Boomers Pension Gravy Train Finally To Be Derailed

Castle

hildosaver wrote: »

I think it's largely down to people's incomes being squeezed and their outgoings increasing leaving most with much less disposable income vs pensioners who have much less outgoings generally. So it looks like pensioners are much better off but really they have basically just stayed still while everybody else has been squeezed.


Is that the pensioners fault? I certainly do not think so.

Agreed; looking at the above chart most of the increase has come in the last 10 years due principally to the recession/wage freezes.

ukcarper

steampowered wrote: »

I agree that most of those quotes refer to disposable income. Disposable income is key when looking at people's living standards.

However I strongly disagree that 'it will always be that way'. As the following graph from the Daily Telegraph demonstrates, pensioner's disposable income has shot up from about 60% to more than 100% of that of non-pensioners. The pattern is the same whether you take account of housing/mortgage costs or not.

There is no getting around the fact that pensioner income has shot up drastically over the past few years (as has the amount of state money being spent on pensioners, far in excess of what pensioners paid in tax during their working lives). I really don't see how this is sustainable in the long term.

That graph contradicts ONS graph.

ruggedtoast

If a party were finally brave enough to campaign on increasing pensioner poverty they would pick up a lot of votes from Millenials and Gen X.

CLAPTON

ukcarper wrote: »

That graph contradicts ONS graph.

the great increase in relative poverty of the millenial and lower paid relative to penioners, has clearly occurred during the large flood of cheap immigrant labour: this has, and is still holding down incomes of the poorer workers but has ittle effect on pensions.

Until wages are allowed to rise, simply abolishing bus passes will not have much effect

breaking_free

45 year old person here.

There are a couple of specific monetary benefits that 'oldies' had access to which young people do not.

- Free tertiary education: today's new graduates start out their working lives with eye watering loans.

- MIRAS Mortgage Interest Tax relief for homeowners: prior to April 2000 a homeowner (yes, not a buy to let landlord) could get tax relief on the mortgage interest of their family home. There's a good article on MIRAS here . Home owners could save hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year in tax. Today's buyers don't have this advantage.

missbiggles1

breaking_free wrote: »

45 year old person here.

There are a couple of specific monetary benefits that 'oldies' had access to which young people do not.

- Free tertiary education: today's new graduates start out their working lives with eye watering loans.

- MIRAS Mortgage Interest Tax relief for homeowners: prior to April 2000 a homeowner (yes, not a buy to let landlord) could get tax relief on the mortgage interest of their family home. There's a good article on MIRAS here . Home owners could save hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year in tax. Today's buyers don't have this advantage.

Tertiary education is still free - you mean higher education. Also worth pointing out re HE - four times as many people go to university these days which you may or may not see as an advantage.

Castle

breaking_free wrote: »

- MIRAS Mortgage Interest Tax relief for homeowners: prior to April 2000 a homeowner (yes, not a buy to let landlord) could get tax relief on the mortgage interest of their family home. There's a good article on MIRAS here . Home owners could save hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year in tax. Today's buyers don't have this advantage.

But they do have far lower interest rates!

ukcarper

ruggedtoast wrote: »

If a party were finally brave enough to campaign on increasing pensioner poverty they would pick up a lot of votes from Millenials and Gen X.

I bet there wouldn't most young people do not have your hatred for thier parents and grandparents.

westernpromise

ukcarper wrote: »

I bet there wouldn't most young people do not have your hatred for thier parents and grandparents.

Yep. Corbyn's little helpers will find out come the GE that there aren't really that many votes in a "we hate and envy all the same people as you" platform.

ruggedtoast

ukcarper wrote: »

I bet there wouldn't most young people do not have your hatred for thier parents and grandparents.

Wanting someone to be less spoilt isn't necessarily hatred.