Author Topic: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?  (Read 6631 times)

vand

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How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« on: September 06, 2019, 09:15:09 AM »
If you go by FI principles, a full state pension is currently worth as much as a £220k stash..

Do you regard it as a bonus if you ever get it, or do you fully expect to receive it and therefore plan your private stash and retirement spending accordingly?

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I personally think things would have to get very bad for the SP to be axed or completely watered down, but it's inevitable that the SP age will be raised, it is not likely to keep up with inflation, and may be means tested in the future.

My plans don't hinge on the continuing existence of the SP, and hopefully the difference between having it and not having it wouldn't make that much of an impact to me.

All that said, £8.7k/year in today's money is not insignificant, and I'd feel pretty disappointed if I didn't eventually get my SP and free bus pass, having paid my share into the system over a working career.

tawyer

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2019, 10:07:22 AM »
I consider it to be another part of my diversified portfolio, each part of which has an uncertain future value.

Whenever the topic of state pensions or social security comes up on this forum I get the impression most posters don't count on it, which to me is logically inconsistent with relying upon the 4% rule: both are investments subject to future uncertainty and rely upon past performance as predicting future results.

All that said, although I count it, I tend to err on the more conservative side when it comes to expected investment growth.

shelivesthedream

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2019, 10:56:19 AM »
It's my "old person money" for when I don't have the health or energy to be as frugal as I can now. It's going to buy me ready meals and taxis and extra-comfy shoes when I'm old.

bownyboy

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #3 on: September 08, 2019, 04:19:30 AM »
It’s certainly factors into our plan. You can only plan with what data / assumptions you have now.

We assume she will get hers at 67 and me 68.

Before that it’s a combination drawing down from ISAs and Personal Pensions.

If things change, then they change and we adjust our plan accordingly.

vand

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2019, 12:28:24 AM »
I guess the more frugal you are naturally and the lower your absolute living costs, then the more meaningful the basic SP payout will be. The logical expression of this is that people who have no savings in retirement are completely dependent upon their SP.

Nonetheless, for someone aspiring to live on the UK average wage of £25k in retirement, the SP represents 34% of that amount - a huge chunk. I haven't done the maths to be sure, but in my estimation it could mean being able to withdrawal at 6% or more on your private stash. That moves the needle on the maths underpinning FI for most people..
« Last Edit: September 09, 2019, 12:39:22 AM by vand »

PhilB

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2019, 04:15:58 AM »
We're definitely counting on it as part of our plans, but at 53 and 55 we are a lot closer to it than many posters!  SP will be about 30% of our gross income.  The Triple Lock is clearly unsustainable so in my plans I assume it will just increase with inflation.  We sneak in at 67 on the latest proposed timetables, but I wouldn't be too surprised if that shifted to 68.  If I were in my twenties I'd still assume it would be there, but not until my mid 70s.

We are lucky enough to have about £10k each of DB pensions so those plus the SPs should give us a good income even if all our investments crash and burn.  If we didn't have those DBs, then I would almost certainly be planning to defer our SPs for several years to give more guaranteed income in old age - despite the reduction in the rate of increase in 2016 this is still far and away the cheapest way to buy 'guaranteed' income.

Linea_Norway

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2019, 07:06:16 AM »
We are guessing that our state pensions, plus extra old age pensions are high enough as they are currently, which is about half full. Ee only plan to finance the period towards the age where we can start to take out our pensions, that is 19-17 years. Therefore we are going to eat up our stash, not just the 4%. There is no point having the same amount of stash 19 years from now. By that time we count on having 0 left (in worst case), in addition to a mortgage free place to live.

shelivesthedream

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2019, 01:09:39 PM »
We are guessing that our state pensions, plus extra old age pensions are high enough as they are currently, which is about half full. Ee only plan to finance the period towards the age where we can start to take out our pensions, that is 19-17 years. Therefore we are going to eat up our stash, not just the 4%. There is no point having the same amount of stash 19 years from now. By that time we count on having 0 left (in worst case), in addition to a mortgage free place to live.

This is on the UK Tax Discussion, specifically referring to the UK state pension.

Kwill

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2019, 05:00:55 PM »
Basically I'm ignoring the state pension because it seems likely to be negligible in my case. I'm still a bit confused about the UK state pension, partly because it seems to be shifting in terms of number of years to qualify and the age you can take it. Also, there is a weird interaction with the US Social Security system for people with work years in both places, so even though I don't currently have ten qualifying years in either system, I do when they're combined. Student work doesn't count in the US, so most of the part-time jobs I had over years and years of grad school don't count for anything toward social security and thus also don't count toward the UK state pension. I started my career properly too late to ever qualify for the full pension based on 35 years. If only there were somewhere I could learn about saving for retirement... ha ha.

