State pension goalposts moved again
Discussion
Kermit power said:
I've got something similar, and I'm really hoping it will provide a decent pension, but to be honest, with maybe 20 years left to go, and with three school-aged kids and a mortgage at the moment, I really can't get my head around what my financial situation is likely to look like when I retire! 
As for this change, even though I'm one of the oldest people to be affected by it, so be it. It should've happened years ago.
Personally, I think the government should peg the retirement age at 5 years before average life expectancy, and reset the age every 5 years for people aged between 45-50.
You can be reassured that the Government will tax the hell out of you for having the temerity to have worked hard, made sacrifices and planned for the future. They have to be able to pay for the slackers who can't be bothered somehow. As for this change, even though I'm one of the oldest people to be affected by it, so be it. It should've happened years ago.
Personally, I think the government should peg the retirement age at 5 years before average life expectancy, and reset the age every 5 years for people aged between 45-50.
They are already sitting there with their greedy mitts ready to shaft you when you pass the lifetime allowance. If you think a million is a lot now, wait until there have been 20 years of inflation eating in to it. Assuming that it isn't lowered further, which seems most likely.
Mr GrimNasty said:
No reason why the average person shouldn't be fit enough to work to 70 or beyond these days, but it depends on them looking after themselves a bit.
There are plenty of reasons the average person in their 70's might not be fit enough to carry on working.Not to worry though, the robot revolution is coming apparently to take all the manual jobs so we won't need humans for anything soon anyway.
Seriously though, if all those who used to retire at 65 stay on until they're 68 or even 70 won't there need to be millions more jobs created to account for this?
Wobbegong said:
BoRED S2upid said:
I am and I do expect sweet FA. I try and tell my mates this but nobody listens. You've got to do it on your own you can't rely on anything from the government.
Unless you've found a way to play the system or self fund, expect to be working to the day you die.
Blaster72 said:
There are plenty of reasons the average person in their 70's might not be fit enough to carry on working.
Not to worry though, the robot revolution is coming apparently to take all the manual jobs so we won't need humans for anything soon anyway.
Seriously though, if all those who used to retire at 65 stay on until they're 68 or even 70 won't there need to be millions more jobs created to account for this?
Oh yes the robot revolution it will need an army of 70 year olds to pull them out of fountains when they all try and drown themselves. Not to worry though, the robot revolution is coming apparently to take all the manual jobs so we won't need humans for anything soon anyway.
Seriously though, if all those who used to retire at 65 stay on until they're 68 or even 70 won't there need to be millions more jobs created to account for this?
richie99 said:
They are already sitting there with their greedy mitts ready to shaft you when you pass the lifetime allowance. If you think a million is a lot now, wait until there have been 20 years of inflation eating in to it. Assuming that it isn't lowered further, which seems most likely.
The lifetime allowance is index linked...
Sa Calobra said:
They are acting as though they are giving pensioners free money. Yet all our lives we pay tax and N.I.
Ihope the Tories leave power soon. They are getting worse.
I've gone from optimistic feeling to disparaging at how poorly they are handling everything.
Brexit will be fumbled.
Whilst I agree with your third and fourth lines, I'd replace "The Tories" with "Theresa May, to be replaced by someone competent" in the second.Ihope the Tories leave power soon. They are getting worse.
I've gone from optimistic feeling to disparaging at how poorly they are handling everything.
Brexit will be fumbled.
On the first line, though, I completely disagree with you.
When the first pension came in, people weren't expected to live more than about 5 years in retirement, but now they tend to live for about 15 years. Have contributions increased three-fold in real terms in the meantime? No, they haven't.
To give a car analogy, imagine a scheme created whereby you could pay in for 40 years and at the end they gave you a Mini.
What has happened over time is that people are still paying in the same amount for the same period of time, yet at the end of it, you're being given a Merc instead of a Mini.
If you paid in the correct amount for a Mini and they gave you a pushbike, then you'd have every right to be disgruntled, but you shouldn't expect to be given a Merc when you've only paid in enough for a Mini. In so far as it's your children and grandchildren who will end up footing the bill, for you, this is free money.
Like others above, I'm assuming that I'll get zero from the state, it's all down to what I can save for myself.
It's annoying that the recent changes neither let me fund it by very much nor offset the income from my alternative investment against cost, but that's just the way things work, I suppose, higher earners have for a fair while now been "asked" to pay more in to the communal pot, and are entitled to take less out.
There's no point moaning about it, though, I just have to put that much more aside, and keep deciding each year if I keep working or not.
It's annoying that the recent changes neither let me fund it by very much nor offset the income from my alternative investment against cost, but that's just the way things work, I suppose, higher earners have for a fair while now been "asked" to pay more in to the communal pot, and are entitled to take less out.
There's no point moaning about it, though, I just have to put that much more aside, and keep deciding each year if I keep working or not.
The harsh reality is -- Britain is one of the poorest countries in the Western world, it is burdened with huge public / private debt, and the nation simply cannot afford big pensions for large armies of old folk living decades well into their 70s, 80s and 90s.
With ~80% of Britain a post-industrial, post-service, economic wasteland, and the rich Southeast ~20% about to decline because of Brexit, the country has no choice but to start slashing future public pensions.
If you are under 50, you need to save aggressively for the next 10-20 years and think seriously about moving abroad to somewhere cheaper for retirement, like Bulgaria, Panama or Thailand.
With ~80% of Britain a post-industrial, post-service, economic wasteland, and the rich Southeast ~20% about to decline because of Brexit, the country has no choice but to start slashing future public pensions.
If you are under 50, you need to save aggressively for the next 10-20 years and think seriously about moving abroad to somewhere cheaper for retirement, like Bulgaria, Panama or Thailand.
Nobody ever seems to appreciate that many people who are getting their OAP payments now, at 65, will have probably started work when they were 16 or 18. Many who will now be affected by this small change from 67 to 68 probably won't have started work until after Uni, probably when they're more like 25.
Robertj21a said:
Nobody ever seems to appreciate that many people who are getting their OAP payments now, at 65, will have probably started work when they were 16 or 18. Many who will now be affected by this small change from 67 to 68 probably won't have started work until after Uni, probably when they're more like 25.
Vast majority of my peers had jobs before Uni and worked 20+ hours a week around Uni to make ends meet - silver spoons need not apply.DoubleSix said:
Robertj21a said:
Nobody ever seems to appreciate that many people who are getting their OAP payments now, at 65, will have probably started work when they were 16 or 18. Many who will now be affected by this small change from 67 to 68 probably won't have started work until after Uni, probably when they're more like 25.
Vast majority of my peers had jobs before Uni and worked 20+ hours a week around Uni to make ends meet - silver spoons need not apply.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff