AIBU to wonder why a pensioner struggling financially would not use housing equity?

Well when people imagine you pay tax on 16 hours a week minimum wage and use that as an argument, look at what you’re replying to.

A person who’s not the brightest button in the box.

It’s weird how all pension-related threads go the same way. No focused discussion but full of individuals justifying their own situations. I’d love more fact-based discussions on MN about topics like this but it won’t happen.

On 16 hours a week minimum wage you pay zero tax.

Yeah the thread has jumped the shark a bit but I’d say it’s the latter.

While lying about me moaning “how little I get”.

Grow a backbone.

Im not sure what people are arguing now - is it people in houses with unprecedented gains shouldnt get the state pension or just that they shouldnt moan about thier lot because they can do something about it.

@StealMySunshiningThe user base is older on MNs so I guess that explains some of it but many older people do recognise the issues.

Everything is taken as a personal attack on MN, it’s so bizarre. I think it comes from generations of viewing and treating pensioners like they need extra care and support. Which, prior to the current cohort of pensioners, was absolutely true. However, we are now in a position where this cohort of pensioners hold the most wealth out of any other age demographic in the country.

So why are we still giving the highest levels of support to the wealthiest demographic? It makes no sense.

Please post the other threads I have replied to you on.

Then stop replying and also stop lying that I moan about what little I ‘get’ as I get SFA. Any money I have as income is money from private pensions.

You are basically a liar.

If you’re not, link to me moaning about how little I “get”.

@StealMySunshiningits a very narrow experience on MNs!

@Katyppyou genuinely want to know why I think your post is nonsense?

Why does questioning whether someone with an asset should contribute towards their costs mean you are envious and spiteful?

Younger generations are disadvantaged when it comes to housing costs, 5.5m used to live in council homes, what is that figure today?

Every generation does have its struggles but the ones facing today’s young are unprecedented. And many of those you call entitled won’t be living in a house worth more because they won’t get out of renting and they won’t have children either.

It’s crazy! It will get ignored because everyone focuses on their own experiences and anecdotal data. We are talking about a country as a whole: we can’t create fiscal policy based on the experiences of Anne down the road.

But yeah, of that cohort of pensioners (who will currently be between the ages of 80-89), 64% of them did not work FT for at least 75% of their working lives. So what were they doing? Because the way posters on here are talking, everyone was down the pit or on the front line or something.

Also back to the OP equity release has changed & you can ring fence, can’t owe more than your home etc. It’s not the product it was, some are even using it as a means of avoiding IHT.

@StealMySunshiningIt will get ignored, I also read recently that in the 90s about 1.6m paid higher rate tax, today it’s nearly 6m largely driven by fiscal drag…

But you see I don’t think that’s relevant. Both individuals are working the same number of hours and contributing the same NI and taxes. Why should their individual circumstances matter? Because if we are saying that they do, then we start making moral judgements about who “deserves” more or who has worked “harder”, which is where the current cohort of pensioners fall down.

You have confused me, we don’t know what?

The changing demographics? We know we have an ageing population, there are more over 60s than over 20s now.

We know that lending criteria has changed, you can’t get 95% interest only mortgages, you can’t self certify without any proof.

We know that wages have stagnated and economic growth has eluded us for nearly 20 years.

Affordability is a factor because interest rates of 5/6% with today’s actual prices have the same squeeze on incomes like the higher interest rates of the past.

Of course a house you buy today should be worth more in 10 years, due to inflation but decades ago we had huge above inflationary gains and today many properties aren’t even keeping pace with inflation.

What do you think is going to drive huge property price growth like we saw in the 80s and 90s?

None of the posters who are up in arms have said anything about those statistics yet. But I guess the DWP is also out to get the poor pensioners. I knew the figure was lower than people would think but even I was surprised by how low it actually is! Only 36%!

My house was bought for x in 2005. To keep place with inflation it should be worth about 1.8x now.

It's actually worth about 1.5x. So it hasn't even kept up with inflation over the 20 year time period. What it will do over the next 20 years or so I don't know, but I doubt it will "rise substantially".

There are flats around my area that are struggling to keep up with their 2005 purchase price.

It's only certain types of houses and certain parts of the country where prices have risen by large amounts.

Did you not search for me to see if I was a new poster or not? And from that you have concocted this wild narrative that I am somehow on a mission to destroy you. Again, get a grip. I don’t care about you. I am contributing to a discussion about pension policy.

Across mumsnet? One thread. Is lying a habit?

Stats I have provided earlier on in this thread from the DWP shows that of the 1937-1946 cohort of people in the UK, only 36% of them were in FT work for more than 75% of the time. So who are all these people working from dusk til dawn from the age of 15-65?

Quite