The first Weekend Reading every month can be read by anyone on the Monevator website. Subscribe [1] for free to our email newsletter or become a member [2] to ensure you see the rest.
I guess we’ve all got used to prices going up again [3] by now. But a £2,100 jump in just 12 months in the income needed to fund a comfortable retirement is still a little shocking.
That figure comes from the latest Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards survey [4]:
[5]
Source: Retirement Living Standards [4]
Most people are not on track to enjoy the right-hand side of that reality. Yet if you talk to them about their imagined retirements, they hardly describe a basic Pot Noodles and the telly lifestyle.
As Which [6] reports:
Pensions UK says that around 82% of the working population are expected to reach the minimum standard of living in retirement, with just 23% and 9% expected to reach the moderate and comfortable standards respectively.
Last week, the Pension Commission warned that 15 million people are undersaving for retirement.
Of course Monevator readers are a different breed: mostly numbers run, plans in place or crystallised. But if you want a quick sanity check, wealth manager Quilter calculates [7] you now need a £691,000 pot to retire comfortably.
Its figure is based on a single person retiring at 66 on a 6.1% escalating annuity, and with no housing costs:
[8]
Source: Trustnet [7] / Quilter
We’ve looked at the Retirement Living Standards numbers before [9]. They always generate disbelief disgust disquiet a lively discussion.
The Accumulator has called dibs on diving deeply into them again in the near future, so don’t go retiring* until you’ve read his take.
Have a great weekend!
*Not investment advice. Retire when you’re ready to. But be prepared to do so with fewer of TA’s puns and 1970s children’s TV references at your back.
From Monevator
UK tax brackets and personal allowances – Monevator [10]
Laissez-FIRE – Monevator [11]
From the archive-ator: Comparing the cost of electric car ownership – Monevator [12]
News
Half of London flats are selling at a loss, and the crash is spreading… – This Is Money [13]
…with house prices in most regions mostly softening, too – Which [14]
Cash ISA rush sees savers pour £83.2bn into accounts – This Is Money [15]
UK assets face underestimated risk event [Andy Burnham], analysts warn – CNBC [16]
Britain to suffer biggest G7 jump in unemployment, says OECD – This Is Money [17]
Tenant unions mobilise to oppose any rent increases – This Is Money [18]
Third of Britons say university not worth it, as student loan inquiry begins – BBC [19]
Alphabet’s $80 billion stock sale in ‘unprecedented territory,’ says Goldman – CNBC [20]
Puffin and bumblebee among 18 creatures shortlisted to feature on banknotes – BBC [21]
[22]
CAPE ratios haven’t been indicating like they used to – Piper Sandler [23]
Products and services
Disclosure: Links to platforms may be affiliate links, where we may earn a commission. This article is not personal financial advice. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. With commission-free brokers other fees may apply. See terms and fees. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
Barclays scraps monthly customer fee for self-directed investors – Yahoo Finance [24]
Monzo is launching a mobile network with a loyalty bonus – Be Clever With Your Cash [25]
Seven mistakes to avoid with your mortgage application – Which [26]
Get up to £1,500 cashback when you transfer your cash and/or investments to Charles Stanley Direct through this affiliate link [27]. Terms apply – Charles Stanley [27]
Cheapest buy-to-let deals for landlords – Which [28]
How to keep your Amex points when you cancel – Be Clever With Your Cash [29]
Get up to £200 cashback when you open an Interactive Investor [30] SIPP. Terms and fees apply, affiliate link – Interactive Investor [30]
How to save money on cinema tickets – Which [31]
Landlords rush to protect income over Renters’ Rights Act fears – City AM [32]
Homes for sale with water views, in pictures – Guardian [33]
Comment and opinion