@Linea_Norway, as things currently stand, there's also some reciprocality between the UK and Norway if you ever move to the UK to work.

TacheTastic

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2019, 11:24:09 PM »
I am not sure at this point. I am 35, just finishing a degree and about to start full time work again. I don't imagine I will be able to draw it before the age of 70, but I am hopeful that it will exist. By that point, the youngest baby-boomer will be about 90, so I am thinking that the current pressure on our pension system could be easing. I know there are lots of other factors too.

I think my state pension will be a nice bonus on top of my work/private pension, but at this point it is too far away to think about with any certainty.



vand

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2019, 02:30:43 AM »
I am not sure at this point. I am 35, just finishing a degree and about to start full time work again. I don't imagine I will be able to draw it before the age of 70, but I am hopeful that it will exist. By that point, the youngest baby-boomer will be about 90, so I am thinking that the current pressure on our pension system could be easing. I know there are lots of other factors too.

I think my state pension will be a nice bonus on top of my work/private pension, but at this point it is too far away to think about with any certainty.

I think any expectation that the pressure on the system will ever ease due to changing demographics is rather naive and hopelessly optimistic. This will be true of virtually all the social programmes we currently support, especially public healthcare.



Manchester

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2019, 02:38:47 AM »
I'm so far away from receiving my state pension that I've not really thought about it's impact as yet.  I picture it as, hopefully, being a nice bonus to help guarantee my investments don't wither in the latter years of my life.  It's, hopefully, going to be a little bit of insurance, but nothing concrete on which I rely. 


TacheTastic

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2019, 02:26:41 PM »
I think any expectation that the pressure on the system will ever ease due to changing demographics is rather naive and hopelessly optimistic. This will be true of virtually all the social programmes we currently support, especially public healthcare.

Hopelessly optimistic sounds about right for me. I am even optimistic about my chances of retiring before state pension age, with a net worth of about £5k and starting a job in healthcare. Someone has to have hope for me! :D

poppydog

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2019, 10:03:19 AM »
The state pension definitely fits into our plans, but there again I guess I’m older than most people here.   I’ll get my SP in just over a year, and Mrs PD three years after that.  I don’t think there will be much change in policy in the short term.  We have a ring fenced cash sum that we are using to “pay” ourselves the after-tax equivalent of what we will get when they come on stream.

Our retirement income breaks down as follows:  state pension 20%; Defined benefit pensions from ex-employers 30%; and 50% from dividend income from our investments. 

Personally I think any government would be very ill advised to screw around with the SP; the grey vote is a powerful lobby.

Vashy

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #14 on: October 05, 2019, 10:38:42 AM »
EU citizen working in the UK (I have 15 years of working life in the UK and plan to retire in 5 years), but thanks to the Brexit stuff, my specific rights are completely up in the air, which means I'm planning to be totally self-sufficient.

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #15 on: October 06, 2019, 01:21:13 AM »
If you go by FI principles, a full state pension is currently worth as much as a £220k stash..


May i know how you arrive at the figure of 220K please?

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #16 on: October 06, 2019, 01:28:56 AM »
The UK full state pension is £168.60 a week. Multiply this by 52 weeks and then 25 to show the stash required for a similar income using a 4% withdrawal.

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #17 on: October 06, 2019, 06:15:44 AM »
The UK full state pension is £168.60 a week. Multiply this by 52 weeks and then 25 to show the stash required for a similar income using a 4% withdrawal.

Hmm...definitely an interesting way of "valuing" the state pension..

I always calculated it as a similar amount put into fixed deposit to derive the same amt..ie if the 1 year fixed rate is 1.5% , the "value" would be 168.6 *52/1.5% =
584 480...

Comments?

former player

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #18 on: October 06, 2019, 07:02:51 AM »
I suspect that there may be a correlation between being entitled to a UK state pension and being entitled to other benefits, either now or in the future - free NHS prescriptions could be a very valuable benefit, for instance.  So even if the amount of money in the pension is not significant, the entitlement to it could be.  I'm regarding an eventual State pension as a hedge against future inflation/costs of old age, but the side benefits look like they could be the real value.

Because of the EU rules against discrimination on grounds of nationality there are I think some benefits, like NHS care, that are given on grounds of residence rather than nationality - it's too difficult/expensive to separate out resident non-EU citizens to be worth it.  If those rules go away, I think we can expect eventually that some or all State benefits and NHS care will be limited to UK citizens,  or even to UK citizens who have their 35 years of social security contributions.  That won't be too pretty.

