bats

What what would you consider a decent income in England? Two pensioners, no mortgage, one car, Ive been told 20K would be enough but i find that very hard to believe, We are trying to work out if returning really is feasible

Moses2013

No longer in England myself and not retired, but I'd say many in Europe have to manage on less. Depends on location and how you live, so debatable if enough. For two probably on the lower side, then again a person working and earning 30K who has to pay rent would also not end up with more. Personally I'd say it would be tough.

durham_lad

It very much depends on where you live and what your expenses are. You don’t mention where in England you would be living - London is a lot more expensive than Sunderland for example. How much will you use a car or get around using free bus travel? (We tried this out for a year and found that we could manage quite nicely without a car, only hiring one now and again).

bats

One car, East Anglia somewhere cheap. I doubt public transport will be any use there not if what I've been hearing from my mum is accurate. As for income I haven't yet found out if our Canadian pensions can be collected in the UK. As we haven't been here 20 years then it depends on whether there is a reciprocal agreement with the UK. Does anyone know?

durham_lad

See the other thread you started on this same subject. I posted a link to the agreement.

How to get your money to the UK maybe some others can comment. You could maybe set up a Wise account denominated in $s with a Canadian bank details and have your pensions paid into that then transfer it to £s. I have done this and linked it to my USA IRA.

My wife has her US pension paid direct into our UK bank account. Maybe that is also an option, you’ll have to investigate both options.

tdrinker

You could try using a budget planner, e.g.:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ba...dget-planning/

Some of the bug ticket items - council tax £2,000, energy £2,500, water £500, car insurance £1,000, etc. Many of these can be refined, e.g. council tax rates can be seen online when you have a better idea of the type of property you will buy, a price comparison site will provide a more accurate insurance quote, a supermarket website will list the prices of food and household supplies so you can estimate your shopping bill.

A lot of costs are variable depending on your decisions, e.g. a cute cottage will probably cost more to heat than a boxy new build house, an old car will cost less to buy but more in maintenance, car fuel costs depend on milage, etc.

You won't be able to budget exactly, but it will give you an idea of how much you'll spend on essentials, and how much is left over for discretionary spending, and get an idea of whether it matches your lifestyle aspirations.

You say you will be mortgage free, which suggests you have a pot of cash to buy a house (plus car, furniture, white goods, and other one-off big ticket items). Depending on how much you have and how much you spend, you may have some left over to invest and generate some extra income. Plus if you're returning it suggests you were in the UK initially, so investigate whether you are entitled to a UK pension to further boost income. Whatever income you have, it will need to increase with inflation.

Ultimately, £20k won't sufficient for a luxury lifestyle - private medical insurance, a weekly trip to London to see the latest hit show, eating out several times a week, luxury holidays, etc. But you'll be OK if you live modestly. Plus, as pensioners you have flexibility on when you do things, so if you wanted a show in London you can get a railcard, book a cheap train ticket in advance, book the show ticket when it's on offer, etc. Being flexible on timing, taking advantage on offers and over 60's deals, etc. can reduce costs, so a cinema ticket can cost £3 instead of £10, etc. Also, if your income is £20k in the UK, I expect it's similar elsewhere, with living expenses not so different (some things costing more, some less).

durham_lad

Our son, just turned 40, has a paid off house and car and lives close by. He reckons he can live quite comfortably on £20k expenses/year. He doesn't do much traveling or have expensive habits, spends most of his time outside of work on the internet, goes walking in the nearby hills or on the coast at weekends. He is certainly happy enough with his lot. He has 14 years of credits in SS and is working on his OAP plus he has a 6 figure sum in his Roth IRA from his time in the USA so feels like he is okay for retirement eventually.

Moses2013

Fair play to him and having a paid off house certainly helps. It does really depend on the individual and it is roughly the amount 2 people would get if unemployed here in Ireland.
Coming from Canada you might have to pay more for car insurance, then you have council tax etc. Sure like here you have the Aldi Super 6 or Lidl offers where you can save money, then again with two people you might have higher electricity bills, two dental visits etc. If you have pets then food and vet visits all need to be calculated.
Just comparing our expenses (€ instead of £) and we don't pay for water, council tax is €225/yearly, car insurance is around €350/yearly, home insurance €315/yearly internet €30/monthly and electricity is unknown right now:-) but then we like to drive to different beaches most weekends and have 3 cats, so you could probably manage as England is considered cheaper, but with limitations. Unlike the UK we have to pay for a GP visit (€50) so that won't be a cost in England.