dg comments

please empty your brain below

1954 vintage me, so I’ve also had to wait for my Concessionary Bus Pass - entitlement now linked to retirement age (but not in London, Liverpool, Wales, Scotland where it’s still aged 60).

Roger French | Homepage | 10.02.20 - 8:19 a.m. | #

When the old age pension was introduced, it was supposed to be an amount you could live on. Over time that has changed too, so if you have no workplace pension and no savings, you're going to be struggling.

Malcolm | 10.02.20 - 8:29 a.m. | #

a full state pension is only about £600 a month

there is an lot people currently in their 40s and 50s (who started work in the 1990s when pensions were deregulated), and have since moved jobs a lot, who are not going to get a full state pension

and a lot of them they have not paid enough national insurance (due to in the increase in bogus self employment and part-time jobs and the failure to pay voluntary NI contributions), and if they haven't bought their own property...there are going to be an awful lot of old, poor people in the future

this is a timebomb

bert | 10.02.20 - 8:33 a.m. | #

I suspect that there is a chance the pension system (both public and private - many of which are in deficit) could fall over in the same way the banking system did.

Many people I know just pay their bills month to month, when I ask how they plan to pay those bills when they retire I get blank looks, along with some comment about living for the day, because of low inflation mortgage debt isn't being eroded like it used to be - many have added to it to pay for improvements/car/holiday or to help one of their children onto the housing ladder.

Still Anon | 10.02.20 - 8:55 a.m. | #

The bus pass situation is very complicated, available at 60 in the areas mentioned by Roger, but only if you live there.

The full English pass is available to both men and women at the female retirement age, which makes a lot of difference to men born in the 50's.

kev | 10.02.20 - 9:00 a.m. | #

I expect two of my English sisters in law are WASPI. One only uses FB to rail against the unfairness of the change.

Here in Australia the pension age jumped from 65 to 67 if you were born in 1957, the cut off date being in January. I was born in October <insert swear word description of politicians> Such a big jump is not fair and I don't think it is fair in England.

Andrew | Homepage | 10.02.20 - 9:17 a.m. | #

Back in 1966,the Economics Lecturer at the Brixton School of Building told us students that we we woud have a problem with our state pensions. This was for four main reasons. Rather than dying before or soon after retirement age (60/65) people were starting to live many years beyond that. Secondly, our NI contributions were not going into a Pension Fund to pay our pensions when we retired, the money was used to pay out to current pensioners. Thirdly, the birth rate was falling. Fourthly, technology was increasingly reducing the number of jobs. The result was that fewer and fewer workng people were paying to support more and more retired people. His solution was to equalise the retirement ages for men and women within ten years and to raise the retirement age by one year every five / ten years (so by now the retirement age would be between 70 and 76). Fortunately for me and my fellow students, nothing changed and so we got our pensions at 65.

strawbrick | 10.02.20 - 9:51 a.m. | #

I hit state pension age last November. Previously I'd been unemployed which meant that my income went from £73 per week to £168 which, coupled with the savings I'm making from using the bus pass, now make me £100 per week better off than I was this time last year. I no longer need to scrimp and scrape to get by and can now live fairly well.

People in work however will see their income drastically drop once their state pension kicks in and may well have trouble surviving the lack of spending power.

If the state pension was the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage, which after all is the lowest that anybody can be legally paid in this country,based on a 35 hour week it would be £287.35 not £168.60.

Governments of various hues have all been keen on whacking up the state pension age for ordinary working people but aren't willing to pay a decent amount, instead falling back on the Triple Lock pr guff that they like to trumpet.

milliem | 10.02.20 - 9:57 a.m. | #

When pensions were introduced in 1908 the retirement age was 70.

Surbitonian | 10.02.20 - 11:34 a.m. | #

I'm concerned that the state pension will not exist in 20 to 30 years (when I'll be retiring). However, it may be replaced by a universal basic income (perhaps with a pension top-up based on age or if you have other income (including private pension paying out)). Somehow I suspect that the end result will be cheaper for the government whatever happens.

I know that very few people are putting enough into their private pensions to live anywhere near a decent standard come retirement, even with a full state pension. Sure, they'll be planning to have paid off their mortgage and may have a plan to relocate to unlock that equity, but not everybody can do that.

I feel this work 5 days a week until retirement age and then stop entirely is the issue. Why can't we (choose to) work 4 days a week from 55, 3 days a week from 65, and so on? This type of job needs to be far more common. I.e., you've bought the house by 55, so you can survive on less money, so why not start enjoying life more immediately?

Sykobee | 10.02.20 - 2:11 p.m. | #

As someone born in 1990, the only think I am confident in is that my projected pensionable age will not reflect reality when the time comes.
I only wish I could accurately project the value of my state or private pension in 41 years' time

Richard | 10.02.20 - 4:33 p.m. | #

Of course, none of the people making the decisions to put back the pension age willbe relying on the state pension themselves...

As for putting money into a private pension, the fact is that many in employment are so poorly paid that they can't save any money at all. And that's before you start looking at people who can't work because they have a disability of some sort.

Agent X | 10.02.20 - 9:26 p.m. | #

Sykobee - you're also assuming that these young people will have got a foot on the property ladder to begin with. If they're still renting by retirement age (not inconceivable), then what?

martin | 11.02.20 - 6:23 a.m. | #

I too found that my income more than doubled when I started getting my state pension. Because of patchy NI contributions (going back to college as a fulltime student to get a degree in my late 20s, then various gaps later) I'd been paying for extra years, and funding a personal pension to be paid later. I was so amazed at the amount I finally received, and it would be regular and permanent, no more signing on and arguing with DoE staff.

amber | 11.02.20 - 7:04 a.m. | #

clearest exposition i've read so far ... top marks

Tristan FORWARD | Homepage | 15.02.20 - 10:59 a.m. | #

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