A 75-year-old retiree from the banking sector, Marceau, acknowledges that for more than 15 years “we spent more than we earned,” finding himself now, when they should be enjoying their savings, in a complicated financial situation. Collecting the retirement pension should be a relief, but nothing could be further from the truth since, as they say in an interview, “we are marked by a very long period in which we have experienced strong financial imbalances.”
With a position of responsibility in a bank branch, the husband had a good salary so the wife decided to leave her position as a salesperson and secretary to dedicate themselves to taking care of their children. As they say in an interview published in the magazine ‘Marianne‘, his two retirement pensions add up to 3,400 euros per month net. “Although it may seem like a good financial situation, it is not like that since we had to resort to our savings to cover day-to-day expenses.”
The finances of this retired couple reflect the situation of thousands of pensioners both in France, which is where they live, and in Spain.
Every month they pay 965 euros as fixed expenses
Household expenses only drain the bank account. Because, as they have pointed out, every month they pay 965 euros, with health insurance as the main outlay (297 euros of which the retiree’s former company pays a part), they must also pay 221 euros in taxes derived from housing, electricity and gas that total 200 euros, insurance that costs 152 euros and telephone and internet with a price of 28 euros.
Then, we must add the daily consumption of food, with expenses that rise to 1,100 euros per month, water and heating with wood. All of these expenses mean that they now have to cut back on activities. Where from? Of leisure. They hardly travel and outings are limited to having coffee with friends.
“Of course we would like to do more things, but we are very limited,” explains Marceau. The only thing they maintain are painting classes for him and gymnastics for his wife. “We have given up on other plans and opted for these cheap alternatives.”
Lack of savings affects retirement
Although they recognize that they currently have fairly stable finances, they continue to appear vulnerable. The absence of savings in their accounts due to the standard of living they have led while working is now harming them because pensions alone are not enough.
The conclusions that appear in Marianna magazine are very clear and refer to the difficulty of maintaining budget balance throughout life, especially in homes where one of the two has to leave work.
Now, this situation makes them live in tension, because of the fear that the price of electricity and fuel will rise as a result of the war in Iran.