The dangerous allure of Die With Zero [34] – Jordan Grumet [35]
Being useful is more attractive than being rich – Of Dollars and Data [36]
How much should retirees worry about inflation [US but relevant] – Morningstar [37]
MSCI: the global equity tollbooth – Fiscal.AI [38]
“Am I lower-value human capital?” [Paywall] – FT [39]
William Bernstein: the many utilities of retirement – Advisor Perspectives [40]
Please, stop chasing fund performance – Behavioural Investment [41]
The triumph of capital – Slow Boring [42]
Selling abstraction [Deeeeep…] – Asterix [43]
Investors don’t allocate rationally shocker [Research] – Alpha Architect [44]
SpaceX IPO mini-special
How will these IPOs change the face of the stock market? – Morningstar [45]
UK investors have just a few days to sign-up for IPO shares – This Is Money [46]
By catering to SpaceX, index companies have destroyed their credibility – Phil Bak [47]
What is SpaceX really worth? – Morningstar [48]
SpaceX needs to get to $5 quadrillion to rival Mag 7 magic – Bloomberg via A.P. [49]
Naughty corner: Active antics
[50]
Why isn’t oil more expensive? – Semafor [51]
What if the AI boom goes into reverse? – Reuters [52]
Disrupted or dead: AI is crushing pre-ChatGPT startups – CNBC [53]
Are auditors good stock pickers? – Klement on Investing [54]
Berkshire beyond Buffett – Max Anderson [55]
Are Diageo shares a recovery play? [Affiliate link] – II [56]
Software stocks bounce on comments from nVidia’s CEO – Sherwood [57]
The family feeling – Investment Masterclass [58]
Kindle book bargains
Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen – £0.99 on Kindle [59]
The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway – £0.99 on Kindle [60]
Misbehaving: Behavioural Economics by Richard Thaler – £0.99 on Kindle [61]
Wankernomics by James Schloeffel – £0.99 on Kindle [62]
Environmental factors
The way Americans farm pigs is a sin – Noahpinion [63]
UK’s green economy worth more than £100bn a year, research finds – Guardian [64]
The Amazon’s path from crisis to durability – Mongabay [65]
“Day and night no longer exist”: life in the hottest place in India – BBC [66]
Dismay as Trump officials to dismantle key ocean monitoring system – Guardian [67]
Reform council vows to call off the climate emergency – BBC [68]
Robot overlord roundup
How do you teach a robo-taxi London? Waymo explains – City AM [69]
Model routing is one fix for AI overspending – CNBC [70]
Is OpenAI on its way to becoming Lyft? – Sherwood [71]
Inside the AI boom’s arctic outpost – Time [72]
Starbucks retired its AI agent just months after deployment – Fortune via Yahoo [73]
Can we trust AI to build a better version of itself? [Paywall] – FT [74]
Microsoft says new quantum chip 1,000 times more reliable – BBC [75]
Not at the dinner table
Britain is a swamp of lies, and we got here on the Brexit bus – Guardian [76]
Why Europe shouldn’t close its doors to immigration – Uncharted Territories [77]
Trump’s puzzling strategic retreat from East Asia – Drezner’s World [78]
Wealthy Americans: just stop moaning and pay your taxes [Paywall] – FT [79]
Trump takes his cut – The Atlantic [80]
Off our beat
Did you already win at life? – Kindness FP [81]
Doing weights for two hours a week slashes the risk of early death – Sky [82]
Restaurant critics on 14 ways to order the perfect meal… – Guardian [83]
…and Feynman’s formula to find the best holiday restaurant – Guardian [84] [& Paper [85]]
Orcas and ourselves – Aeon [86]
After a baby, there’s no ‘normal’ way to return to work – The Joint Account [87]
No slave to the smartphone – Simple Living in Suffolk [88]
Just make the coffee – The Retirement Manifesto [89]
[Want to feel old?] Spotify’s most-streamed albums ever – Voronoi [90]
And finally…
“If you look at a 40-year chart, the market-performance graphs are smooth and rising. But living through this period on the ground, there were many moments of terror when it seemed like the world was coming to an end.”
– Lloyd Blankfein, Streetwise [91]
Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon [92] and Interactive Investor [93].