What is a good salary?

[Worsleyweb]

50% of my money goes on ex wives and kids and the current Mrs. I think i could happily live on a grand a week if it was just me to worry about. So 100k a year after tax is about £6k a month 20 x that - £2m pot and would be enough for anyone to live like a king really and never run out. I think once you get above £100k a year it makes negligible difference to you- you just become a **** or are able to help others out. The things i enjoy most - sitting on my arse, walking, watching football and swimming cost fuck all really.

My daughter is a nurse on 25k and clear £1600 a month ish after student loans etc - she woud not have a penny spare if i didn't sort her out.

I am going to go for 2 of you on £50k a year and you should be ok ish!

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

Yeah I was gonna say. If you really wanted to have a national pension scheme, then you would have people contribute to a compulsory savings scheme that is held and invested until they retire. Then you can trade in the savings for a certain level of pension. But what actually happened is people were promised a cut of future tax revenue in exchange for paying for current pensioners. And if the future tax revenues aren't enough to pay for all of the pensioners, it's ultimately not economically viable no matter how much you personally paid in. We could easily end up in a situation like most of the world where older generations get very limited government help and basically have to rely on family to pay for them in their old age. It costs me 20 quid every time I visit my wife's grandma, for example (and she has two).

Can you not just give Wayne their numbers ?

 

[halfmist]

Yeh I understand that mate but say you have a 100k pension pot and drawdown 10k a year
After the 25% tax free
Your gonna be taxed 20% on that drawdown
Effectively 2k of the state pension per year.
So you’re getting fuckall after paying 43 years of Nat insurance.
Of course they will argue these days it’s not just state pension it’s nhs etc but try get an operation these days it takes years.
Anyway I’m just ranting lol

But isn’t the other side of the argument that the Government of the day reduced the amount of tax you had to pay when you made the pension payments. Higher rate taxpayers saved 40% basic rate 20%. Chances are higher rate tax payers benefit the most because unless they have a fantastic pension or lots of other income they are only paying 20% when they draw but got 40% when they put in

 

[halfmist]

Simple.

1. Savings on Housing Benefit.
2. Rents from the tenants x 40 years (life of loan).

We used to do stuff like this without thinking about it. But then someone decided it was better to use public money - note, public money - to subsidise relatively wealthy and very wealthy private citizens instead.

As I said, most of my proposal is pure Thatcherism. What isn't is straightforward 1950s consensus politics, which gave us the best society humankind has ever created. Unlike the current shit tip, which is gradually turning into a damp and cold version of Brazil.

Well good luck persuading any politician to think about a 40 year plan when Electioneering. They would also have to borrow massive amounts to fund the capital projects you suggest which pushes the cost of borrowing up and mortgage costs, again not a vote winner.
Finally a lot of those on low cost/ subsidised rent housingcall it what you like are benefit claimants so economically your robbing Peter to pay Paul.

 

[halfmist]

I'm 35 and resigned to the fact there either won't be a state pension, or the age you can take it will be too late. I think the government effectively acknowledged this too when they brought in auto enrollment onto company pension schemes a few years back.

The younger generation (which I include myself) really need to ensure they are contributing a good amount of their salary or they will have to work until they die. But it's difficult when salaries are relatively low, and cost of living is high.

You’re definitely the loser but hopefully for you, fewer workers will mean higher wages and better conditions to cushion the blow

 

[halfmist]

50% of my money goes on ex wives and kids and the current Mrs. I think i could happily live on a grand a week if it was just me to worry about. So 100k a year after tax is about £6k a month 20 x that - £2m pot and would be enough for anyone to live like a king really and never run out. I think once you get above £100k a year it makes negligible difference to you- you just become a **** or are able to help others out. The things i enjoy most - sitting on my arse, walking, watching football and swimming cost fuck all really.

My daughter is a nurse on 25k and clear £1600 a month ish after student loans etc - she woud not have a penny spare if i didn't sort her out.

I am going to go for 2 of you on £50k a year and you should be ok ish!

Spot on, above a certain amount, unless there is a very expensive hobby to fund it just ends up getting saved or spent for spendings sake buying upgraded versions

 

[oldius]

50% of my money goes on ex wives and kids and the current Mrs. I think i could happily live on a grand a week if it was just me to worry about. So 100k a year after tax is about £6k a month 20 x that - £2m pot and would be enough for anyone to live like a king really and never run out. I think once you get above £100k a year it makes negligible difference to you- you just become a **** or are able to help others out. The things i enjoy most - sitting on my arse, walking, watching football and swimming cost fuck all really.

My daughter is a nurse on 25k and clear £1600 a month ish after student loans etc - she woud not have a penny spare if i didn't sort her out.

I am going to go for 2 of you on £50k a year and you should be ok ish!

1600 a month for a nurse with an average rent of 1188 a month. How we value people!

 

[RACHACE]

Me and the Mrs run a smallish business and do on average 3 - 4 days a week, I do more when I can as it keeps me out of her hair....We finish mid afternoon, no commute, 60 seconds away, no stress, great staff and very good customers. No mortgage since 2000, kids grown up and buggered off, nothing on tick and everything paid for. Well I say everything paid for, we do have a BTL type mortgage with about £40k to pay off on a holiday rental which we go to most winter weekends. We dont go short, we dont struggle either and dont spend a great deal but I'm sure we could find room for a larger salary but at my age I've stopped taking on the world in the vain hope of winning and spend my time just fucking about doing blokey things. We do this on about £50k between us.;

So what's a good salary?

