pension of £175.20 per week seemed “insanely high”.
The user wrote: “As a student, you can find a place to rent for £100 per week in some parts of the country.
READ MORE: State pensioners to be £13,000 worse off as UK inflation soars
“I lived on £700 a month back when I was younger. The amount of sheer stress and worry it put on me caused me to have a mental breakdown.
“I would never wish that on a pensioner.”
While MediumRedButton remarked: “Ah, to be so young and fresh. Things you forgot cost money are council tax, phone bills, TV Licence, electricity, gas, water, internet and insurances.
“£175 is scarily little money to retire on, even if you are debt free and own a house, and that is not most people.”
Vegan_Sausage_Roll added: “Of course you could live on the state pension.
“But there’s a difference between just living and enjoying life.”
Lovely_Jam highlighted: “You can’t live a grand life for that. Not even close.
“You’ve got basic bills, transport, clothing, home repairs, emergencies, holidays, gifts, hobbies, entertainment and pets.
“And you’ve got that for the remainder of your life with no hope of it ever improving. No thank you.”
However, not all Britons seemed to agree with the sentiment that other savings were necessary for retirement.
Some suggested they could live off the state pension alone in retirement, albeit with a few sacrifices.
WriterPF said: “I spend less than £175 per week currently, and I am pretty happy.
“I don’t see why I couldn’t continue to live like that in retirement.”
While Lampett8 stated: “What are these people planning to do in retirement that they aren’t doing now? Do those things now.
“The only major things about a private pension are that the state pension could disappear, and early retirement is possible.”
According to the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), Britons are likely to need more than the state pension to get by in retirement.
The organisation states singletons will have to have at least £11,000 a year, but only if they want the minimum living standards in retirement.
Those hoping for a moderate lifestyle will need £21,000, and for those looking for a comfortable retirement, £34,000 is needed.
For couples, the figures are £17,000, £31,000 and £50,000 per year respectively.
if(typeof utag_data.ads.fb_pixel!==”undefined”&&utag_data.ads.fb_pixel==!0){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);fbq(‘init’,’568781449942811′);fbq(‘track’,’PageView’)}
