Retired people could work for pensions..

PaulF81

Sorry, your figures are wrong, completely wrong. you need to use median not the mean salary. 24k is roughy the median UK salary. Pop that into the tax calculator, in terms of income tax and NI, that adds up to £5100. over 50 years thats 250K, that is taken up pretty much by someon living 22 years on the state pension. Only solution? Make everyone, including existing pensioners work till later until the figures balance. Its the fairest way for all. 5 year grandfather rights, after that, get back to work grandad. If you cant find work, you can do civic duties to earn your state pension and cheap gas.

These figures completely ignore all the other costs of the state, defence, education, infrastructure projects.

With the current balance of things, pensioners get back in benefits pretty much what they paid in plus some, with younger generations making up the difference in future liabilities.

They didnt pay enough, so QED they need to work longer (as I will have to) or their benefits need cutting, or they need to help out with more civic stuff. SOmeone asked what caused the deficit?

ITs pretty blinking obvious. We spend more than we pay in tax, then carp on at election time, voting in the party that are the most aligned with our short term interests instead of the nations long term interests. The biggest demographic group is the boomer (about to retire)/OAP generation, quid pro quo its this group that have their interests looked after whilst earlier generations have the quality of their education cut, higher taxation, poorer healthcare and extortionate living costs.

Dont ask for sympathy. none will be forthcoming.

ukcarper

You have some very good ideas for someone paying tax at 40% suppose we say everybody up tp 75 has to get a job where are those jobs going to come from.

By the way you use Mean not Median think about it. but if you use median direct tax is £355k.

thorsoak

Statement of fact: woman - born 1943, married 1963, 4 children b 1966, 1969, 1972 & 1976. Worked from 1961-1966, then again, p/t from 1970-1978, f/t work from 1978-2005. ALL CHILDREN working/paying taxes etc - been lucky enough to have been in work since leaving uni/college.

OH born 1940, worked from 1958-1976 (apprentice/trainee), back to uni 1976-1978. Worked during vacations. From 1978 back into f/t work, until accident 1982 (car accident, resulting in brain injury), claimed s/b then i/b until 1988 when returned to p/t work which eventually became f/t work until 2008. (Previously lecturer, latterly store porter).

Bought 1st home 1963, with mortgage of 6.8%, sold & bought second house in 1963 - variable interest rate which rose as high as 16.8%, sold in 2008, when bought last home - no mortgage.

Both "retired" 2008. OH diagnosed with cancer 2010, died 2011. My income is now such that I would be entitled to less than £10 pm pensions savings credit - so am back working, for NMW, 20 hours per week.

Do you think that I can be excused from pensioners national service???

PaulF81

In all seriousness, I dont know why any OAP wouldnt want to get involved. There would have to be some form of transport put on by the state, most of the OAPs I am involved with locally are VERY active in the community (parish council, local schools, charity fund raising etc).

If anything, it would do the OAP community a world of good. I would hate to be a pensioner and lonely, sat at home waiting for the next pension cheque.

BobQ

Lord Bichard is a career public servant who retired early on hugh indexed linked pension under a system in which those receiving higher paid public sector pensions were subsidised by the much lower paid public servants he managed. He then went on to accept vast sums from varuious public sector quangos and numerous part time private consultancies. It would appear the man has spent his career producing nothing but hot air so you have to ask by what right he pontificates on what people who have spent their career paying into a system that enables them to retire should do with their time when they opt to take that reirement.

The BIg Society was meant to be about volunteering not conscription. Maybe if this bloated ex-bureaucrat and unelected politician actually retired on his vast public sector income he would have the time to practice what he preaches and volunteer himself.

rheme

When Lord Bichard picks up a sweeping brush to sweep the streets I'll be there with him matching him for every minute/sweep he makes. Don't think I will be there too long.

Think this is to scare monger people into private pensions/top ups so they are less reliant on state pensions.

There would be national uproar if any government tried to bring this in. Think of all the sick notes!!

PaulF81

What, like all the sick notes the government is giving their marching orders to? Something like 50% who were actually fit to work?

Yorkie1

One wonders who would fund the extra ATOS 'ill-health' assessments that would be required ...

Cuckooclock

Please don't forget people of my age (62+) were lead to believe that paying NI would cover a reasonable Old Age Pension. When we began to realise it wasn't, many of us also took out private pensions, which took up a fair portion of our salaries.
I wish I could have paid 40% tax as I would have be on a excellent salary then. Unfortunately I had a difficult life & was please just to be able to work my way up from a clerical job.
So much bitterness on here its a shame not all folk can discuss things without criticising & blaming everyone but themselves.

PaulF81

The point is, despite how nice it would be to give everyone a decent pension, it just isnt possible without sacrificing the quality of life and more importantly the future prospects of earlier generations.

That, to me, is a completely unacceptable state of affairs.