Raquel Griffiths retired at 55 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 £10,000 on support so far.
What should have been her peak earning years instead became a financial balancing act, stepping away from a stable career while navigating the growing and often unexpected costs of care.
The 56-year-old, from Wales, chose to access her pension early as her mother’s health deteriorated, a decision shaped as much by urgency as by financial planning.
She said: “Before accessing my pension at 55, I sat down with my financial adviser, who is also my cousin, to review the pension savings I’d accumulated over my working life.
“He modelled different scenarios for me, including what my income would look like if I retired later, but because my mum’s health was deteriorating, early access made sense.”
At that point, Raquel had built up around £420,000 across her pensions, excluding her civil service scheme from HMRC.
People are able to access their private pensions from the age of 55 – rising to 57 in April 2028.
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.
She said: “He created an investment fund by consolidating my pensions. It’s more volatile than a traditional pension, but it has delivered more growth overall, so I don’t feel I’ve negatively impacted my long-term income.”
Her decision was not just about finances, but about time. She added: “If I’d left everything in standard pension pots, not all of it would automatically pass to my son when I die.“
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.
She continued: “Having the consolidated investment fund means he will inherit the full amount. Because my mum’s health was deteriorating, early access made sense.”
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.
On average, they lose £522 a month in income, or £6,268 a year, often at the same time as facing new and rising costs linked to care.
In Raquel’s 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.
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 £600 a month from the shifts she works although this varies as it is casual work.
“My hospitality work, which I do purely because I enjoy it, covers my everyday spending money,” She said. “It’s minimum wage ‘fun money’ really and I get to see concerts for free.”
But that extra income also helps absorb the steady stream of costs that come with caring, many of which are not immediately obvious.
Having already paid off her mortgage, she said her core bills are manageable through her pension.
Caring for a loved one can be really expensive, research showsShe said: “My 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.”
The bigger financial strain has come from the cost of adapting to her mother’s needs, particularly where support has been slow to arrive.
After her mother suffered two serious falls last summer, Raquel was left waiting months for basic home adaptations.
She said: “We had already applied for ramps and a stairlift, but after months of delay the council told us it wouldn’t be fitted until after Christmas.
“That 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.”
Rather than wait, the family paid £9,000 for a stairlift using her parents’ savings so her mother could return home safely. Additional costs have followed, building steadily over time, meaning she has spent nearly £10,000 on her care.
“We’ve 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 £100,” she said.
“The NHS supplies very basic large pads, but they’re unsuitable for her size and comfort. So, we buy proper incontinence underwear, which costs about £150 to £200 a month.”
Raquel said fuel, café stops, coffees and lunches all add up. Even a simple outing can be £10 to £20, she said, and laundering large amounts of bedding at specialist laundrettes comes with a hefty price tag.
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.
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.
For the 2025/26 tax year, Attendance Allowance is paid at two weekly rates, depending on the level of care you need:
Lower rate – £73.90 a week, for those who need frequent help or constant supervision during the day or supervision at night. Higher rate – £110.40 a week, for those who need help or supervision throughout both day and night, or for those who are terminally ill.Even where help exists, securing it can be slow and frustrating, with time spent navigating complex systems. She added that there are “hours spent on the phone to councils, broadband suppliers, the NHS, or suppliers”.
The experience has reshaped her financial priorities as she has “seen how quickly life can change, and I’d rather enjoy my time while I can”.
Raquel continued: “That 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.”
Despite finding a way to make it work, she believes the system places too much pressure on families to fill the gaps.
She said: “The Government should be doing more, at the moment they’re doing very little.”
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