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MSE News: Pension age rise bought forward
Former_MSE_Helen
Former MSE 2.4K Posts
This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:
"The Government is to bring forward an increase in the state pension age to 67, says the pensions minister ..."
"The Government is to bring forward an increase in the state pension age to 67, says the pensions minister ..."
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How do you know? A £1m pension pot will only pay out £36kpa, and that's before they have to pay more tax than they'll get in pension, so give them a break!
How we about we start rewarding success and prudent saving rather than always trying to punish it?
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.
So I welcome the current government 'grasping the nettle' so to speak, but I agree the speed at which the changes are being proposed will inevitably result in inequality for people in their 50s who for many years have been working on the assumption of a state pension at 65 and suddenly the goalposts have moved to 66 or 67.
When, not so very long ago, universal state pensions were introduced, not a high proportion of people lived long enough to receive it and if they did, it was not for long. Now, most people live to 65 and a much larger percentage of people will draw the pension for 20 or 30 years.
Although 'people are living longer' is usally trotted out as the main reason for the changes, I think this does not hold true across the board and there will be many areas where life expectancy is probably not much higher than it was 50 years ago.
This is well known in the insurance industry when assessing annuity rates and people in areas with high mortality get better pensions for the same pot of money than people from more affluent areas.
I wonder if the government may be missing a trick (although surely they must have looked at it) and instead of increasing the pension age to 67 so quickly, instead they could introduce a postcode system for the state pension. Maybe the admin costs would outweigh the savings but if it works for private pensions and annuities, surely it would be worth a look and it might be more equitable to everyone. Just a thought?
It wouldn't have to if the previous Government didnt make such a mess of things.
Why?
Why?
You really have a bee in your bonnet about people who work hard and generate wealth for the country. If you keep penalising the wealth generators and the large taxpayers (who already pay more than their fair share) then they will move away and pay their tax in other countries. Who will pay the tax needed then?
Increasing the pension age is a petty and vindictive knee-jerk reaction. Denying the rich the state pension would hurt nobody except a small minority who use the state pension as loose change.
£36k is a lavish pension - most people in full time employment earn less than that, and still have to pay NI contributions which pensioners do not pay. Give them a break? Are you kidding? When there is limited money to around, this should be targeted to help the most needy, not the wealthy. Your comment about rewarding success is political rhetoric, not logic.
Obviously people still have the choice of retiring earlier if they make their own provision - I'm certainly not going to be relying on the state.
MFW 2014 #41 = £26,100/£25,000
MFW 2013 #41 = £10,000/£10,000
Original MF date = May 2036 - MF achieved on 15 June 2015
Nonsense. I have no bees in my bonnet - this is about how to use limited funds more effectively. The so-called 'weath generators' can easily afford not accept state pensions which are less than what they would spend on a meal for two at the Dorchester. If the rich wish to move away, then so be it - they can do that now anyway, so nothing would change. In reality, most wealthy people cannot move due to family commitments etc, so this is just a myth perpetuated by the plutocratic press.
Problem: People aren't saving enough for retirement.
Proposed Solution: Penalise those who do.
Genius!
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.
Maybe £36k is lavish by most standards, but that is nothing to do with the state pension. It is clearly commensurate with the person's earnings and lifestyle when working.
Oh hang on, they're doing that as well.