To think state pension needs to be means tested , most sill claim way more than put in due to life expectancy. The current simply can't afford it anymore, it's out biggest single outlay..

[wishedforchild2016]

Aibu ?. Interested hear opinions for/against..

Of course, but how can you prove a person has worked themselves into the ground during their lifetime and therefore is deserving of more state pension when it comes to means testing? You can't. It would be an administrative nightmare trying to differentiate between the work hards and the work shys.

An average earner here pays much less tax than an average earner in France, for example.

Middle and lower earners here do pay less tax vs lots of other countries but a big problem here is housing costs

I would give them a bit more now to aid retention. OR it could be tiered tied to long service so employer contribution 5% for first 10 years service, 10% for second 10 years up to 20% if make 4th decade.

Can't see doctors, surgeons etc going for it tbh

Hang on, it is isn’t it? I’ve recently checked mine and got over 35 years full NI contributions and have just made it to a full pension. So I have paid in, if you don’t pay in you don’t get it or get a full one. I don’t agree with the state pension suddenly being classed as a ‘benefit’ when did that start?

His spouse can get half of his pension as well as their own

@Callipygion no the UK is a flat scheme. Other countries have different schemes.

Well that’s not always the case. My husband died 2 years ago and I won’t get any of his.

Yes and it can't be fair that someone who has done a low-paid but essential job all their lives has a very similar amount of money from the state in retirement to someone who has sat on their arse all their lives instead of working.

If anything, it seems to make sense to aim to cut pension credit and increase state pension for those that have worked in low paid jobs all their lives. Work needs to pay.

I’ve recently checked mine and got over 35 years full NI contributions and have just made it to a full pension

And this pays for today's pensioners? there's no pot.

They need to abolish NI and roll it into income tax.

His spouse can get half of his pension as well as their own

@Davros hasn't that changed in recent years?

I commented on another thread regarding the issue with young people not having children. This is one of the biggest issues we face in the UK. Salaries are rediculously low, I see admin/PA jobs being advertised in London paying a similar salary to what I was earning 20 years ago, in that time rents have doubled, property prices have increased well beyond affordability and everything else has increased as well. My children who are in their 30’s don’t have kids, and I can’t see that they’ll ever be able to afford to. £2k a month rent and &2k childcare makes it almost impossible. It’s a demographic time bomb but no political party gives a dam, there is no long term planning, they look at their prospects for the next election but no further. The proverbial shit is going to hit the fan in the next 10/20 years.,

we don't get it until we are almost dead as it is!
Which is simply not true and is in fact the crux of the problem.
Hundreds of thousand are living well over 20 years into retirement. This is not the case when the OAP system was developed, and it is unaffordable.
Back then, many men dropped down dead very soon after retiring (or before) often on account of having worked hard, manual jobs (workplace illnesses and/or cigarettes helped as well). Reforms over the years mean this doesn't happen nearly as much, with men mostly living on into their 70s as standard.
We can't afford a universal state pension from 67/68.

@charliehungerford it's already impacting the economy.

We never recovered from the 08 crash and productivity and wages have stagnated which has disproportionately impacted young people. They struggle to afford housing, aren't having dc but it's too late now. No country has ever reversed birth rates once they have dropped below replacement rate.

but no political party gives a dam, there is no long term planning, they look at their prospects for the next election but no further.

The electorate don't want to hear it though. Teresa Mays social care plan was quite good imo but went down like a lead balloon.

I don’t see any issue with this. Presumably people only claim benefits if they need them. My parents are entitled to carer’s allowance and attendance allowance (I checked for them) but wouldn’t dream of claiming them as they are well off. I’ve never claimed any sort of unemployment benefit when I’ve been between jobs, why would I?

As with other suggestions it would need some notice but like say student loans it could be started from a set date for all new entrants going forward. It's not just nhs, it's public sector wide. Pension scheme changes have been brought in before that watered down benefits.

I’d be happy with that, may encourage more people into work

We can't afford a universal state pension from 67/68.

What age do you suggest?

Life expectancy is lower in areas that are deprived.

@EwwSprouts I don't disagree the schemes are very generous but there are a shortage of workers and an ageing population means more demand.

I believe all the final salary schemes have closed to newer entrants?

Yes no probs, I’ll just make sure I spend all my savings.

I was told if I worked & saved & had full NI, I would get SP. If they change it, I spend and claim.

This would be the only fair way to introduce means testing.

Until a time machine is invented, it’s not fair or feasible to introduce means testing on the basic state pension, when people have spent decades planning for their retirement on the basis they’ll get the full pension, and have no way to react to mitigate the change as there’s not enough time.

If they change it, I spend and claim.

Claim what though?

Not really 😂 sorry. There’s a lot of information.

Theres a transcript though and I suspect you could ask chat gpt to summarise.

This would be the only fair way to introduce means testing.

Is it fair to only target younger people though? Younger people who have stagnant wages, higher housing costs, less generous private pension schemes.

@preparingforthepileon I'm listening to it now and some has gone through. They seem to have similar views to me.