Average UK household costs £1.8 million over a lifetime

Re mike10613 - the old joke is that you cannot tell with some people whether they are speaking out of their arse or mouth. Please see if the position of your grey cells (if you are able to find any) are correctly positioned. Errrrrrr, I believe every member of the Shadow Cabinet is a millionaire and that practically every member of the previous Lab administration is not only a millionaire but most, are multi-millionaires. They are all a bit like that completely bogus diminutive thug Arafat. His family was not rich, he did not have spectacular success in investment (no Buffet here), he never started a business nor produced a worthwhile invention. Yet he left $8 mill in his will - that is his visible will, no doubt a few other books were stashed somewhere else. Perhaps he was just a genius - crook, that is.

Anything written by the Office of National Statistics can be dismissed as rumour. They even reckon they know the location of every traveller (gypsie), even though half of them aren't even on the system. According to the ONS, I actually spend £400 more than I physically earn. Remember that statistics are an evil. Statistics can be made to reflect whatever you want them to reflect. You only need to phrase the questions to sway the answers given. Statisticians and accountants are a breed apart. They create figures based on what you want them to produce, and not what is really happening. [b]The figure for 65-74 year olds is perhaps the most striking. Their average annual costs are £25,000 a year. Yet the Basic State Pension currently stands at just £5,728 a year. Even if both members of a couple are eligible for a full State Pension, the household will still only receive £11,456 a year. That leaves a spending deficit of more than £13,000 a year! Sadly if you’ve already retired there’s not a huge amount you can do to boost your income now. Just make sure you’re claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to. But if you’re younger, you can take steps to ensure that in retirement you’re wealthy enough to spend as much as the average pensioner.[/b] Is this scaremongering, to force more of us to take out pensions? It seems to me that Prudential would benefit from creating a pension panic. I mean, what better way to sell a service than stating, 'If you don't save for your retirement, you WILL run out of money, and die of hypothermia, or starve to death, because your State Pension won't cover anything!' The best way to sell anything is to inform the consumer base that they WILL SUFFER. FEAR motivates us to pay for things that we may not need. After all, how many people have RAC or AA membership, even though they travel locally?

I think Mike is right . The average hides the exceptions that make the rule. My generation is the last to retire comfortably. I am 66 but have a pretty decent Local Government pension as an ex senior officer. Was that luck? No it bl**dy well wasn't. I chose that career because of the good pension and paid into it for 38 years odd. We have had no share options, bonuses, private boxes at Wimbledon even though the media would love to portray the local government officer living the life of Riley. It was hard work with lots of (unpaid for ) evening meetings with the numpties that pass for councillors. But that was too good so the Government are ruining that career now along with its pension. It a fact that everything is reducing to teh lowest level rather than aspiring to the higher one. Of course you will notice that MPs pensions are still totally rooted in the past and rock solid, oh yes do as I tell you not as I do. People will manage as humans do but the UK will lose its primary status and gradually slip into third world status with living standards falling. proably staring with the fact that we have to get use to less heat in the houses in winter May be a good thing as it will sell more jumpers and help the Indian economy.