I am mortgage free for a 2nd time. First time was after splitting from my first wife and buying a property on which I was able, shortly after, to pay off the mortgage after I inherited money from the sale of my mum's property after her death.

I then met a new woman, and wife to be, and we both sold our properties and pooled the money to buy a house together. However, our joint contribution was not enough to pay for the refurbishment of the house so I suddenly had a mortgage again.

But, earlier this year my wife's father died and she inherited a sizeable sum and was happy to pay off the mortgage. So, I/we are free of this burden, which is a nice feeling.

Edited by Pete53 (13 Feb 2023 2.54pm)

surely there is an argument for busting a gut to acquire property, and leave it to your offspring ? you cannot leave a pension to your kids ?

if you get past age 65 ? let the taxpayer support you, cos you probably did support them. I know that the money you put into a pension is tax-efficient....its the getting of it back out that is difficult....especially if you croak early.

to bust a gut for a pension is to make two optimistic assumptions....a) your own longevity b) the longevity of this f..cked up society.

Imagine being a Roman living in 340 AD and busting a gut to pay into a dying society ?

or being a kid in Italy/Germany/Japan today....a society that has failed to reproduce any young and is therefore terminally ill

Edited by PalazioVecchio (13 Feb 2023 3.00pm)

Eze Peasy at Anfield....

At least the state pension now pays more to those that work. Even if it is only £40/week.

I believe that The basic state pension is £141.85

If you have paid the qualifying NI years its. £185.15

You need to have paid a min of 10 years NI to qualify for an increase and its a sliding scale up to the max 30 years.

There is a website where you can check your NI eligibility.

There is also something called pension credits for those below the min living wage.

If it’s a money purchase pension (which most are now) you can. Better yet, it’s outside of your estate for Inheritance tax purposes. For people with large property, it’s the best vehicle for passing wealth to your kids.

If death is before 75 the beneficiary can draw it tax free, if after 75 the beneficiary will be subject to income tax at their marginal rate.

I'm sorry, but this will only be true if the value of the pension pot at death plus the 'crystallisation value' of any pension benefits taken by the deceased prior to death is below the Lifetime Allowance (LTA). If the LTA threshold is crossed, then taxes WILL apply.

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)