« Last Edit: October 06, 2019, 07:05:46 AM by former player »

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #19 on: October 06, 2019, 07:47:46 AM »
To be honest Ozlady I haven’t really ever looked at the State Pension in this way, I was just answering your question. I appreciate it is safer than a 4% withdrawal but I’m not sure I’d like to think of it as a pot worth over half a million as that may make me think I don’t need as much in my main stash. Like former player I tend to think of it as offsetting a bit of inflation if needed in later life.

PhilB

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #20 on: October 06, 2019, 10:26:47 AM »
free NHS prescriptions could be a very valuable benefit, for instance..
Not that valuable - in England £104 a year gets you a Prescription Prepayment Certificate and all prescriptions are then free.  It's not well publicised, but it's a great deal for anyone with a chronic condition.

PhilB

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #21 on: October 06, 2019, 10:30:30 AM »
To be honest Ozlady I haven’t really ever looked at the State Pension in this way, I was just answering your question. I appreciate it is safer than a 4% withdrawal but I’m not sure I’d like to think of it as a pot worth over half a million as that may make me think I don’t need as much in my main stash. Like former player I tend to think of it as offsetting a bit of inflation if needed in later life.
The best way to value it would probably be by reference to annuity rates for an index linked annuity with no guarantee period or spouse's pension.  The problem is that unless you are at retirement age you would then need to pick a suitable discount rate to work out the nPV.  ATEOTD it's fairly meaningless to try and ascribe a capital value, but don't let me stop anyone having fun trying!

frugledoc

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #22 on: October 06, 2019, 12:02:48 PM »
I wonder how people think they would means test the state pension?  In my view it already is means tested.  Higher earners pay the most for it and get the same as those that pay nothing.  Also in retirement the same higher earners are likely to be in a tax bracket where they have to pay 40% tax on it.   

I guess left wing politicians would call that fair, but to make it fairer tax should be 100% on it?

« Last Edit: October 06, 2019, 12:04:29 PM by frugledoc »

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #23 on: October 06, 2019, 06:32:52 PM »
To be honest Ozlady I haven’t really ever looked at the State Pension in this way, I was just answering your question. I appreciate it is safer than a 4% withdrawal but I’m not sure I’d like to think of it as a pot worth over half a million as that may make me think I don’t need as much in my main stash. Like former player I tend to think of it as offsetting a bit of inflation if needed in later life.
The best way to value it would probably be by reference to annuity rates for an index linked annuity with no guarantee period or spouse's pension.  The problem is that unless you are at retirement age you would then need to pick a suitable discount rate to work out the nPV.  ATEOTD it's fairly meaningless to try and ascribe a capital value, but don't let me stop anyone having fun trying!

So assuming someone is already at retirement age and eligible to State Pension NOW..what would you calculate the state pension to be worth then? Tks!

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #24 on: October 06, 2019, 07:16:04 PM »

Hmm...definitely an interesting way of "valuing" the state pension..

I always calculated it as a similar amount put into fixed deposit to derive the same amt..ie if the 1 year fixed rate is 1.5% , the "value" would be 168.6 *52/1.5% =
584 480...

Comments?

That's not how NPV is calculated.

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #25 on: October 06, 2019, 07:52:56 PM »

Hmm...definitely an interesting way of "valuing" the state pension..

I always calculated it as a similar amount put into fixed deposit to derive the same amt..ie if the 1 year fixed rate is 1.5% , the "value" would be 168.6 *52/1.5% =
584 480...

Comments?

That's not how NPV is calculated.

So how would you calculatet? what would be the $ amt please?


2Birds1Stone

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #26 on: October 06, 2019, 08:00:20 PM »
There are a ton of NPV calculators on the internet.

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #27 on: October 06, 2019, 08:16:40 PM »
Hmm...you mean this?

https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/financial/net-present-value-calculator.php


Assumptions: 1. retire at 57 NOW with age expectancy 30 years to receive State Pension of 8736 pounds annually

                     2. the discount rate (or interest rate) i have used a conservative 1.75% rate as once you retire , you may be very conservative and put it into a fixed deposit:)

 NPV of a state pension is $202 551  ...
« Last Edit: October 06, 2019, 08:18:24 PM by Ozlady »

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #28 on: October 06, 2019, 09:06:43 PM »
I wonder how people think they would means test the state pension?  In my view it already is means tested.  Higher earners pay the most for it and get the same as those that pay nothing.  Also in retirement the same higher earners are likely to be in a tax bracket where they have to pay 40% tax on it.   

I guess left wing politicians would call that fair, but to make it fairer tax should be 100% on it?


By some quirk of fate, DH and i find ourselves entitled to a UK State pension having lived and worked there when we were younger...

