Over 50s to be made exempt from income tax

[SerendipityJane]

for a year.

Admittedly, the Express, so no basis in reality, but an interesting "idea" to tempt older people back to work.

Given that these people didn't give up work because they are loaded, not sure how many would take up such a generous offer.

Also not sure how 16-49 year olds would feel about subbing up this generation.

www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1720385/Income-tax-over-50s-exemption-Rishi-Sunak-work

For me, the real news here is the complete lack of connection between government and the governed. Never ends well, even if you do eat cake.

Chewbacca - thank you for your reply - all makes sense! I had The Fear!

basically they have run out of ways to get 2/3rds of the (voting) population to gang up on the 1/3rd.

Quit an achievement when you consider the fact you can easily ignore 35% of the population as a given.

But surely this is totally unfair on the over 50's who can't afford to stop working? If you're already retired by the time you're 50 then you're likely to be comfortably off (excluding illness/disability).

Not for Tories - it’s just an extension of their policies pandering to reactionary old pensioners.

(Clearly not ALL pensioners, and not even all Tory-voting ones - the reactionary subset of Tory-voting ones. The ones for whom “make shops go back to lbs and ounces not these newfangled “kilo” things” was a vote winner).

What they seem to forget is that only the well-off are able to retire early.

I think the data that surprised the gov is the "silver exodus" didn't have just higher earners in it.

It’s probably one of those think tank things that get reported and that’s it

They’ll just buy a few more buy to lets and push up property prices.

perhaps it's a last ditch attempt to prop up the housing market!

this just makes me feel like 50+ year olds have really been grandfathered in life. Cheaper houses, free university etc.

I am 58 and quit 2 years ago. Whatever they offer I am not going back to work, as I can afford not to. I do work for free as a charity trustee, as that's my way of giving something back.

Me too. I retired during the pandemic. It would take a much bigger incentive to tempt me back to the classroom. I can't see many teachers and medics being persuaded by this. But I suppose if someone is thinking of retiring early now, they might delay it a year. Such a ridiculously unfair policy will really piss the younger generation off.

I'm 5p, still need to work, and will do for at least 15 years.

So if quit and then reapply for the same job, will I be able to avoid all tax?
Sounds great, I'm in!

In reality, it's a stupid policy, so many over 50s are still working,so those who did return would be in a much older age group, I think

Only for over 50s that aren't currently employed,?

Not sure what you mean by this?

Pp mentioned lack of competent people in the workforce. I agree and I think I'm seeing the next generation of blue sky thinkers who can't get anything practical done. That's one of many reasons I plan to stop work by 50.

There is a competence issue everywhere but so many people have got rich on talking shite, I don't know how we will change that.

I'm sure in the 20 - 50 age group, there's still a divide between the competent and the blue sky lot.

It's a very weird time to be alive.

Agree with pp, this is probably just a bonkers idea from a so called think tank.

But to be perfectly honest, I'd agree to pretty much any hair brained scheme that got people back to work that we need!!

Not as much as I'd agree to any hare brained scheme to get rid of the Tories. Even as far as banning the letter "C" 😀

I have a feeling the Govt have a totally mad definition of workers we "need".

I don't get this at all....we're on the cusp of Great Depression II plus they're importing millions of slaves, whoops sorry workers from Hong Kong alone in the next few years, what do they need the over 50's for?

Employers don't want the over 50's, they're too expensive to hire - they want minimum wage workers, which is exactly what they can easily and cheaply acquire from developing countries post-Brexit.

What the hell is going on?

My s/e business which kept me self sufficient for a decade and which I thought would go on forever (fine art events) and I worked very hard physically as well as paperwork - died under Covid and it won't ever recover, as in my region nothing has "gone back to normal", A whole generation of people in my client group have completely changed their social and spending habits.

I'm now in my late 50s and looking at myself, I wouldn't employ me. I look old after the last three years of illness and poverty. I have developed post-menopausal asthma. No-one who doesn't know me would ever employ me. I am hopeful but need to be real. No-one is going to employ me if they can get someone younger, who looks better and is fitter. This newest government BS makes no difference to me or anyone I know. if I work, I expect to pay income tax.

You touch on an important point there, which is how much has been hived out to the charity sector and how reliant we are on volunteers.

Ageism is a problem. Maybe that’s the way to do it get employers to hire over 50 m, an incentive

Probably wouldn’t go down well either - money to companies for whatever reason doesn’t really

Agree. I think it's more likely that it's not about age - any group who seem to be able to reject work is going to make them panic.

Well the sums in the article don't add up for a start 😂🙈

And it doesn't get people back into work as it's income tax - this isn't just due on paye income.

Can't see many pensioners rushing back into the workplace but they would get more of their pension with no tax on it if this ever came to fruition.

Both DH and I retired during the pandemic, we won't be going back to work. I can't see that you would be that popular in the workplace with your colleagues that don't get this tax break.

Subbing this generation… hilarious…how much tax does a 16 year old pay? And how much tax have these over 50s paid up till they gave up work? I worked from 16 to 58, paid loads of tax… no one will be subbing me if I return to work ffs!

Well, whenever there is a landslide as there was at the last election, the working class, middle class etc of all ages would have to vote in a particular way. Traditionally older people do vote Conservative but it is not a given. Many do not and many younger people do.

this just makes me feel like 50+ year olds have really been grandfathered in life. Cheaper houses, free university etc.

It makes you wonder why so few 50+ year olds actually went to university.