I love this! I'm 67 and have a small pension from my teaching career and my state pension; because we want to spend the money we've worked for (I love my kids, but don't intend to leave everything to them and not live my life) we sold our house, cars and pretty much everything else, had a narrow boat built and we live on that. We're now actively trying to spend our money by having adventures, rather than sitting on a pile of it. Eat the cake, have fun and let each day evolve as it will 🙂
I've been pondering the same thing. And my rough conclusion is to find some kind of halfway house where I save some money so if I live to an age where I can no longer work I have something to pay the bills, and to also spend money on experiences and fun and enjoy my life as it happens. If I think too much about the state of the world now and how awful it could get in the future and who will advocate for me the way I and my siblings did for our parents… I get freaked out so I try not to!
I can't help with the world ending scenarios but the others I have a point of view.
Yes, you might die tomorrow entirely possible. One of my parents died in their forties and that's one of the reasons I immediately got a pension when I started working and life insurance when I got a mortgage.
If you die before you're pensionable age then your spouse (or partner) gets 50% of your pension, your children get some whilst in education. Obviously if you are single then that might not be motivating but perhaps you'll have a significant other in future. If you have life insurance (not through work) anyone can be the beneficiary.
The other possibility and the one that is probably more important to consider is you don't die but you're in bad health and can't work then what does your situation look like? A pension would allow you to retire with ill health and give you an income.
Fundamentally I don't want to be a burden on others and I know that state pension is not enough and that private care homes are expensive should I need one.
Honestly I'd advise getting an independent financial adviser to talk through options at least so you can understand what your future may look like in different scenarios taking all your assets into account.
On the point about young people caring about these things, the great thing is if you start putting money away young your lifestyle is adapted to your income net of pension and savings so it's not as arduous as if in mid life you realise you need to save more and therefore having to cut back.
To find out more about how to find a financial adviser follow the advice on moneysavingexpert.com. You can't go far wrong following Martin Lewis' words of wisdom.
I'm with you in the non-planning stance Marianne. I can't think about things like pensions either (even though I'm now 51). As I read your post, I couldn't help relating it to the nervous system - the planners are the ones who default to fight/flight (action), while us non-planners are likely the ones whose nervous systems default to the dorsal vagal branch (checking out/numbing) in the face of doom 🙃
When you're 90 in a Nursing Home wearing incontinent pants are you going to say, I'm really glad I never ate that £3.50 Danish? I don't think so either. Eat The Cake.
I'm so with you on the no-planning, I was thinking about it yesterday and I'm married to a planner, at least financially. He is also the son of a financial advise. I am most definitely not. I too can't plan a holiday or anything in advance and then wail that I haven't done all the things I want to do and it's because I leave it too late, or never quite get round to it. Ditto pensions. I mean I have them accidentally because I've worked for a few companies that offered them when I signed on the dotted line but I have very little in the way of savings and they tend to go the wya of the taxman or on a holiday when I do manage it. We have our bricks and mortar though so I take comfort in that financially. I occasionally have panicky moments about all of this but then I calm down, go for a walk, grab the coffee, pick up the book, watch Netflix. I'm 53 and this is definitely one area of my life where I still feel like a child.
I ask myself this all the time. I have a pension, and I have some savings, both of which I'm very grateful for. But if we're going to go into WWIII in a few years, and an asteroid might hit the earth anyway, am I better off just enjoying the time I have now? Both are invested - surely the stockmarket will fall off a cliff and be worthless? Should I just get it all out and buy some gold?
Anyway. The questions go round and round and I do nothing about it. I've basically decided that if the world is going to end, I won't need the money because I 100% won't survive any kind of war or apocalypse, and if the world isn't going to end, I probably will need it, so it's staying in there.
I’m the opposite and find more joy in planning and anticipating things than actually doing them 😂 As for pensions etc. a small amount automatically goes into a few different things every month and I spend the rest of my money in the here and now 😁
Love this, Marianne. I realised my anxiety/control was out of hand when I did finally start a pension...I have absolutely zero money left for anything nice and it is bullshit. This also put me in mind of what Elizabeth Gilbert's partner Rayya did when her illness became terminal - she'd been clean for years and went back to getting high - I think I need a tighter deadline than Pinchbeck's ten years to really let go!!!!!!
I'm having the same quandary. Scared about money and my future but also, are we all going to die soon anyway? And as I'm planning to move, should I find somewhere on high ground? Love your article though I have more questions than answers, you e confirmed that maybe I'm not just overthinking and paranoid after all 😨
I don’t worry so much that the world will end, but I don’t seem to have the foresight to sort out my pension situation. I have moved around quite a lot due to my husband previously being in the military. I took a lot of temporary work, some of which was so short term, there was no point in joining the pension scheme. I have a few tiny pensions dotted about that I am slowly taking control of and transferring into one pot that will just about fund my coffee/pastry habit 😬🤣
I love this! I'm 67 and have a small pension from my teaching career and my state pension; because we want to spend the money we've worked for (I love my kids, but don't intend to leave everything to them and not live my life) we sold our house, cars and pretty much everything else, had a narrow boat built and we live on that. We're now actively trying to spend our money by having adventures, rather than sitting on a pile of it. Eat the cake, have fun and let each day evolve as it will 🙂
yesssssss!
