State Pension

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, TOPGUN749 said:

If it’s gone way beyond the bare minimum try living on the £883 a month.It’s a pension- of course it’s meant to last until we die,whether 1 year or 35 years.

one of the problems is ...when the "pension" was brought in.....when you retired at 65 you were not expected to live much over 68-70.....but now we are still very active into our 80's............

[TOPGUN749]

4 minutes ago, ditchman said:

one of the problems is ...when the "pension" was brought in.....when you retired at 65 you were not expected to live much over 68-70.....but now we are still very active into our 80's............

Some do,some don’t even live to collect a penny pension.Luckily we have far many more workers paying in than we did in 1948!

[Dave-G]

2 hours ago, bigroomboy said:

Look I'm being a bit of a wind up, but you have to see the flaw in the logic. Why should somebody be working 60h a week to earn 40k to pay for their children's upbringing and a mortgage on a vastly over priced house in order to pay for you to live a life of Riley doing what you want all week?

 

I'm not saying the pension shouldn't exist, but it should be the bare minimum and I think it's gone way beyond that and people are claiming it for far too long.

That horse of yours is to damn high by far for many of us; This is what I started and finished the monthly period with in my bank. I took the dog for a walk to the cashpoint today to check my balance: £1.68 available to spend till my pension gets paid again.

This is how some pensioners get by witha bare minimum you speak of.

[12gauge82]

11 hours ago, bigroomboy said:

By saving and paying into a private pension during your working life, selling that 5 bedroom home or continuing to work if that's not enough. By definition the bare minimum is enough to live, just.

What a load of nonsense, how do you expect those currently working minimum wage, phisical jobs to do any of those things, that would end up giving them a decent retirement? Sure it's sensible for them to pay what they can afford into a private pension to top up the measly state pension, but it'd would never be enough alone for them to live on.

As for continuing to work, for many, particularly in phisical jobs, it just wouldn't be viable and employers would soon replace them. What then, job seekers allowance for 90 year olds?

[12gauge82]

11 hours ago, bigroomboy said:

Look I'm being a bit of a wind up, but you have to see the flaw in the logic. Why should somebody be working 60h a week to earn 40k to pay for their children's upbringing and a mortgage on a vastly over priced house in order to pay for you to live a life of Riley doing what you want all week?

 

I'm not saying the pension shouldn't exist, but it should be the bare minimum and I think it's gone way beyond that and people are claiming it for far too long.

I think someone needs to take their tunnel vision specs off and see things from a perspective other than their own.

[bigroomboy]

46 minutes ago, 12gauge82 said:

I think someone needs to take their tunnel vision specs off and see things from a perspective other than their own.

That's funny because that's exactly what I would say to you. I'm looking at this as everybody other than somebody reliant on the state pension. I'm thinking about our children in crumbling schools with 40 kids per teacher and no materials to do classes all while we spend twice as much on pensions than education. I'm thinking about the working people giving up 80% of their time to pay for these pensions knowing they will never get the same benefit. I'm thinking about the fact the country simply cannot afford to keep doing it. I'm thinking about the massive underinvestment in our infrastructure to pay for it and the closure of local facilities to pay for it. I suggest sir you take off your specs.

[rbrowning2]

10 hours ago, ditchman said:

one of the problems is ...when the "pension" was brought in.....when you retired at 65 you were not expected to live much over 68-70.....but now we are still very active into our 80's............

 

The government have already increased the pensionable age and it is set to increase again they also brought women inline with men.
Sadly lots of pensioners died during Covid so that has saved them some money. Then we give billions away in foreign aid.

I know I have worked hard all my working life, not earning a fortune, paying taxes and national insurance, never had a penny from the state so feel absolutely that I am entitled to a state pension.

[rbrowning2]

11 hours ago, bigroomboy said:

Sounds a lot like landing on a rubber pad in Great Ormond Street Hospital? I'm not saying it's right, but it's the very benefits system we are discussing here that incentives that activity. To be fair most of those people arriving on boat will be young and may well have 40 year of contribution ahead of them. I hear far too often people living day to day off our benefits system whilst blaming all our problems on a relatively small number of people taking huge risks to arrive by small boats.

Most of them arriving on rubber boats are young and they are mainly young men, who then plan to bring their families over wife and  kids. As to if they will have forty years of contributions ahead of them who knows they may just continue to live of benefits.  Yes they are taking huge risks but they have just left a free safe country France the asylum system is you take refuge in the first safe country they come to not the last. 
These are economic migrant not asylum seekers escaping a war zone.

