A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

  Back on 20th October, I posted an entry here referring to my broken house, my broken car and mused over whether I could be broken too.  By way of update, garage number one was unable to fix my car and in desperation I took it to the specialists at garage number two. They assure me they know what's wrong and a day's minor surgery should have Miss Scarlet back on the road again. Of course bad news followed the good in the form of the quotation. I'm not yet broken, but I shall be broke!  

  We returned from a journey through Portugal in time to vote on Thursday. It was our first foreign trip in over a year (because of that dreadful house issue) and I have to say it took a while to acclimatise ourselves once again to the challenges of travelling. When I say acclimatise there were no problems on the weather front, discounting rain on 5 days but we had at least gone prepared with waterproofs. Now I know a year had elapsed, but I'm confident that on our previous ventures, save for a small purse of euros, we have managed our funds by way of one of those credit cards that promises a live exchange rate and no transaction fees. Starting in Lisbon, it wasn't long before we came across bars and cafes where cash was king. Of course, that should not have been a problem as, armed with a Santander debit card, we are promised cash withdrawals from the Bank's ATMs again free of charges and with the live exchange rate. Even better, Google Maps confirmed any number of Santand...

  In a pique of organisation, I actually completed and submitted my tax return a few days ago. It avoided my usual rush before the 31st January deadline and is making me feel very smug indeed. Whilst accessing my online tax account, I thought I would take a peep at the National Insurance section and double-check that all is in order for payment of my state pension when I finally become entitled in a little over 4 months' time. Assurances by my financial advisor after I made a voluntary contribution at his suggestion and an official forecast several years ago suggested that I shall receive a full state pension at what has been an ever shifting qualification age.  I confess that I had never explored the record in much depth, relying instead on professional advice and the calculations undertaken by the government and sent to me by letter. With hindsight, I perhaps should have left things to rest there. However, when taking a glance (and breathing a sigh of relief that all still r...

  The state-pension triple lock has featured in media debate in recent weeks with speculation as to whether or not the Government is genuinely committed to maintaining it or not. Some politicians of course are not reticent in putting forward arguments for its abolition. I am a member of the cohort who, because of changes in Government policy, was denied her state pension at first 60, then with relatively short notice at 62 as well. Luckily, I am now growing in confidence that it might actually start to be paid when I attain 66; those only slightly younger than myself must wait until 67. Whether the pension, which we now have to work longer to earn in full, will be worth a realistic sum going forward, is of course dependent on the Government's commitment to the lock. There are those who argue that the country cannot afford the increases it guarantees and whereby the state pension rises annually in line with inflation, average wage growth or 2.5% whichever is the greater. What they o...

    I am not sure that any of us likes change. Set in our ways, it can be experienced as extremely disruptive. Of late we have had several changes of occupant on our road and after years of being used to the rhythm of previous neighbours, it does take some getting used to. There are now people who park in the street where the residents before were accustomed to putting their cars on the drive. Then there are those who light up a barbecue at the slightest whiff of sunshine, adding a certain "je ne sais quoi" to the scent of my washing drying on the line. Grass mowing hours have altered and there are even owners' cats to contend with, as they seek to extend their territory into our garden.  I hope none of my readers likes garden gnomes. To be fair none of our new inhabitants have yet gone so far as to install any but we do find the lifesize model deer furnishing a nearby front porch something of a novelty. However, today a Christmas wreath has appeared on the front door so ...

  I noticed that some of the newspapers have reported on figures recently published by Public Health England suggesting that, deprived of their friendship groups, the retired are turning to alcohol for comfort during the pandemic. Apparently we need something to spend all the money we are saving as a consequence of being deprived of holidays and eating out. Constrained, lonely and flush with cash we are hitting the bottle! Speak for yourself (hic..) but it must be a trend that has passed me by. I confess that back in March,  lockdown did seem a little like the beginning of a long holiday, meaning that Mister E and I perhaps cracked open a bottle of wine on a school night or two. However, we quickly realised that we were potentially in the clutches of the epidemic for the longer term and the novelty soon wore off. In any event a more detailed analysis of the figures suggests that the percentage of the over 55's who admit to drinking more is actually a minority, so perhaps I'm n...

Stay at home, exercise and raise funds for a good cause all at the same time. Sounds too good to be true? Well it's not as difficult as it sounds after Joe Wicks this morning announced that the revenue his PE sessions are generating from advertising he's donating to the NHS. To be honest 10 days ago I hadn't even heard of Joe Wicks, The Body Coach. Why would I when I have a gym membership? However, in a desperate attempt for some guidance and motivation during living room based training sessions, a search on YouTube for fitness instruction, quickly brought his videos to the top of the list.  Yesterday I did a HIIT class with him (well not really, he was on the television screen and I was obeying instructions to stay at home and exercise). I confess the sweat poured and my heart rate rose as  intended . Towards the end, he did tell me my legs would ache this morning but I laughed it off. Well it seems the laugh was on me after all, when I mastered my first de...

  Image by MasterTux from Pixabay Many moons ago, I took out a life assurance policy. It was intended to ensure that in the event of my premature demise, funds were paid into the family coffers to offset the loss of my earned income. Notwithstanding my retirement and the fact that both the eldest and youngest are now financially independent of us,  I have maintained the premiums assiduously. The policy has another 3-4 years to run at which point it matures with no refund of premiums or any other benefit to me. I have been conscious that it can, therefore, be viewed as simply paying money into a dark hole from which only the insurance company is likely to gain. On the other hand, cancelling it has always felt a little like tempting fate. I'd like to think that I'm not particularly superstitious, except regard for Sod's Law suggests that I am, and which, thinking about it, is perhaps the driving force for any insurance policy. Maybe, considering yesterday's...

Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay In retirement I try not to stress, but there are occasions when I have no control over the dilemma presented. Tax Returns are one of my biggest bugbears, although I am relieved to say that I have today completed and submitted that due by 31st January. I don't understand why but, after double and triple checking, I always end up pressing "Send" with a foreboding sense of fear rather than relief. I'm not sure if I'm of a nervous disposition, an eternal pessimist or simply paying for a criminal history in a previous life. Regardless of the reason, my dealings with the Tax Office, which to give it its due is always very polite and helpful, are enough to instil a medieval fear of hellfire and brimstone. Take for instance last month. At the end of November I received a letter saying that the tax return that I had signed on behalf of the eldest (who still resides in New Zealand) and had submitted in plenty of time for the d...

Well today we finally switched electricity suppliers. Yes until now we have been those apathetic people who have never changed, considering the concept a little too tiresome to bother ourselves with. Oh my, don't those utility companies love loyal customers to whom they don't even have to promote themselves to rip them off? So much for brand loyalty; we have probably ended up paying more than we needed to for several years. Of course things were simpler in the days of nationalised suppliers but those days are long since past and Mister E and I have finally found the time in retirement to catch up with the competitive market place. Consequently we have signed up for a fixed term rate at both a lower daily charge and unit rate than previously and even better the supplier claims to reinvest in green energy. What's more, and whilst at some 2,600 kwh a year we apparently use less electricity than the average home (despite a tendency to use both a dishwasher and tumb...

In the drop down menu for this blog there is a subject index revealing the list of topics that I have covered over what is now almost 5 years. The index is so much part of the furniture that I rarely look at it. Today, when I did, I was surprised to see that money, surely one of the most important features of any person's retirement, has hardly featured. Now I know that I am solely responsible for this blog's content but I am intrigued as to the reason for its apparent exclusion.  Just as in every other period of life, there is no such thing as a magic money tree in retirement. Consequently we do trot along to see a financial adviser when asked and even allow ourselves to discuss inflation and interest rates occasionally, but no it is not something I have blogged about. Is that because it's a boring subject? Probably not, going on the number of blogs out there proffering financial advice for retirement.  Instead I can only attribute it to a feat of growi...

Yesterday Mister E and I had a brief mosey along Northallerton High Street, closed to traffic as it celebrated the 1940's . With live music, albeit an empty dance floor on the pavement in front, bomb disposal experts, an array of vintage and classic vehicles in use in the 1940's, GI brides, nurses with babies in prams and shops with themed windows it was a unique transformation. Coupled with a blue sky, it certainly seemed to have brought the crowds out. Too often and too close to home we hear about shops closing and the difficulties faced by retailers with competition from online sales, increased business rates and the limited spending power of consumers as their wages stagnate and austerity, coupled with the impending effect of Brexit, continues. I'm sure demographics must be playing a part too, as more and more of us leave the workplace and move into retirement leaving impulse purchasing behind. Setting aside the whole issue of fostering nostalgia fo...

No I have not flown to the USA today but I may well have done. It is the youngest who has gone but I am fast discovering in retirement that I seem to do far more than ever for my children despite the fact that they are technically both now adults. No doubt if therefore they had asked me to wing my way across the Atlantic, I would have had a go. The youngest, however, is spending a year studying at the University of Texas in Austin and there have been some frantic preparations going on of late, aggravated by culturally-different (better described as indifferent) bureaucracy.  For instance amongst the list of "must-haves" was a certificate to evidence that either you have been innoculated against or are not carrying tuberculosis. Has anyone ever tried to acquire such a certificate in the UK where the disease has been eradicated to the point where the dreaded BCG vaccination was abandoned several years ago on the basis that it was unnnecessary? Certainly the doctor...

