State Pension Increases

[paulchapo]

I may not have been clear.

You're not paying into a state pension pot. Your NI is paying for the pensions of people who've stopped paying NI. The "small print" is that our sovereign UK parliament could stop paying pensions.

The first pensions were paid out of general taxation, National Insurance was to fund health and unemployment benefit and contribute to pensions (but will rely on future contributions from other people to fund yours).

This is out of date and I've no idea of the current situation, but this gives some clue:

How is the state pension funded and what if the cash runs out?

Cash reserves have plunged in the past few years and could come up short as soon as next year, forcing the Government to dip into money from general tax, says a report.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

I may not have been clear. I don't care about the semantics and I guess neither does anybody else. I stuck to the deal offered and got my reward. I'm not going to feel guilt shamed by you or any other fucker for taking it

 

[M18CTID]

Fair enough...

Council Tax - £1, 050
Electric - £800 (no gas)
Water - £450
Internet/Phone - £180
Car - £20 VED, £90 Insurance, Service and MOT £130. petrol £10 per month
Weekly shop - £50

Without adding it up precisely I think that comes to around £5,400 by my estimate, leaving me £600 per year for unexpected bills or frivolous purchases.

I spend my time walking, cycling (got a decent enough mountain bike and an ebike) bit of kite surfing, gardening, walking my mates dog. In the winter can quite happily spend all day reading or internetting in really shit weather.

I'm sorry if you only regard that as "existing" and you consider that I don't "have a life" because I have no interest in spending a fortnight sat in a bar in Ibiza or sat by the pool in some all inclusive hotel, or spend every opportunity traipsing around the Trafford Centre buying pointless shit I don't need, or showing off my PCP'd white Audi on my driveway.

Please do tell me what I'm doing wrong in my life or where my expenditure is inaccurate?

So you never go out for so much as a meal or a couple of pints, you never go to a football match, and you never go on holiday. And only £600 set aside each year for unexpected bills. Some life that, but whatever floats your boat

 

[Vic]

So the state pension should be 2 and 1/2 times more then?

That would need 2 and 1/2 times more people in work. And that's not going to happen with the capitalists wanting more unemployment.

 

[TonyColemansbagofapples]

Please do educate me on why my quality of life is so poor and why I should go back out working and earning to improve it rather than being retired at 48.

Presumably your life is much better than mine, can you give a few examples of how that's so...

Are you married? do you have children? grand children? If so, do you ever treat them, buy them presents?

What are your hobbies? Do you have any?

Xmas dinner. What do you do at Xmas? An impression of scrooge?

Have you any friends? Do they come to visit you, share a teabag maybe?

Do you pay for any medical treatment?

 

[Vic]

2023 Frugal Living Challenge

Welcome to the all new 2023 Frugal Living Challenge Join us here for year 16 of the Frugaldom challenge on MSE

forums.moneysavingexpert.com

 

[Phil1]

Please do educate me on why my quality of life is so poor and why I should go back out working and earning to improve it rather than being retired at 48.

Presumably your life is much better than mine, can you give a few examples of how that's so...

It’s great you’re retired at 48 but I’ve a feeling that 6k might need to be adjusted somewhat if you’re going to be around for another 35+ years.
Just one unexpected bill could quite easily wipe out a full years budget.
People are free to live their lives how they choose and it’s down to the individual to decide what makes them happy but like others say, that sounds like you’re barely existing, even if you’re getting a bit of fresh air.
Good luck to you.

 

[Nethermoor]

I think we can learn a lot from Midsommar

 

[jacko74]

Are you married? do you have children? grand children? If so, do you ever treat them, buy them presents?

What are your hobbies? Do you have any?

Xmas dinner. What do you do at Xmas? An impression of scrooge?

Have you any friends? Do they come to visit you, share a teabag maybe?

Do you pay for any medical treatment?

Where have I said that I support a wife and kids on £6k a year?

And if you're trying to suggest that an irrefutable definition of a happy, contented and successful life is being married with kids you might want to take a look at the divorce stats before embarrassing yourself any further.

I'm guessing you're not entirely familiar with the concept of subjectivity when it comes to defining what quality of life entails?

If you take the time to read earlier responses I've given quite a lot of detail about my hobbies and pass times.

Only this morning a friend called round to mine and let him have a whole can of coke and it had cost me to chill it in the fridge.

 

[paulchapo]

It’s great you’re retired at 48 but I’ve a feeling that 6k might need to be adjusted somewhat if you’re going to be around for another 35+ years.
Just one unexpected bill could quite easily wipe out a full years budget.
People are free to live their lives how they choose and it’s down to the individual to decide what makes them happy but like others say, that sounds like you’re barely existing, even if you’re getting a bit of fresh air.
Good luck to you.

I think he's wumming....at least I hope so.

 

[jacko74]

It’s great you’re retired at 48 but I’ve a feeling that 6k might need to be adjusted somewhat if you’re going to be around for another 35+ years.
Just one unexpected bill could quite easily wipe out a full years budget.
People are free to live their lives how they choose and it’s down to the individual to decide what makes them happy but like others say, that sounds like you’re barely existing, even if you’re getting a bit of fresh air.
Good luck to you.

I'd love to know what more I could be doing that elevates me from "barely existing"

Even when I was earning a lot more than £6k a year I never had any interest in holidays, always been a bit of a home body.
I have been a bit of petrol head in the past with numerous performance cars, but I've lost all interest in that now as the roads are so busy, pot holed and camera policed that driving for pleasure is no pleasure at all any more, plus most performance cars are just temperamental pains in the arse to live with.

I never think about how much elec/water/Internet I'm using so its not like I'm some kind of hyper frugalist.

£50 a week is plenty enough for reasonable quality food without having to resort to cheap own brand "value" shit.

I genuinely don't know how my life could be vastly improved even if I had treble my current expenditure available ( a figure which most people on here would still apparently regard as a poverty level income)