 

[bigroomboy]

2 minutes ago, rbrowning2 said:

Most of them arriving on rubber boats are young and they are mainly young men, who then plan to bring their families over wife and  kids. As to if they will have forty years of contributions ahead of them who knows they may just continue to live of benefits.  Yes they are taking huge risks but they have just left a free safe country France the asylum system is you take refuge in the first safe country they come to not the last. 
These are economic migrant not asylum seekers escaping a war zone.

 

Yes because our benefits system is too generous. This discussion has become very circular.

[rbrowning2]

7 minutes ago, bigroomboy said:

Yes because our benefits system is too generous. This discussion has become very circular.

I have nothing against those arriving by rubber boat, but we should treat are elderly and pensioners with the decency and respect they deserve as they are of a generation that very probably have worked all their working life to support their families and build this country. 

To blame them for poor schools or long NHS waiting lists or high house prices  etc etc is wrong you need to look at who has been running the country in government. Who sold a significant number of council houses without building new ones, thinking the private sector would make cheap affordable housing available, rather than be profit motivated.

 

9 minutes ago, bigroomboy said:

Yes because our benefits system is too generous. This discussion has become very circular.

let’s hope one day you are never in a position to need it, life takes many twists and turns some of not your own making.

[Wymondley]

25 minutes ago, bigroomboy said:

Yes because our benefits system is too generous.

To those that have not contributed to it!

[bigroomboy]

To be clear I'm not trying to say pensioners have caused these issues. But our own sense of entitlement and an unbalanced voting system means that policies are created that favour these outcomes.

I'm also not advocating for a no benefits system. What I'm saying is it should be the absolute bare minimum to put food on the table, a roof over a head and heat in winter. Anything above that should be provided by your own hard work and planning. Being on benefits should be extremely painful, in order to incentivise getting up and going out to work everyday to contribute to the success of this country. The maths of the current systems just don't add up, it's as simple as that.

[Westley]

14 hours ago, 12gauge82 said:

So how exactly are pensioners meant to live on "the bear minimum"?

That is probably why they raid 'Pickanic Baskets'   Boo Boo  !

[London Best]

When I was an apprentice I got sick of listening to the older men about to retire worrying about how they would manage on the state pension. 
I decided then that I was not going to be a poor pensioner. 
I never earned any big money, always under the average wage, but I always paid the maximum into another pension. I saved and I made investments, all of which except one made me money. I very rarely worked overtime because I wanted to be out wildfowling and pigeon shooting and foxing, etc, etc. 
I gave up full time work at 53 and worked part time in order to be able to go loading and picking up, a lot. 
My plan worked for me, and whilst not rich I am not a poor pensioner. 
I still get sick of listening to old men, who mostly have always spent every penny they earned, moaning about the state pension.

[Nial]

16 hours ago, jeffgg said:

The other half is a pensioner from today.she is going to continue to work her state pension is taken off her yearly tax allowance so after £1000 all that she earns is taxed. 

 

 

 

 

Can your wife not contribute a load of her salary to a private pension? This avoids tax and she'll get 20% + added by the government.

Maybe too late now and I might be completely wrong but it could be worth talking to a financial advisor.

 

 

[Penelope]

49 minutes ago, rbrowning2 said:

I have nothing against those arriving by rubber boat,

You should, it's an illegal invasion of your country.

[marsh man]

14 minutes ago, London Best said:

When I was an apprentice I got sick of listening to the older men about to retire worrying about how they would manage on the state pension. 
I decided then that I was not going to be a poor pensioner. 
I never earned any big money, always under the average wage, but I always paid the maximum into another pension. I saved and I made investments, all of which except one made me money. I very rarely worked overtime because I wanted to be out wildfowling and pigeon shooting and foxing, etc, etc. 
I gave up full time work at 53 and worked part time in order to be able to go loading and picking up, a lot. 
My plan worked for me, and whilst not rich I am not a poor pensioner. 
I still get sick of listening to old men, who mostly have always spent every penny they earned, moaning about the state pension.

I never moan about what I get from my state pension L B , I had paid all the extra bits over the years and I more or less get the maximum you can off a state pension , my worst investment unlike yours was putting money into my private pension as it is hardly worth the paper it is wrote on , at the moment I get exactly half of my private pension which is under £50 to begin with,  the rest is taken by income tax and I have now been retired over 16 years , when I was investing my savings I was putting the maximum into I S A bonds and even the pensioners bond they once brought out , all the interest was tax free and the capitol was still there when it matured and I done quite well out of it , if I had put that money into a private pension then I would have had a lot less savings than I have got now , mind you , as long as I have got enough to live then money don't mean a thing as one day you won't be here to spend it , so enjoy what you enjoy best and leave the work place for the younger generation .  MM

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, what are these magic benefits pensioners get 🤔, oh yes a Pension !!!!! , 

[London Best]

21 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, what are these magic benefits pensioners get 🤔, oh yes a Pension !!!!! , 

Do you not receive the £250 Winter Cartridge Allowance?

