conservatives planning to raise retirement age to 75

ToxicWomble

The current retirement age is not sustainable currently.
Contrary to some opinions, the NHS has gotten too effective at keeping people alive for longer and generally people are healthier and are living longer.
There are two alternatives - work linger or pay more into your pension

[Deleted User]

eskbanker wrote: »

or are you now claiming that 'the age of populism' started with Boris Johnson becoming PM a few weeks ago, and ceases when he's deposed, one way or another?
.

The previous government wasn’t populist, nor the ones before. So the answer to your question is “yes”. What happens after BJ is deposed? No idea, but Labour are dominated by far left populists.

atush

stronginthesun wrote: »

please tell me they cant do this . they retire early on massive pensions . us peasants work until we drop .

What the question is, what govt would be so stupid to do this.

ffacoffipawb

atush wrote: »

What the question is, what govt would be so stupid to do this.

One that would be stupid enough to take us out of the EU as a result of a fraudulent referendum that was only advisory anyway.

Kentish_Dave

ffacoffipawb wrote: »

One that would be stupid enough to take us out of the EU as a result of a fraudulent referendum that was only advisory anyway.

The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to enact the result.

If you have evidence that it was fraudulent we have courts to deal with that. Get off your backside and do something about it.

Or whine on and on. Your choice.

Zero_Sum

ffacoffipawb wrote: »

One that would be stupid enough to take us out of the EU as a result of a fraudulent referendum that was only advisory anyway.

Are you not forgetting that there's been a GE since which both Tories & Labour said theyd implement Brexit. The Lib Dems didnt do very well.

jamesd

ToxicWomble wrote: »

The current retirement age is not sustainable currently.

It's readily affordable. The policy asserts an increase in state pension cost from 3.9% of GDP in 1985 to 4.6% in 2016 and 5.6% by 2023. 1% is £20 billion. For comparison they say that the OECD average is 8.2% of GDP.

Tellingly, they don't provide a future state pension cost with and without their preconditions, nor the cost of implementing them. Instead they write about an increase in health spending from 7.3% to 8.3% and for long term care from 1.1% to 2.2%, from 2015 to 2065. It says that in 2014 Swedish long term care spending was 2.6% but 1.4% in the UK.

Up to them to explain why they wrote 1.1% and 1.4% in different places though I suppose their assertion that it fell from 1.4% in 2014 to 1.1% in 2015 might be seen as costing less.

Rather than affordability it's about policy preferences. This one favours raising the state pension age so the ones who would reach it are coerced into working more as a way to reduce spending and increase tax revenues from the less well off part of the population.

Or more succinctly: compel the less well off parts of society to pay more and cut their benefits.

Old fashioned stereotypical Conservative cutting of benefits and shifting of tax burden to favour the wealthier parts of society. At a time when Conservatives are competing badly with even a way left Labour Party that normally they'd be trouncing by grabbing the middle of that party. I find that I agree with Her Majesty's reported views about the quality of today's political class.

[Deleted User]

It's readily affordable. The policy asserts an increase in state pension cost from 3.9% of GDP in 1985 to 4.6% in 2016 and 5.6% by 2023. 1% is £20 billion. For comparison they say that the OECD average is 8.2% of GDP.

UK is 6.2%. OECD average is 7.5%. This is thanks to the wonderful economies of Greece and Italy, which care for the poor so well (over 16% each).

In general, being below average in a club with several large members having stagnating economies and below zero interest rates says zero about sustainability. Note cool correlation between subzero interest rates and having a large proportion of GDP dedicated to state pensions. https://data.oecd.org/socialexp/pension-spending.htm

The point has already been made that a think tank saying something has nothing to do with the policy of this conservative government. Equally obvious is that Tories struggling in the polls has nothing to do with something a think tank said AFTER the poll data had been collected.

Last but not least... The politics of envy never fails to score points among people unfamiliar with history of the 20th century, so claiming that increasing pension age is about exploiting “less well off” is a good one.

In reality pensions are paid to everyone of a certain age and are in effect a redistribution between young workers and older workers and retirees. We have smaller and smaller proportion of workers paying for more and more non+working people over 68, with the young people typically being less well off. The resulting and inevitable increases in tax burden on those who work disincentivise work, making it a vicious circle and deepening long term problems.

metrobus

waveydavey48 wrote: »

I'm a peasant myself but have just retired at age 57. I will be providing for myself until SP at age 67. I started full time work at 16, did A levels then professional exams both whilst working full time (and overtime) and was studying into my 30's.

I do sympathise with people who are strapped for cash but if it's possible you can achieve a lot by working hard and living within your means.

If this think tank gets its way you'll be in your 70s before getting any state pension.

metrobus

waveydavey48 wrote: »

I'm a peasant myself but have just retired at age 57. I will be providing for myself until SP at age 67. I started full time work at 16, did A levels then professional exams both whilst working full time (and overtime) and was studying into my 30's.

I do sympathise with people who are strapped for cash but if it's possible you can achieve a lot by working hard and living within your means.

If this think tank gets its way you'll be in your 70s before getting any state pension.I hope you allowed for this when retiring early and did not factor SP income in when planning how you will be funding yourself between 67-75.