To be angry with people who describe the old age pension as a "benefit"?

Read your original benefits package. Your investment in your retirement should have accrued fair interest monthly or per annum. The invested principle is your earned money investment, the interest on investment is from the government using that money for investment that earn them income and a small percentage payed to you for using your money. If there is no benefit to investing in a government retirement plan, everyone should stop paying in to that plan immediately and put that money in a bank where they can buy AAA rated CDs or annuities when they save enough money.

Changing the retirement age should not affect the ppl who previously retired under that previous law or agreement. It should only affect ppl from that date forward. New laws cannot go back in time and affect pple who did business with them under prior laws.

Everyone affected should file a class action suite against the government for stealing their interest, for screwing with their rightful access to their own money, that was promised under the law, in previous years.

I am angry at them for their leeching, bloodsucking ways to hardworking citizens, that pay too many taxes already!

Why?

I don’t feel that my daughter’s grandmother who has never worked by choice has any more right to her benefit(pension) than my daughter has to her’s for her severe MH managed by a team when she very much wants to and plans to work.

This has been copied and pasted so many times on Facebook and the like.
State pensions ARE a benefit like it or not. Based on your contributions made during your working age years.
I’ll be a week off 69 when I get mine, if they don't raise the pension age.
Working age people are paying for the current pensioners. It’s not a savings account that you withdraw from.

I used to work for The Pension Service which is part of DWP and we were always told to tell people that their State pension is an entitlement not a benefit.

It works exactly the same way as how you pay NI to be eligible for job seekers if you ever need it.

They are both benefits.

First post nails it then filling posts expand on the explanation.
Your pension contributions are not a savings account. Sorry to disappoint

I’m a pensioner. I don’t care a jot that it’s called a benefit 🤷🏼‍♀️ why would I? That’s exactly what it is.

It can be inaccurate but it’s has done pretty well here.

I’m not receiving pension, but I don’t view people who do receive it as ‘benefit’ claimants. But unfortunately atm, younger generations are looking for someone to blame for the current situation the country is in in respect of finance shortfall. As there are an increasing amount of people claiming disability and other benefits, they’re not going to bite the hand that feeds them, so they’ve nominated pensioners and ‘boomers’ as their scapegoats. I certainly view someone receiving state pension as different to someone receiving benefits for example mental health issues, or those who choose not to work as a lifestyle choice.

I disagree with the OP. I'm past state pension age.

The solution to not having enough people paying into the pension for current pensioners is for people to have more babies - but they dont want to do that either. They just seem to want to moan,which is so negative and unproductive.

I appreciate this, and tbh we’re not disagreeing. I think you’re overthinking my comment because OP is speaking specifically about money that has left their pay (contributions) and feeling as though they have saved to achieve the pension - hence it not being a benefit. And OP is wrong, it is a benefit. And my comment was simply saying that the state pension is considered a contributory benefit (because you need to have a certain number of years of contributions / credits in lieu of) in order to receive it in full. There’s a number of reasons someone qualifies for the credits, but they’re never automatic. But the contributions made / credits on record, impact the final amount someone qualifies for.

None of us have been 'stitched up' by the generations that have gone before.
We may all, however, have been 'stitched up' by the successive governments of the last six, or so, decades.
And the fact that the younger generations blame the old, and the older generations blame the young, just goes to show quite how successful said governments have been in divide and conquer tactics that mean we're not all united in pointing the finger firmly at them, instead.

As per usual, first response nails it. It is, unfortunately, technically a benefit. You have just paid taxes through your working life to support public services and the pensions of the pensioners of the day. That’s why my generation is screwed because by the time we reach pensionable age, there’s going to be more people who need a state pension than young people can afford to subsidise. But if you reach pensionable age and you need it, then it’s there as a benefit you can claim.

My point is, you don't need to have paid a single penny in NI contributions to build up an NI record entitling you to state pension benefits. Claiming certain benefits - including child benefit - gives you NI credits even if you don't work. That was what I meant when I said it's based on the record rather than the contributions.

Then only give the state pension to net contributors. Huge savings there.

I am a state pensioner, I paid into the pot and now I benefit from it, that is all it means. Don't be so touchy about the word.

"stitched up"?

My grandfather was one of the first to receive the state pension. He left school age 12 (as most did of his generation) then did back breaking labour (as most did at that time), survived two world wars with rations etc then retired at 65 with a lower life expectancy than today after 53 years work.

The current retirement age is 68 for younger people. But this generation generally don't enter work til they are 21 so that makes 47 years work. But that work isn't generally back breaking and life expectancy much longer.

All is all you will get your pension much sooner, after an easier working life and will draw it much longer. So quit with the stitched up nonsense.

Unless you earn, and pay tax on a wage of about £40k or more every single year of your working life you are not a net contributor. You cost the country more than you take out. This figure is higher for people with children.

For most people the state pension is a benefit as they have never ‘paid in’ more than they have cost.

The Canada Pension Plan is similar to the UK old age pension. Today's workers are funding today's pensioners.

How very condescending. What a nasty person you are.

“It looks accurate” and actually being accurate are two different things. It may be accurate, but it may well not be. ChatGPT is often incorrect. It’s a language learning model. Ask chatGPT to confirm if it is always accurate or not

But if your NIC was ringfenced for your own future pension, other taxes would have to increase to cover pensions of the current pensioners, so you'd be worse off.

Yes I agree OP

I truly wish it was a ring fence pot, as with many other things my generation has been stitched up by the generations before. I’m sure there will be no state pension when I come to retire.