Pension age!

[Brahumbug]

I am genuinely shocked that the Centre for Social Justice is suggesting that the state pension age should be increased to 75!😱 They want people to fund the gap from 60 to 75 with a private pension but then get a more generous state pension. Even for a rightwing think-tank that is extreme!
https://www.aon.com/unitedkingdom/employee-benefits/resources/articles/retirement-age-should-be-moved-to-75.jsp#:~:text=In%20a%20report%20called%20Ageing,increased%20to%2075%20by%202035.

There won’t be a state pension in the future, it will be private only.

As a former pensions consultant, I heartily agree.

The pensions industry has been saying this for more than 20 years now but no government has had the courage to do it.

The State pension was set up on three basic assumptions: (1) More men worked than women. (2) A man's pension would be paid, on average, for 15 years after he retired at age 65. (3) Most wives were 5 years younger than their husbands so giving them a retirement age of 60 meant, generally speaking, both pensions would start in the same tax year.

As time has passed none of these assumptions are valid any more. The whole system needs to be reset and, actuarially speaking, a State pension age of 75 is perfectly reasonable.

Given the damage done to the UK private pensions industry by the Tories over the years (Nigel Lawson virtually wrecked final salary schemes single handed with his "105% surplus limit") it's a tad ironic that a right wing think take wants the private sector to pick up the slack.

Back when I started in pensions in the early 70s many (a majority?) UK workers were in private pension schemes of one kind or another. It was political interference, and the fact that the Inland Revenue disliked the extremely generous tax breaks given to pension schemes, that destroyed this happy state of affairs. Most of the damage done under Tory governments, let me add.

It will gradually increase or stick depending on life expectancy.

If life expectancy jumps to 98 it's not unreasonable, if it sticks at 81 it is.

People need to fund 60-67 now, 68 soon.

The days of "earlier" state funded retirement are already over and won't come back.

There should be means testing for additional pension benefits first.

State pension is just another welfare benefit, like child benefit, unemployment benefit, Universal Credit etc. Do you think the government is going to stop those too?

There will have to be some form of state pension or benefits to support those with no private pension. It will probably be means tested though.

The article is suggesting that the pension could be 40% higher by delaying it to 75. It won't disappear all together as politicians are frightened of the pensioner vote, but it could be left to 'wither on the vine' as it did in the 80s when Thatcher severed the link with average earnings.

If we’re going to expect people to work that long then there needs to be legally enforceable requirements against ageism in the work place. It still seems to be the one acceptable -ism.

Most of the people I know in their fifties are actually scared to move to a new job even if they hate the one they are in, for fear of either not getting somewhere new at all or, being made redundant soon after starting, leaving them in a very precarious position. Most seem to be staying put til they are pushed or retire as it’s a safety net.

it will all be for naught if this isn’t fixed as pensions will just be replaced by unemployment benefits anyway, plus the mental health of older workers will slide, adding more pressure on the NHS.

Do we think life expectancy will really increase from here with the state the NHS is in? I can actually see it decreasing with the way things are going. Which means a higher pension age would be very unreasonable.