 

[roach3]

I am afraid it’s always been like that as regards pensions whoever is in power.
It’s not all bad though, those paying in to a private pension will have had tax relief on the payments in and when the private pension pot is ready to pay out, 1/4 can be taken tax free.

Yeh I understand that mate but say you have a 100k pension pot and drawdown 10k a year
After the 25% tax free
Your gonna be taxed 20% on that drawdown
Effectively 2k of the state pension per year.
So you’re getting fuckall after paying 43 years of Nat insurance.
Of course they will argue these days it’s not just state pension it’s nhs etc but try get an operation these days it takes years.
Anyway I’m just ranting lol

 

[roach3]

But isn’t the other side of the argument that the Government of the day reduced the amount of tax you had to pay when you made the pension payments. Higher rate taxpayers saved 40% basic rate 20%. Chances are higher rate tax payers benefit the most because unless they have a fantastic pension or lots of other income they are only paying 20% when they draw but got 40% when they put in

Fair enough mate

 

[Tommy_Catons_Perm]

If only your last line was true !

Its a joke that you've paid in 43yrs and yet you will get no more than someone who has only paid in 35yrs. If you put more in, you should get more back out, even if those other 8yrs are at a reduced rate.

Depends how long one lives for.

If the contributor of 43 years was a woman who claimed state pension age at age 60 and died age 90 she will get a lot more "back" than a man who contributed for 35 years, claims state pension at age 68 and dies age 69.

The state pension is a form of Ponzi scheme.

 

[RACHACE]

Not read through the thread but my answer to the question that the OP asked is 50k with a joint household income of around 80k if your married, kids etc.

That should cover a nice house, running a decent car (or two), get you a couple of holidays a year, pay for all activities or hobbies all the family might have and save a few bob for the future.

I bet there are plenty however that most, if not all the above on less but I'd say that today 50k is what I'd consider a good salary.

 

[RACHACE]

Totally dependent on outgoings, as I’m sure has been said already.

The guy I know with the most disposable income hasn’t worked for years. Finished early on ill health. Has a couple of modest pensions and gets some PIP etc. But his outgoings are about £50 a week.

I work with other people who earn £70K, have wives in decent jobs and are still always crying poverty. Mainly because they insist on living in a castle and driving round in a tank that they pay extortionate amounts for each month.

And this is exactly why its a difficult, almost impossible question to answer.

It really depends on perspective. If your the type that has a genuine lack of interest in any expensive things then I'm sure you tootle by with a very modest salary and live comfortably in your bubble.

But if like most, you enjoy things like travelling, nice clothes, meals out etc then your going to struggle on a wage at the lower end of the scale, especially if you've got rent or a mortgage to pay. However, if your crying poverty whilst earning 70k a year then something has gone very wrong and there's a need to re evaluate.

 

[Kompany Car]

There are too many planks on here who think their NI contributions pay for their state pensions.
They don’t.
Their NI contributions pay for today’s pensioners.
To qualify for any state pension paid by tomorrow’s workers you need 10 years contributions yourself and 35 for a full state pension.

Its pays for more than just the pensions that are being drawn by the current crop of pensioners albeit that its the lions share of the £198Bn. It also covers maternity pay and job seekers allowance amongst other things. Plus if its in surplus at the end of the fiscal year it can be used by the government for other purposes such as paying down the national debt.

That said I do feel that those who contribute over an extended period beyond the minimum qualifying period for the full state pension should see at least a small reward for their extra efforts in supporting the nation, it just seems a bit more meritocratic.

 

[RACHACE]

I'm 35 and resigned to the fact there either won't be a state pension, or the age you can take it will be too late. I think the government effectively acknowledged this too when they brought in auto enrollment onto company pension schemes a few years back.

The younger generation (which I include myself) really need to ensure they are contributing a good amount of their salary or they will have to work until they die. But it's difficult when salaries are relatively low, and cost of living is high.

I don't know why but I always thought you were an FOC. 35!!! (No offence pal)

 

[Tuearts right boot]

So what's a good salary?

I suppose its what you need plus a bit for a rainy day. Difficult to put an actual figure on it because everyone's different. All down to needs and wants....

 

[RACHACE]

I suppose its what you need plus a bit for a rainy day. Difficult to put an actual figure on it because everyone's different. All down to needs and wants....

Trouble is that we don't all share the same perspective. One person's definition of 'the basics' could be another person's definition of living on the breadline or even poverty.

 

[Tuearts right boot]

Trouble is that we don't all share the same perspective. One person's definition of 'the basics' could be another person's definition of living on the breadline or even poverty.

So it's a hypothetical question, there is technically no definitive answer. I could earn 100k and spend 110k....I'm in the shit and the salary is shite, I could earn 40k and spend 30k, I'm in front and the salary is OK yet on the surface 100k is far better than 40k.

 

[oldius]

I don't think it is that difficult to make a reasonable starting point on this:

To be able to afford a mortgage on the average UK house - price 270k - repayment 1200 pm (250k mortgage)

Food per month - £300

Utilities and Council tax - 400 a month.

Insurance 100

As a starting point, that is 2000 a month net salary

That is for a single person.

 

[halfmist]

I don't think it is that difficult to make a reasonable starting point on this:

To be able to afford a mortgage on the average UK house - price 270k - repayment 1200 pm (250k mortgage)

Food per month - £300

Utilities and Council tax - 400 a month.

Insurance 100

As a starting point, that is 2000 a month net salary

That is for a single person.

What about alcohol, entertainment, transport, clothing, sky, mobile, holidays etc