So many people feel they cannot afford to retire and whilst this may be true for some, there are others who have not done the maths. Before Mister E and I decided to take the plunge, we felt that it was important that we worked out the extent of our expenditure as opposed simply to an income and savings forecast. We accordingly tracked and broke down our spending, then, satisfied that the kind of retirement we sought was indeed an affordable option, jumped in. We have continued to analyse our expenditure and, as we anticipated, in retirement spend less on some areas (primarily car expenses and clothing) and more on others (travel, leisure and incidental costs in particular). Surprisingly utility bills which we had assumed might increase significantly with our daily presence have not done so, presumably offset by our various absences. The most important thing, however, is that by now knowing what we use our money for, we are in control and, sh...

M y accountant has drawn my attention to a report published by Aviva . Not only does it stress that we tend to underestimate our life-expectancy but also that savers are likely to live longer than non-savers.  I suppose it is just as well that it is not the other way round or there would presumably be a real problem for non-savers when their funds run out. At face value it is, of course, strange that there should be a correlation between saving and life term. I assume however that those who save also live a healthier life generally than those who don't, perhaps predicated by their wealth or alternatively by deliberate life choices in all areas. Pre-disposition or choices; nature or nurture; family values or education; innate intelligence or robust common-sense.  No doubt scientists will find a gene that governs both traits in due course. In the meantime, just point me in the direction of a piggy bank.

Mister E and I went to the ARC in Stockton on Tees last night to be entertained by Andy Parsons. At one point  when he began to describe the conundrum that is life,  I thought that he may have put his routine together especially for us. He maintained that there are three facets to enjoying life, namely: money, time and health. He submitted, however, that regrettably there never seems to be a stage of life when we have all three. At that point he honed in to emphasise that, whilst in retirement people may have a bit more money than earlier in their lives and oodles of time, their bodies are spent!  Wow - such serious stuff that there I was, in the middle of a comedian's show, seriously thinking about the work-out I must do at the gym the following morning.

I hate small-print, which for somebody who, so many would say, used to make a living out of writing it, is probably a little strong. Nevertheless even a trip to the supermarket reduces me to a state of  irritation in the face of all those 2 for 1 offers and bargain items, half of which are not what they seem when you can find something in the next aisle, around the corner or even displayed next to the heavily marketed product, at a much more attractive price. Of course, when I worked, and because  shopping was done in a rushed trip usually en route home from work, I hardly noticed. Now that I have more time and actually read the pricing labels with care, I am amazed at how easy it is to fall foul of the advertising . It used to be the same with bank and building society accounts. You know those accounts where for a fixed and better rate, you tie your money up for a year or whatever period is on offer. Then, and cynically I assume the institution relies on the lethargy...

A study by NEST ,  reported yesterday, gave an insight into how much money it takes to make people feel comfortable in retirement. It seems that with a pension income of £15,000 per annum most people in the UK feel content. Below that level and they struggle to pay bills, whilst interestingly above £40,000 per annum there is no additional happiness benefit.  I'm assuming that the simple moral of that research is that so long as you have sufficient income to avoid worrying about the basic necessities of life (a roof over your head, food and clothing), you then cut your cloth according to your means and can enjoy whatever excess you have. I'll soon find out.

There's something about the Send button, that turns me to a quivering wreck. A state of nervousness usually overtakes me as I tussle with the dilemma of making sure all is correct before I click in the appropriately marked box. Inevitably if it's an e-mail and despite the lengths I procrastinate over it, I have still been known to omit the attachment and my follow up message of "Oops" ought now to merit an autotext entry in its own right. Worse than e-mails however is on-line banking. It is so convenient but there are times when undertaking a simple banking transaction can reduce me to jelly, something that queuing in the branch has never done. It's the fear of making a mistake with the figures; checking and double-checking the account  numbers and, as for the amount itself, a nought in the wrong place could prove a costly error. Anyway, spurred on by the Chancellor's effort to kick start contributions to pension schemes and with the end of the tax y...

So the Chancellor today announced a budget aimed to help savers and pensioners. Forgive me but I saw nothing that actually increased interest or annuity rates and I'm still a long way off 65, so there is no likelihood of me benefiting from the introduction of Pensioner Bonds.  Still it seems that from next Thursday access to flexible pension draw down arrangements will become easier when the threshold reduces to £12,000 pa for other income as opposed to the current £20,000.  Also, and even with capped draw down, there is to be enhanced access to funds and I shall be able to take 150% of an equivalent annuity each year. Effectively I can gallop through my pension funds at a quicker rate than I might previously have imagined, and to help me there is even going to be a very slight increase to the level of income I can take before paying higher rate tax.  However, and with total flexibility on offer, I could opt to limit my pension income to £10,500 pa and take...