Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

How many have factored in pension cuts into their SHTF scenarios?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/11167433/Cut-state-pension-in-half-and-lower-taxes-says-think-tank.html

[Deleted User]

The news on Sky has just said that an Air France plane is in isolation at Madrid airport with a suspected ebola case who is a man flying from Nigeria and was taken ill on the flight from Paris to Madrid. They have him in hospital now and the other passengers will presumably be held in quarantine until he proves negative or positive, not very reassuring news. I wonder where he landed from Nigeria to transit to Madrid, they didn't say if he'd flown direct to Paris or from elsewhere in europe.

We're going to invest in some cat litter, heavy duty plastic sacks, sawdust ( in case we have to make the dreaded improvised loo) and quite a lot of bottled water and hope very much that we don't need them in earnest. I still think it's not in the UK and I still think there's no need to panic but I think it's likely to prove problematic in the not too distant future in one way or another, so precautions and thinking ahead might be a sensible thing.

jk0

Frugalsod wrote: »

How many have factored in pension cuts into their SHTF scenarios?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/11167433/Cut-state-pension-in-half-and-lower-taxes-says-think-tank.html

I forget where I read it, but the other day I saw an article that said anyone under 35 would never get an old age pension due to the age you get it constantly being raised. I guess those of us in our forties won't do much better, so I stopped funding national insurance when I left paid employment.

[Deleted User]

Lavandula Rosemary why not join in the posting then? rather than just pop in to pass comment join in and tell us what your preps and ideas are and if you've got good ideas we'll all gain from them. Don't make us the villans of the piece we'd welcome input and we'd appreciate having you on the prepping roundabout too.

Frugalsod

jk0 wrote: »

I forget where I read it, but the other day I saw an article that said anyone under 35 would never get an old age pension due to the age you get it constantly being raised. I guess those of us in our forties won't do much better, so I stopped funding national insurance when I left paid employment.

The starting age needs to climb purely because of longevity. Otherwise it becomes unsustainable. Also many people are already unable to retire on their private pensions with annuity rates so low and the massive failure to save enough to actually retire. You would need to save a massive 25% or more of your income to be able to retire. This is on top of any deductions for income tax etc.

Frugalsod

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

The news on Sky has just said that an Air France plane is in isolation at Madrid airport with a suspected ebola case who is a man flying from Nigeria and was taken ill on the flight from Paris to Madrid. They have him in hospital now and the other passengers will presumably be held in quarantine until he proves negative or positive, not very reassuring news. I wonder where he landed from Nigeria to transit to Madrid, they didn't say if he'd flown direct to Paris or from elsewhere in europe.

We're going to invest in some cat litter, heavy duty plastic sacks, sawdust ( in case we have to make the dreaded improvised loo) and quite a lot of bottled water and hope very much that we don't need them in earnest. I still think it's not in the UK and I still think there's no need to panic but I think it's likely to prove problematic in the not too distant future in one way or another, so precautions and thinking ahead might be a sensible thing.

Here is one US politicians solution.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/former-sc-gop-director-execute-anyone-who-comes-into-contact-with-ebola-its-just-math/

GreyQueen

Evening all.

My parents worked in unskilled manual jobs and Dad's state pension is the same every 4 weeks as my monthly salary. Plus about another £170 per month in company pension, plus Mum's state pension (she always paid full stamp apart from 9 years as a SAHM) plus her small company pension. Plus life-savings and being in the right place at the right time to pick up a 3 bedroom house with change from £8k.

They saved hard to contribute towards their company pensions with AVCs as well, but are no worse off in retirement than they were in work. Which is common for many working class pensioners atm.

As a middle-aged person. I will get my state pension and my local govt pension at 67, assuming that I live to see that age and that the retirement age isn't pushed back still further (and I'd bet on at least 70, if I was a gambling woman).

Soooo, I get to forced to contribute through taxation to the pensions of those who are better off than I am as a worker, plus to fund additional concessions and top-ups, ones which I need far more than they do.

Whilst hearing incessant carping from the pensioner cohort during my job. Pensioners who seem to feel that hitting a significant birthday should get them a free pass from all sorts of expenditures, regardless of their income, and how hard-pressed the rest of us are to pay our own bills.

I'm a little p-d off about this, as you may gather from the tone, but not a lot I can do about it, given my age, low income and poor health. But I certainly won't put anything additional into either state or local govt schemes when the payout date is receding at speed.

***********
Am learning some interesting stuff about The Hundred Years War. F'rinstance, on 16th December 1355, The Black Prince hand-wrote and sealed a pass for an archer called William Jauderel in Bordeaux, allowing him to travel back to England. He was part of the elite archers guarding the Black Prince, and his family have the pass today. They standardised the spelling of their family name as Jodrell. Originally from Yeardsley in Derbyshire, they had an estate in Cheshire which came into their ownership named after them; Jodrell Bank.

From wikipedia:

****Jodrell Bank was first used for academic purposes in 1939 when the University of Manchester's Department of Botany purchased three fields at the site from the Leighs. The name of the site came from a nearby ground rise called Jodrell Bank, which was named after William Jauderell and whose descendants, the Leighs, lived at the mansion that is now Terra Nova School. The site was extended in 1952 by the purchase of a farm from a local farmer, George Massey. The new land included the site upon which the Lovell Telescope was sited.[1] *****

From archery to radio-telescopes, whodathunkit? :rotfl:

Doveling

Jodrell Bank is a few miles away from me and it's a fabulous place for a day out.

Bedsit Bob - hope Buggaluggs is speaking to you now :rotfl:.
I've just bought one of the grandchildren a remote control car for Christmas, are there any particular batteries you would advise as obviously batteries are not included?

I will be relying on state pension as I've never had any money to put away and I've always worked albeit part-time for a number of years! What will SAHM's do?

Someone was asking about children at school re: ebola - sending them in etc.- I think schools have a generic emergency plan but not sure. Perhaps you could ask to see that if they have one?

mardatha

I worked most of my life but paid the wee stamp for an awful long time. I only get basic state pension + a couple of £s. Currently £105. If I lose the RV then I will seriously have to reconsider my options as the coal alone costs £34 a week!

1Tonsil

It is not often I say something good about Facebook, so here is something good for a change. They have just introduced a new thing called Safety Check. You can go to this page and click like and notifications. If there is a natural disaster or danger in your area it will check if you are safe and tell you if your friends are safe or need help. Obviously it may not work in some situations, but in others it may be a good idea. It could also notify you if there is danger in your vicinity that you may not know of.

https://www.facebook.com/safetychek?fref=ts

We should have had our solar system installed on Wednesday but they sent the wrong base, so we are on hold till it arrives. It has been very cloudy and humid all week but still very warm at thirty degrees. The air is full of red dust from Africa and it is affecting people with chest problems and asthma. I feel like I have hay fever at the moment from it and it is making my husbands eyes really sore.

Hoping it will clear with the high winds forecast for us. It looks like the UK could be in for some stormy weather in the next week or so, keep an eye on the forecasts folks xx