Flat Rate Pensions

Farway

jojo1964 wrote: »

Eventually state pension will be allowed to "wither on the vine" when we all have to "opt out" of company pensions.

Yep, Maggie was in process of doing that, which is one reason the pension mess exists, not everyone has or can afford company pension payments, like a minimum wage burger flipper at local burger bar for instance struggling to pay rent & food

Oldbiggles

This £140 proposal won’t come into force for several years in the future, (Its all smoke and mirrors) and by then anyway, annual inflation increases in the current basic pension could well bring it to, or near to this magical £140 so none of us will be any better off (If we live that long). I think we are all being sidetracked from the real issue that this countries basic pension is lower that other member states of the ‘wonderful’ European Union.

If people in France, Spain or most other EU countries think that they are being treated unfairly, they march on Parliament or block Roads, Ports or whatever until they get something done. We English on the other hand tend to sit back and take it.

Time to lean on local politicians?

Bombard them with letters of complaint.

:beer:

seven-day-weekend

Oldbiggles wrote: »

This £140 proposal won’t come into force for several years in the future, (Its all smoke and mirrors) and by then anyway, annual inflation increases in the current basic pension could well bring it to, or near to this magical £140 so none of us will be any better off (If we live that long). I think we are all being sidetracked from the real issue that this countries basic pension is lower that other member states of the ‘wonderful’ European Union.

If people in France, Spain or most other EU countries think that they are being treated unfairly, they march on Parliament or block Roads, Ports or whatever until they get something done. We English on the other hand tend to sit back and take it.

Time to lean on local politicians?

Bombard them with letters of complaint.

:beer:

We have much more in the way of private pension provision than most othe EU countries, and pay much less NI for our State Pension. In Spain if you are self-employed you pay about 250 euros a MONTH for your NI whether or not you earn it and the only way to opt out is to de-register as self -employed. In the UK it's about £10 a month.

Also our Benefits system is much more generous than most other EU countries.

Swings and roundabouts.

Oldernotwiser

Oldbiggles wrote: »

This £140 proposal won’t come into force for several years in the future, (Its all smoke and mirrors) and by then anyway, annual inflation increases in the current basic pension could well bring it to, or near to this magical £140 so none of us will be any better off (If we live that long). I think we are all being sidetracked from the real issue that this countries basic pension is lower that other member states of the ‘wonderful’ European Union.

If people in France, Spain or most other EU countries think that they are being treated unfairly, they march on Parliament or block Roads, Ports or whatever until they get something done. We English on the other hand tend to sit back and take it.

Time to lean on local politicians?

Bombard them with letters of complaint.

:beer:

Pensions in other EU countries are higher because housing costs have to be paid out of them. In the UK we have separate benefits to cover that.

Oldbiggles

The reason workers paid into a private pension as well as paying National Insurance for a state pension was so that they would have a better standard of living when they came to retire than those who chose to rely solely on the state pension.
What is so unfair is that they now find they are no better off than those who chose not to save because of the over generous benefit system that rewards those who spent everything they made as they made it.
The Government says it can’t afford to increase the basic state pension but it could go a part way to redress the balance if for instance they immediately amalgamated the tax free winter fuel allowance into the basic state pension (together with the spectacular £10 Christmas bonus).
They would save the cost of distributing the bonus each year, which must cost a bomb, also those pensioners who pay tax would pay tax on it instead of receiving it tax free, those on means tested benefit would receive slightly less benefit payment and some might be pushed over the limit where they no longer needed to apply for benefits in the first place.

:T :T