Are you Economically Inactive?

Pat38493

I was wondering what those who are retired and/or nearing retirement think about being referred to with a blanket term like "economically inactive".

To me this seems like a massive oversimplification.

Differing Examples:

- Retired and not earning, but  doing a lot of volunteer work that some people might argue should be paid for by taxpayers in a properly fair society.

- Retired but looking after grand children or other help allowing the parents or others to go to work.

- Retired but spending pension pot money in the UK economy.

- Retired and moved abroad and doesn't spend any money at all in the UK.

To me, it seems that only the last one is truly economically inactive from a UK government perspective.  Indeed, the first 3 categories will be paying tax in the UK out of their pension pot and in VAT etc.

Linton

"Economically inactive" is a technical term used in UK government statistics.  On the ONS website It is defined to mean: "People not in employment who have not been seeking work within the last 4 weeks and/or are unable to start work within the next 2 weeks."

So no judgement, simply a term used for categorisation purposes.

D924

I'm economically inactive because I have too much savings to claim any kind of benefits so that's the statistic I get lumped into.

The real unemployment rate (people who want to work but no company will take them) is double digits for sure.

DavidT67

If I'm casually seeking working, then I'm economically active then ? 

I'll let the wife know that my lying on the couch watching countdown is supporting the economy ;-)

Pat38493

Linton said:

"Economically inactive" is a technical term used in UK government statistics.  On the ONS website It is defined to mean: "People not in employment who have not been seeking work within the last 4 weeks and/or are unable to start work within the next 2 weeks."

So no judgement, simply a term used for categorisation purposes.

True, but we have heard a lot of talk in the news recently about too many people being economically inactive, without any clarification that this is a technical statistical term and it doesn't imply that they might not be impacting the economy in some way or other.  Based on that definition, a millionaire buy to let landlord is economically inactive.

Sea_Shell

ECONOMICALLY INACTIVE - AND PROUD !!!!! 


(well, I fall into the 3rd category above  )


Savings 
Investments
Pay no Income Tax
Spend in UK

Linton

Pat38493 said:

Linton said:

"Economically inactive" is a technical term used in UK government statistics.  On the ONS website It is defined to mean: "People not in employment who have not been seeking work within the last 4 weeks and/or are unable to start work within the next 2 weeks."

So no judgement, simply a term used for categorisation purposes.

True, but we have heard a lot of talk in the news recently about too many people being economically inactive, without any clarification that this is a technical statistical term and it doesn't imply that they might not be impacting the economy in some way or other.  Based on that definition, a millionaire buy to let landlord is economically inactive.

I would agree that a millionaire BTL landlord is "econimcally inactive" according to the definition of the term.

The problem is that there are insufficient people able and willing to fill the number of vacancies.  Hence the economy is not working as efficiently as it could be and It would be beneficial  for the rest of us if the millionaire BTL landlord were to be "economically active".

DavidT67

But why would myself as a financially independent millionaire take a heavily taxed salaried role ?

The current government now taxes earned income far more heavily than unearned income and wealth. 

Albermarle

Maybe ' Unavailable for paid employment'( for one reason or another ) would be a better description?

MK62

The government taxes many things too heavily.......and well, here we are, with the biggest tax burden for generations......Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt need treatment for tax addiction  . I doubt it'd be any lower with the other lot though......

I'm  Cat 2&3 (above) economically inactive......personally I'm not overly concerned with whatever the government class me as though tbh.

Statistics though......I recently read this somwehere and found it quite amusing (paraphrasing though, and not sure if it's accurate, but it wouldn't surprise me tbh).......

Ethel and Doris don't work or earn and so are "economically inactive" and contribute nothing to GDP.......however if they paid each other 10k pa to clean each other's houses, would they suddenly become "economically active" and add £20k pa to GDP?....

squirrelpie

Linton said:

The problem is that there are insufficient people able and willing to fill the number of vacancies.  Hence the economy is not working as efficiently as it could be and It would be beneficial  for the rest of us if the millionaire BTL landlord were to be "economically active".

That sounds rather like a judgment that you said wasn't implied to me? And was the point of the OP I think.