Crunch Time: A crisis that is dividing young and old

ukcarper

University may be the problem too many people doing hobby degrees I heard that there are more photography students than there are professional photographers in Europe

Pobby

Yep, soon to be retired. I remember well the first meeting back in about 1998. All us 50 year old folk got together to plan massive house price inflation. B-gger our kids we said, lets screw them over. I was on the steering group and it was my job to ring up the credit card companies and ask them to give all the youngsters multiple credit lines, whether they could afford it or not.

My bests buddies job was fairly hard, he had to persuade the banks to lend out at multi times incomes and turn, well lets say, a blind eye to some creativity regarding actual income. However they turned up trumps.

One guys job was tough. He had to persuade the kids that they really needed the latest i-pods, games consoles and so on but he worked at at it. he coined the phrase "You are soooooooooo worth it"

Then we thought, hey why don`t we screw ourselves over. Brilliant idea. So we got Gordon McBroooon Trousers to lie about inflation, reduce interest rates down to three quarters of a half of sweet Fanny Adams. What wasn`t difficult was to persuade the pension providers to give us next to nothing for all the money we have saved. Nasty old lot ain`t we!

iolanthe07

In the mid 1960's only about 4% of people went to university, most started work at 15 or 16, so no gap years in Thailand. Stag do's were a night out in Weston-super-Mare, if you were lucky. No weekends in Prague or Barcelona. Young people have so much more than we did, but I don't hold a grudge because they'll be keeping me in my dotage.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

needahome wrote: »

I had to pay for my university education, they got theirs for free.

They got final salary pensions, I don't

I've got to work longer than they did, to pay for their greed.

They bought their homes a lot cheaper then we do in relation to their wages.

need I go on ?

Oh my god I feel so sorry for you.
Sour grapes or what.
Let's just see how you feel when your'e reaching retirement,lets hope by then you've grown up.

pink_princess

Pobby wrote: »

Yep, soon to be retired. I remember well the first meeting back in about 1998. All us 50 year old folk got together to plan massive house price inflation. B-gger our kids we said, lets screw them over. I was on the steering group and it was my job to ring up the credit card companies and ask them to give all the youngsters multiple credit lines, whether they could afford it or not.

My bests buddies job was fairly hard, he had to persuade the banks to lend out at multi times incomes and turn, well lets say, a blind eye to some creativity regarding actual income. However they turned up trumps.

One guys job was tough. He had to persuade the kids that they really needed the latest i-pods, games consoles and so on but he worked at at it. he coined the phrase "You are soooooooooo worth it"

Then we thought, hey why don`t we screw ourselves over. Brilliant idea. So we got Gordon McBroooon Trousers to lie about inflation, reduce interest rates down to three quarters of a half of sweet Fanny Adams. What wasn`t difficult was to persuade the pension providers to give us next to nothing for all the money we have saved. Nasty old lot ain`t we!

Can we still vote post of the month,and im only 32 (tommorow):D

Broken_hearted

Well I had free University education and I'm no where near retirement age. Free university and grants didn't end till 2000. My dad is retired and has a great pension. We are better off now than we have been for years because we like many others saw this crisis coming years ago, but of course we were all doom mongerers.

vivatifosi

So which pensioners do you not give a fvck about?

Is it the ones that die every winter because they can't afford to heat their homes and eat?
Or maybe the ones who when they were growing up were so poor they had to sleep under their coats because their families couldn't afford proper bedding?
Or how about those whose family members died fighting so that your first language isn't German?
If you don't like your life circumstances get off your butt and do something about it, like they had to.

Jennifer_Jane

No university for me, although I would have loved to go (or for my brother and sister - sister left school at 14). I have worked for 46 years and done two diplomas at my own cost. My father went to university but his father had to pay for that. My father was also working in orthopaedic wards during the second World War, and on active duty during the Korean. I also remember food rationing.

Seems to be you're a spoilt, pitiful, whimping, whinger. Get a grip, get a life. It's in your control.

Jen
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Edale

vivatifosi wrote: »

So which pensioners do you not give a fvck about?

Is it the ones that die every winter because they can't afford to heat their homes and eat?
Or maybe the ones who when they were growing up were so poor they had to sleep under their coats because their families couldn't afford proper bedding?
Or how about those whose family members died fighting so that your first language isn't German?
If you don't like your life circumstances get off your butt and do something about it, like they had to.

Firstly I think it would be a cruel country that did not look after its old, however I do often wonder when it is quoted about OAPs not being able to pay their heating bills. A single pensioner with no savings and only state pension would have a minimum pension of £130 as a couple it would be £198.45. In addition both would be eligible to housing benefit probably paying the full rent and council tax benefit paying the full CT, then there is the winter fuel payment of £200 (or £300 if over 80), cold weather payments of £25 per week, free national travel pass, free prescriptions, free eyecare etc. I say this as my 89 year old grandmother has never had any savings, no occupational pension, lives in sheltered HA accomodation and struggles to spend her money.

As I say I want to look after our old folks but can someone explain how a pensioner these days is poor? (honest question)

Jennifer_Jane

You don't get free dentistry and that is very expensive, you don't get free eyecare (just free tests). Yes, thanks, we do get the bus thing and swimming, and prescriptions; plus the £200 per annum for fuel. It has to be extremely cold over a 7 day period for someone to get the £25 a week and you have to be on pension credit. Still have to pay for Housing; Council Tax; electricity/gas; water; food, etc.

Jen
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