But in Australia, we are not entitled to a State Pension as our assets are means tested...although we have spent the majority of our working years here ...

Go figure!

Footnote: and on a "weirder" note, we also discovered we were entitled to a private defined benefit pension ...Dh worked there only for 4 years in his 20s...and because he had forgotten to cash it out, it had compounded to 300K :) now this is called DUMB LUCK!

shelivesthedream

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #29 on: October 07, 2019, 02:08:11 AM »
Hmm...you mean this?

https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/financial/net-present-value-calculator.php


Assumptions: 1. retire at 57 NOW with age expectancy 30 years to receive State Pension of 8736 pounds annually

                     2. the discount rate (or interest rate) i have used a conservative 1.75% rate as once you retire , you may be very conservative and put it into a fixed deposit:)

 NPV of a state pension is $202 551  ...

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that. I don't think that's a reasonable assumption to make at all.

Ozlady

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #30 on: October 07, 2019, 03:08:41 AM »
Hmm...you mean this?

https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/financial/net-present-value-calculator.php


Assumptions: 1. retire at 57 NOW with age expectancy 30 years to receive State Pension of 8736 pounds annually

                     2. the discount rate (or interest rate) i have used a conservative 1.75% rate as once you retire , you may be very conservative and put it into a fixed deposit:)

 NPV of a state pension is $202 551  ...

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that. I don't think that's a reasonable assumption to make at all.

Then how would you calculate it please? (for my own education)

vand

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #31 on: October 08, 2019, 03:23:00 AM »
Hmm...you mean this?

https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/financial/net-present-value-calculator.php


Assumptions: 1. retire at 57 NOW with age expectancy 30 years to receive State Pension of 8736 pounds annually

                     2. the discount rate (or interest rate) i have used a conservative 1.75% rate as once you retire , you may be very conservative and put it into a fixed deposit:)

 NPV of a state pension is $202 551  ...

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that. I don't think that's a reasonable assumption to make at all.

Then how would you calculate it please? (for my own education)

I would not get too hung up on exactly how you would calculate it.

The whole thing about most social security systems is that they are unfunded liabilities. You cannot apply traditional valuation techniques to them because its just redistributed from the current tax intake. There's no investment pot; current beneficiaries are being funded directly from current workers' contributions. If those stop, or are not enough to sustain the current payouts then the whole system will fall apart. That's why it's a ponzi scheme.

former player

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #32 on: October 08, 2019, 03:42:13 AM »
That's why it's a ponzi scheme.
The whole of the modern economic system is a ponzi scheme.  Mother Earth is starting to call it due.

shelivesthedream

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #33 on: October 08, 2019, 04:19:21 AM »
I also wouldn't bother calculating stash equivalent. The point of the stash is not the total value, it's the expected annual income. Either you're close enough to the state pension that you know what the income will be, or you're far away enough that it's sufficiently uncertain to not be a major factor in your plans.

So my simple calculation would be:

Expenses - expected state pension = required stash income
Required stash income x 25 = required stash

Which would not assume that at any point I put the entire stash into a super-conservative fixed-rate deposit account but rather kept the same sensible balance of stocks and bonds that I would at any age. (Caveat: I'm 29 now, but sometime between 60 and 70 I plan to buy an annuity with some of my stash in order to simplify my day-to-day life as I age.)

PhilB

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #34 on: October 08, 2019, 07:36:45 AM »
Seen from age 29, "sometime between 60 and 70" must seem really ancient, but it's still very early for buying an annuity and getting good value.  75+ would probably make more sense today.  Who knows what will be a reasonable age by the time you get there!

shelivesthedream

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #35 on: October 08, 2019, 08:08:12 AM »
Seen from age 29, "sometime between 60 and 70" must seem really ancient, but it's still very early for buying an annuity and getting good value.  75+ would probably make more sense today.  Who knows what will be a reasonable age by the time you get there!

Hah, not really! I chose it specifically because it's pre-ancient. That's how old my parents are. Getting on a bit, but still perfectly competent to make complex financial decisions and not have a complex about how old you are (or not). I'd want to have it sorted well before I started to struggle with anything.

PhilB

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #36 on: October 08, 2019, 09:26:26 AM »
Seen from age 29, "sometime between 60 and 70" must seem really ancient, but it's still very early for buying an annuity and getting good value.  75+ would probably make more sense today.  Who knows what will be a reasonable age by the time you get there!