[oldypigeonpopper]

49 minutes ago, London Best said:

When I was an apprentice I got sick of listening to the older men about to retire worrying about how they would manage on the state pension. 
I decided then that I was not going to be a poor pensioner. 
I never earned any big money, always under the average wage, but I always paid the maximum into another pension. I saved and I made investments, all of which except one made me money. I very rarely worked overtime because I wanted to be out wildfowling and pigeon shooting and foxing, etc, etc. 
I gave up full time work at 53 and worked part time in order to be able to go loading and picking up, a lot. 
My plan worked for me, and whilst not rich I am not a poor pensioner. 
I still get sick of listening to old men, who mostly have always spent every penny they earned, moaning about the state pension.

Hello, Maybe these old men worked hard and spent all their money on raising a family, a time when mothers stayed at home to look after the children so only one wage was coming in to pay for everything involved in a family expenditure , a car to get to work, family holidays were a day or 2 at the sea side, paying double than council rent if you were lucky to buy a property, maybe an extra job on the side to pay for school uniforms, i get sick of listening to people like Camaroon, We are all in this together, !!!!, Mr Sunak, I know it is hard for many families in UK !!!!!, but i am alright Jack !!!!!,  While we are all on this thread discussing Pension just think how the next Generation will cope on their retirement as so many cannot afford to pay for a private pension as they are struggling to bring up families even more than us old men did,

3 minutes ago, London Best said:

Do you not receive the £250 Winter Cartridge Allowance?

What a Crass Statement !!!!!

[Charliedog]

I feel pretty fortunate, I was strongly advised to start paying into a private company pension when i started work some 35 years ago, it was the last thing on my mind at the time but what I struggle to understand is why so many people appear to be relying solely on a state pension?

[Lloyd90]

15 hours ago, 12gauge82 said:

So how exactly are pensioners meant to live on "the bear minimum"?

They’re meant to make provisions for themselves so that when they reach retirement age, they have the means to retire and support themselves. 
 

Someone of working age is expected to have rent / mortgage, travel etc. 

I believe pensioners who don’t own their property are able to claim housing benefits to pay towards rent, as opposed to someone who’d paid off a mortgage and gets no money towards their housing costs. 
 

Once again, the “I’ve paid my stamp all my life” brigade, the vast vast majority of them have paid a tiny amount compared to the cost of the services provided. 
 

Either that, or they need to carry on working. Many people in the USA or similar places aren’t able to retire due to health costs and no pension plans. 
They get social security after a certain age (it’s higher if you take it later) but it’s only around $4000 a year. 
 

[London Best]

1 minute ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, Maybe these old men worked hard and spent all their money on raising a family, a time when mothers stayed at home to look after the children so only one wage was coming in to pay for everything involved in a family expenditure , a car to get to work, family holidays were a day or 2 at the sea side, paying double than council rent if you were lucky to buy a property, maybe an extra job on the side to pay for school uniforms, i get sick of listening to people like Camaroon, We are all in this together, !!!!, Mr Sunak, I know it is hard for many families in UK !!!!!, but i am alright Jack !!!!!,  While we are all on this thread discussing Pension just think how the next Generation will cope on their retirement as so many cannot afford to pay for a private pension as they are struggling to bring up families even more than us old men did,

Do you think I never had to do any of that?

[TRUEBRIT66]

13 hours ago, bigroomboy said:

Sounds a lot like landing on a rubber pad in Great Ormond Street Hospital? I'm not saying it's right, but it's the very benefits system we are discussing here that incentives that activity. To be fair most of those people arriving on boat will be young and may well have 40 year of contribution ahead of them. I hear far too often people living day to day off our benefits system whilst blaming all our problems on a relatively small number of people taking huge risks to arrive by small boats.

1.3 Million immigrants claiming benefits in the UK presently a total of £24 Billion spent on benefits for immigrants since 2020, your definition of relatively small differs from mine!      

 

[old man]

14 hours ago, oowee said:

Triple lock is a joke. These benefits are out of hand and need to be capped and cut back to something more affordable. We cannot afford to pay these benefits without more tax. We already have the highest taxes ever something has to give. 

The choice is simple. Cut benefits or generate more tax. Every time we increase benefits for pensioners we take money out of the pocket of workers. 

 

 

Maybe lets just start with some common sense here? Stop giving it out to half of the world and his dog for some unfathomable reason and spend it where it's been generated?

Sadly those in charge seem to lack any common sense and are influenced from behind? 

None of the current clowns are ever getting my vote again, whatever the end results are. 

I fear that we are maybe too far down the road to ever be able to find those of enough courage and intelligence to sort out this race to the third world.