{"id":496244,"date":"2026-03-26T10:49:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/496244\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:49:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:49:12","slug":"i-retired-at-55-with-a-420000-pension-but-im-back-at-work-to-pay-for-mums-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/496244\/","title":{"rendered":"I retired at 55 with a \u00a3420,000 pension but I’m back at work to pay for mum’s care"},"content":{"rendered":"

Raquel Griffiths retired at 55<\/a> to care for her mother, only to find herself going back to work to help cover the cost of looking after her, after spending nearly \u00a310,000 on support so far. <\/p>\n

What should have been her peak earning years instead became a financial balancing act<\/a>, stepping away from a stable career while navigating the growing and often unexpected costs of care.<\/p>\n

The 56-year-old, from Wales, chose to access her pension early as her mother\u2019s health deteriorated, a decision shaped as much by urgency as by financial planning.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cBefore accessing my pension at 55, I sat down with my financial adviser, who is also my cousin, to review the pension savings I\u2019d accumulated over my working life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe modelled different scenarios for me, including what my income would look like if I retired later, but because my mum\u2019s health was deteriorating, early access made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point, Raquel had built up around \u00a3420,000 across her pensions<\/a>, excluding her civil service scheme from HMRC.<\/p>\n

People are able to access their private pensions from the age of 55 \u2013 rising to 57 in April 2028. <\/p>\n

Rather than leaving her savings spread across multiple providers, she consolidated them into a single fund to give herself more flexibility as her circumstances changed.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cHe created an investment fund by consolidating my pensions. It\u2019s more volatile than a traditional pension, but it has delivered more growth overall, so I don\u2019t feel I\u2019ve negatively impacted my long-term income.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her decision was not just about finances, but about time. She added: \u201cIf I\u2019d left everything in standard pension pots, not all of it would automatically pass to my son when I die.\u201c<\/p>\n

This is because not all pensions allow the remaining value to be inherited, meaning some or all of the money may not automatically pass to her son when she dies.<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cHaving the consolidated investment fund means he will inherit the full amount. Because my mum\u2019s health was deteriorating, early access made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her experience reflects a wider trend as research from financial services firm, Just Group, shows nearly four in 10 carers aged 45 to 75 have either reduced their working hours or stopped working altogether to support an elderly relative.<\/p>\n

On average, they lose \u00a3522 a month in income, or \u00a36,268 a year, often at the same time as facing new and rising costs linked to care.<\/p>\n

In Raquel\u2019s case, leaving full-time work did not remove the need to earn. Instead, it reshaped it. She now works part-time in hospitality at a concert venue, fitting shifts around hospital appointments and caring responsibilities.<\/p>\n

She already worked one shift a week before retiring, but decided for financial and social reasons to increase these shifts after roughly a month. She earns about \u00a3600 a month from the shifts she works although this varies as it is casual work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hospitality work, which I do purely because I enjoy it, covers my everyday spending money,\u201d She said. \u201cIt\u2019s minimum wage \u2018fun money\u2019 really and I get to see concerts for free.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that extra income also helps absorb the steady stream of costs that come with caring, many of which are not immediately obvious.<\/p>\n

Having already paid off her mortgage, she said her core bills are manageable through her pension.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cMy household budget actually became easier to manage after I left full time work, because I had already paid off my mortgage. Day-to-day bills such as council tax, gas, electric and water now come from my pension withdrawals.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the 2025\/26 tax year, Attendance Allowance is paid at two weekly rates, depending on the level of care you need:<\/p>\n

Lower rate \u2013 \u00a373.90 a week, for those who need frequent help or constant supervision during the day or supervision at night.<\/p>\n

Higher rate \u2013 \u00a3110.40 a week, for those who need help or supervision throughout both day and night, or for those who are terminally ill.<\/p>\n

The bigger financial strain has come from the cost of adapting to her mother\u2019s needs, particularly where support has been slow to arrive.<\/p>\n

After her mother suffered two serious falls last summer, Raquel was left waiting months for basic home adaptations.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cWe had already applied for ramps and a stairlift, but after months of delay the council told us it wouldn\u2019t be fitted until after Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would have meant my mum sleeping on a sofa and washing at a sink for months, which was completely inappropriate for an 80-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than wait, the family paid \u00a39,000 for a stairlift using her parents\u2019 savings so her mother could return home safely. Additional costs have followed, building steadily over time, meaning she has spent nearly \u00a310,000 on her care. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also bought smaller items ourselves, like raised toilet seats, a second Zimmer frame, and recently a specialist outdoor walking frame with a built-in seat, which cost about \u00a3100,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NHS supplies very basic large pads, but they\u2019re unsuitable for her size and comfort. So, we buy proper incontinence underwear, which costs about \u00a3150 to \u00a3200 a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raquel said fuel, caf\u00e9 stops, coffees and lunches all add up. Even a simple outing can be \u00a310 to \u00a320, she said, and laundering large amounts of bedding at specialist laundrettes comes with a hefty price tag.<\/p>\n

Accessing support has added another layer of difficulty. Raquel said her family only discovered her mother was entitled to attendance allowance through a neighbour rather than official guidance.<\/p>\n

Attendance Allowance is a tax-free benefit in the UK for people who have reached state pension age, which is currently 66, and need help with personal care or supervision due to a long-term illness or disability. It is designed to help older people maintain their independence at home for longer.<\/p>\n

Even where help exists, securing it can be slow and frustrating, with time spent navigating complex systems. She added that there are \u201chours spent on the phone to councils, broadband suppliers, the NHS, or suppliers\u201d.<\/p>\n

The experience has reshaped her financial priorities as she has \u201cseen how quickly life can change, and I\u2019d rather enjoy my time while I can\u201d.<\/p>\n

Raquel continued: \u201cThat is why I am glad I have retired early, so I can have quality time with my mum, taking her on day trips whilst she still can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite finding a way to make it work, she believes the system places too much pressure on families to fill the gaps.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThe Government should be doing more, at the moment they\u2019re doing very little.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Raquel Griffiths retired at 55 to care for her mother, only to find herself going back to work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[84,174759,138681,4176,9052,4178,4174,4175,4204,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-496244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-care-work","tag-carers","tag-finance","tag-parents","tag-pensions","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}