Hah, not really! I chose it specifically because it's pre-ancient. That's how old my parents are. Getting on a bit, but still perfectly competent to make complex financial decisions and not have a complex about how old you are (or not). I'd want to have it sorted well before I started to struggle with anything.
But surely you will have brought up Baby SLTD to be a complete financial whizz and she will be able to manage your portfolio for you? ;o)

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #37 on: October 10, 2019, 05:53:03 AM »
I'm some way off the state pension (currently 36), and I guess that the age will have climbed from 68 to 70 by the time I get to take it.

Given the amount of time between now and eligibility I expect that the dimensions of it will have changed by the time I retire, and that makes it a difficult eventuality to plan for. My guess would be that they will eventually find some way to means-test SP eligibility, meaning that "wealthy" people like me who have been "lucky" to have a private pension will have a reduced eligibility will have some form of reduction. Of course that's all entirely hypothetical, but it makes it a difficult one to plan in given how long off it is.

Current planning is to be FIRE-ready on ISAs and taxable investments by the age of 50. State pension isn't factored into the plan, and at the current reckoning, doesn't need to be.

PhilB

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #38 on: October 10, 2019, 09:47:21 AM »
I'm some way off the state pension (currently 36), and I guess that the age will have climbed from 68 to 70 by the time I get to take it.

Given the amount of time between now and eligibility I expect that the dimensions of it will have changed by the time I retire, and that makes it a difficult eventuality to plan for. My guess would be that they will eventually find some way to means-test SP eligibility, meaning that "wealthy" people like me who have been "lucky" to have a private pension will have a reduced eligibility will have some form of reduction. Of course that's all entirely hypothetical, but it makes it a difficult one to plan in given how long off it is.

Current planning is to be FIRE-ready on ISAs and taxable investments by the age of 50. State pension isn't factored into the plan, and at the current reckoning, doesn't need to be.
Means testing the SP would be so difficult I just can't see it happening.  Not because of upsetting the grey vote, but because mean's testing would drive inappropriate behaviours such as not saving yourself (no incentive if clawed back by means test) or blowing your funds early on so that you can claim anyway (big problem with current Australian system).
What I could see them doing though is clawing a good chunk of it back via tax for high earning pensioners.  Structured properly that could avoid all those problems and also be a better means than LTA of limiting the amount of tax benefit high earners can get for pensions. 

shelivesthedream

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #39 on: October 10, 2019, 10:48:10 AM »
Seen from age 29, "sometime between 60 and 70" must seem really ancient, but it's still very early for buying an annuity and getting good value.  75+ would probably make more sense today.  Who knows what will be a reasonable age by the time you get there!

Hah, not really! I chose it specifically because it's pre-ancient. That's how old my parents are. Getting on a bit, but still perfectly competent to make complex financial decisions and not have a complex about how old you are (or not). I'd want to have it sorted well before I started to struggle with anything.
But surely you will have brought up Baby SLTD to be a complete financial whizz and she will be able to manage your portfolio for you? ;o)

This is so, but ToddlerSLTD and BabySLTD will be busy managing their own portfolios and living their own fabulous lives. And I don't want to burden them with me getting all old and crazy and suspicious as I age. (My family can live a loooooong time in acceptable-but-not-amazing mental and physical health.)

londonstache

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Re: How does the State Pension factor into your plans?
« Reply #40 on: October 11, 2019, 07:42:35 AM »
I'm some way off the state pension (currently 36), and I guess that the age will have climbed from 68 to 70 by the time I get to take it.

Given the amount of time between now and eligibility I expect that the dimensions of it will have changed by the time I retire, and that makes it a difficult eventuality to plan for. My guess would be that they will eventually find some way to means-test SP eligibility, meaning that "wealthy" people like me who have been "lucky" to have a private pension will have a reduced eligibility will have some form of reduction. Of course that's all entirely hypothetical, but it makes it a difficult one to plan in given how long off it is.

Current planning is to be FIRE-ready on ISAs and taxable investments by the age of 50. State pension isn't factored into the plan, and at the current reckoning, doesn't need to be.
Means testing the SP would be so difficult I just can't see it happening.  Not because of upsetting the grey vote, but because mean's testing would drive inappropriate behaviours such as not saving yourself (no incentive if clawed back by means test) or blowing your funds early on so that you can claim anyway (big problem with current Australian system).
What I could see them doing though is clawing a good chunk of it back via tax for high earning pensioners.  Structured properly that could avoid all those problems and also be a better means than LTA of limiting the amount of tax benefit high earners can get for pensions.

Aye, that makes more sense and removes the problems you've highlighted. I'm still planning as if it doesn't exist, only because presumably the government aren't entirely happy with some pensioners now living a reasonably gold-plated existence. My guess would be this will have completely changed when my generation retires based largely on 5% auto-contributions, and finding it doesn't quite stretch.