Yeah, BUT , if you had secret notice that the world was going to end next year and you had a pension, you could cash it in and do stuff?
Very good point!
Not if you were under 55 you couldn't... that's how they work!
I've been pondering the same thing. And my rough conclusion is to find some kind of halfway house where I save some money so if I live to an age where I can no longer work I have something to pay the bills, and to also spend money on experiences and fun and enjoy my life as it happens. If I think too much about the state of the world now and how awful it could get in the future and who will advocate for me the way I and my siblings did for our parents… I get freaked out so I try not to!
This. This is exactly what I was about to write (and now don’t need to).
Happy to help! 😄Although following yesterday’s outrageous behaviour by the so called us leader I’m wondering if savings will be needed at all
Yep, with you there too 💔
I can't help with the world ending scenarios but the others I have a point of view.
Yes, you might die tomorrow entirely possible. One of my parents died in their forties and that's one of the reasons I immediately got a pension when I started working and life insurance when I got a mortgage.
If you die before you're pensionable age then your spouse (or partner) gets 50% of your pension, your children get some whilst in education. Obviously if you are single then that might not be motivating but perhaps you'll have a significant other in future. If you have life insurance (not through work) anyone can be the beneficiary.
The other possibility and the one that is probably more important to consider is you don't die but you're in bad health and can't work then what does your situation look like? A pension would allow you to retire with ill health and give you an income.
Fundamentally I don't want to be a burden on others and I know that state pension is not enough and that private care homes are expensive should I need one.
Honestly I'd advise getting an independent financial adviser to talk through options at least so you can understand what your future may look like in different scenarios taking all your assets into account.
On the point about young people caring about these things, the great thing is if you start putting money away young your lifestyle is adapted to your income net of pension and savings so it's not as arduous as if in mid life you realise you need to save more and therefore having to cut back.
To find out more about how to find a financial adviser follow the advice on moneysavingexpert.com. You can't go far wrong following Martin Lewis' words of wisdom.
I'm with you in the non-planning stance Marianne. I can't think about things like pensions either (even though I'm now 51). As I read your post, I couldn't help relating it to the nervous system - the planners are the ones who default to fight/flight (action), while us non-planners are likely the ones whose nervous systems default to the dorsal vagal branch (checking out/numbing) in the face of doom 🙃
When you're 90 in a Nursing Home wearing incontinent pants are you going to say, I'm really glad I never ate that £3.50 Danish? I don't think so either. Eat The Cake.
I'm so with you on the no-planning, I was thinking about it yesterday and I'm married to a planner, at least financially. He is also the son of a financial advise. I am most definitely not. I too can't plan a holiday or anything in advance and then wail that I haven't done all the things I want to do and it's because I leave it too late, or never quite get round to it. Ditto pensions. I mean I have them accidentally because I've worked for a few companies that offered them when I signed on the dotted line but I have very little in the way of savings and they tend to go the wya of the taxman or on a holiday when I do manage it. We have our bricks and mortar though so I take comfort in that financially. I occasionally have panicky moments about all of this but then I calm down, go for a walk, grab the coffee, pick up the book, watch Netflix. I'm 53 and this is definitely one area of my life where I still feel like a child.
I ask myself this all the time. I have a pension, and I have some savings, both of which I'm very grateful for. But if we're going to go into WWIII in a few years, and an asteroid might hit the earth anyway, am I better off just enjoying the time I have now? Both are invested - surely the stockmarket will fall off a cliff and be worthless? Should I just get it all out and buy some gold?
Anyway. The questions go round and round and I do nothing about it. I've basically decided that if the world is going to end, I won't need the money because I 100% won't survive any kind of war or apocalypse, and if the world isn't going to end, I probably will need it, so it's staying in there.
I’m the opposite and find more joy in planning and anticipating things than actually doing them 😂 As for pensions etc. a small amount automatically goes into a few different things every month and I spend the rest of my money in the here and now 😁
Love this, Marianne. I realised my anxiety/control was out of hand when I did finally start a pension...I have absolutely zero money left for anything nice and it is bullshit. This also put me in mind of what Elizabeth Gilbert's partner Rayya did when her illness became terminal - she'd been clean for years and went back to getting high - I think I need a tighter deadline than Pinchbeck's ten years to really let go!!!!!!
Let’s just hang out in our old age and be skint together!
Magnificent, as always
I'm having the same quandary. Scared about money and my future but also, are we all going to die soon anyway? And as I'm planning to move, should I find somewhere on high ground? Love your article though I have more questions than answers, you e confirmed that maybe I'm not just overthinking and paranoid after all 😨
I don’t worry so much that the world will end, but I don’t seem to have the foresight to sort out my pension situation. I have moved around quite a lot due to my husband previously being in the military. I took a lot of temporary work, some of which was so short term, there was no point in joining the pension scheme. I have a few tiny pensions dotted about that I am slowly taking control of and transferring into one pot that will just about fund my coffee/pastry habit 😬🤣
Couldn’t love this more! One of my best friends had a stonking great NHS pension and died at 57. Live. Now!
What else, indeed? Thanks for this. I am like you. I think a lot of professional writers are because we have to be.