Editha

We'd been in Canada for eight years, in Edmonton.

Albert_dock

We are still a few years from taking the plunge. We are fairly open to location, but definitely no big cities. It will be the property that meets our needs and budget that will ultimately dictate the location. Very vague I know 😊

Richard8655

UK vs US expenses is an interesting question we have too. Our thinking is some things are more expensive while others less due to the different economic and social systems. Having income from 2 pensions and social security will go a long way, along with 401k and IRA savings.

As someone mentioned earlier, US medical expense worries are gone when moving to UK thanks to the NHS. Even coverage under US Medicare at 65 require 10% copayment, and not all providers accept Medicare. So I think the healthcare issue is a significant factor in a UK move.

On the other hand, the cost of living is generally higher in the UK (as is my impression). Housing, food, utilities, perhaps property taxes, and transportation (my gosh , commuting by rail is a small fortune in UK) adds to equivalent £ required.

So in a sense it may be somewhat of a balance. But we prefer the UK social system and that tips the balance for us.

Albert_dock

I think you are right and there's seems to be a balance. We too prefer the UK social system as we get older, and miss the "normality" (We live in Los Angeles) of the place and the people.

Pulaski

If you contact the DWP in the next few days they should be able to get you started, sending you the forms. Complete and return them IMMEDIATELY (give the best information you can for your UK employment history, it doesn't have to be perfect) and you might be able to get approval make Class 2 NICs in time for the end of the 2015-16 tax year, with six years "catch up" permitted, so seven years total, to add to the three you already have. The cost of Class 2 NICs is about £143-£145/yr, so you're looking at about £1,000 ($1,500) for seven years of contributions, for 20% (7/35) of a state pension ... and you already have 3 years, .... plus any more years you have to retirement, and you may also have some "free" years that you're not aware of, for any time you spent at school after age 16, or at university. ..... If you can make 5 more years contributions, and if you have 5 from school and uni, you could be looking at 20/35 of a state pension.

As you have 30+ years of US SS contributions you will entirely avoid the dread WEP (windfall elimination provision), which otherwise might try to reduce your SS payments for money you receive for your UK state pension. ..... That said, any UK state pension resulting ftom voluntary NICs is exempt from WEP anyway.

nun

The OP needs to do a detailed budget and get an estimate of their current spending. Then find what percentage that is of the median income where they currently live. As an estimate for what they will need in the UK take the same percentage of the UK median income. Its a very rough and ready estimate but it's a start.

I assume that the OP knows something about retirement income planing and safe withdrawal rates ( the old 4% rule) and from that they should be able to see if they can generate enough income.

Editha

I don't see how that would help.

Grayling

We have returned to the UK fom Australia.

We are probably not typical penioners as we have a pretty high income and no mortgage etc.

The immediate financial benefits I can think of are:

Free bus pass
Cheaper rail travel (with railcard)
Free GP and hospital visits
Free prescriptions
Winter fuel allowance and even an Xmas bonus
Various pensioner discounts
Higher tax allowance

There may be a few more and these are compared to Australia...we also find the cost of living cheaper here as well

robin1234

I agree with all of this, and in particular, the senior railcard. It's £30 a year, but gives one third off any rail ticket. So that makes even the higher priced journeys semi-reasonable. But super cheap tickets are now ridiculously cheap. I can usually get a single to London, if bought in advance, for five or six pounds, while I believe the National Express coach is twenty pounds or more.

Novocastrian

In addition, if you're in the NE (Tyne and Wear) a smartpass for the Metro costs 12 pounds a year for pensioners and gives unlimited travel in the area. Of course, as elsewhere, buses are free.

This is a good thing.

Editha

I can get from Barnstaple in Devon to Lewes in East Sussex and back for around £40 and it is cheaper than the coach, though I usually end up paying a bit more to get the train I want.

The value of the bus pass depends on where you live. Here in Devon buses are fairly cheap anyway, but I save a lot more when I visit London or Sussex.

Novocastrian

Or alternatively, where one chooses to live depends on the availability of excellent very cheap public transport.

Albert_dock

We are still a few years off from doing this, and will be doing plenty of planning and research 😊

michali

I budgeted for around £1500 a month as, although we live in London, we have no mortgage. I really believe that we could live on that but we don't! Too much temptation around! I am lucky I have a free bus pass and a Senior Rail Card so that helps but encourages me to travel around and shop!! Out television package is high as my husband, after so many years of hard work, deserves to be able to watch all his sports etc. Our electricity bill is £120 a month (no gas). Water, council tax, service charges, food, etc make up the rest.

Richard8655

Travel by rail still looks expensive to me.

A one way (single) ticket from Hemel Hempstead to London (26 miles) as a typical suburban commute is £13.70. Where I live in the U.S., a similar suburban rail trip is $5 (£3.43).

But this is without any discounts. I may be wrong, but from a U.S. perspective it seems much less expensive here. So unless one is a senior, I'm not completely understanding the cheap UK public transportation thoughts. The state does subsidize rail fare a bit here, however.