Solarwhizz

Thats the one, There are brochure/application forms in all the branches I have been in in english.

Bossman-kent

Excuse me for asking what is the current British pension for single and married people .. as i havent got a clue and would be nice to know for when i do retire..

EsuriJohn

Hi Bossman-kent,

The current full basic rate for a single person at 60 (Women), 65(Men) is £84.26. I think a married couple get £120 when the man is 65.

Regards,

John.

Bossman-kent

Thanks for that John ;

and your supposed to live on that !!! pathetic isnt it ... All our old folk who went through world war 2 ... now struggling on that a disgrace i think ..

Mind you do get a bus pass i guess hmmmmmmmm dont know what they could buy from the shops without money but maybe they can just sit on the bus all day .

Lynn R

If your only source of income is the Basic State Pension, you are also entitled claim Pension Credit which currently increases your income to £114.05 per week if you are single or £174.05 if you have a partner.

The Pension Service website also says"if you are over 65 you may be rewarded for saving for your retirement up to £17.55 if you are single or £23.58 if you have a partner".

I believe being in receipt of Pension Credit also entitles you to reductions in Council Tax.

My aunt, a single pensioner in her '80s living in her own home, tells me she has never been so well off (honestly!). She gets the Winter Fuel Allowance and free TV licence also.

YMF

We generally transfer money through our Spanish Bank and get a reasonable rate with no charges but have wondered about setting a rate for monthly transfers.
For anyone else wondering I did phone HIFX today and they said that they could offer approx 1.4 - 1.42 fixed exchange rate for two years. I expect you may get more if you fix for less time??
I was expecting a better rate that that, I would be interested to know what rate anyone got who fixed over the last couple of years.

When we bought our property here in Spain my own UK bank offered a much higher exchange rate than any of the currency brokers so I do think it is important to shop around.

Yvonne

Chiclanagir

Hi Yvonne

Our friends have just gone with Currency Direct which is a variable amount each month. They definitely seem to get a better rate that 1.42.

Bossman-kent

Hmmmmmmm ok thanks for that young lady ..

May not be so bad then well thats a relief anyways ..Still a few years away from retiring but was just curious and yep reckon could survive on that no probs ..

Hmmmmm just had a thought i guess once again your best not to save for retirement as assume the credit scheme like most the government things translates to say those that p*** there money away and dont save ! we help ,,but if you save you wont need there money so you wont get it ?? lol

jonsol

Please note, If you have savings then the amount of Pension Credit is less depending on how much you have saved , but if you have no savings then you will also get ALL your council tax paid, ie. the council will pay it.....I think its less than £6000 you can have saved to get the amount mentioned above, but will correct it at a later date if this is wrong,
John..

Lynn R

Wow, it's not often I get called "young lady" these days!

Lynn R

I should add, though that people who have no savings haven't necessarily frittered all their money away on purpose in order to rely on the taxpayer in their old age. My aunt who I mentioned in my previous post never married and gave up her job in her early '40s to care for my grandfather who lost his sight suddenly. Therefore she didn't have to chance to save and hadn't paid enough NI contributions to claim a full State Pension (this was in the days before your contributions were credited if you have caring responsibilities and there was no such thing as Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance etc as there is now). In fact she saved the taxpayer a fortune because if she hadn't looked after my grandfather for many years he would have had to go into a home. So please spare a thought for those in genuine hardship and don't believe the stereotyping peddled by the Daily Mail and others of that ilk!

Bossman-kent

Oh yes i know that there is circumstances ,

Does the value of your home have any relevance ? or is it just savings as in money in the bank etc.. ??

In my plannings i feel a huge spending spree coming on to ensure i only have £ 5,999 remainning lol


Thanks for the info , like i said havent really thought about pensions but now getting older need to start planning ..

jonsol

No, the value of your home does not come into it. I have checked the amount, and £6000 is correct, and for every £500 you have over that they deduct £1 per week. One thing that has not been mentioned is Pension Credit is paid to people over 60 years of age to those on low income or perhaps out of work, and this amount is what the government say is the minimum needed to live on
John.