If you are younger than 48, do you expect the state pension to still be around when you get to state pension age?

[daisym00n]

When people talk about raising the state pension age, the argument is usually that it will never happen because pensioners are more reliable voters.

But actually aren’t today’s pensioners the least likely to be affected? These things take years to implement. Any major change to pension age or entitlement is usually phased, so the people who’ll get hit hardest are the ones who are in their 40s/50s now, not those already collecting it.

If the current pension is unsustainable, it’s people currently under 50 who’ll feel the pain when the government turns around and says “sorry, there’s just not enough left”.

Part of me thinks I’d rather they were upfront now, rather than kick it down the road again. If there are big changes coming, I’d rather have 15+ years to plan around it not be blindsided when I’m coming up to retirement.

I’m not factoring the state pension into my own retirement planning at all. I just don’t believe it’ll be what we’re told it will be by the time I’m old enough to claim anything.

Anyone else thinking this way?

I'm 46 and fully expect they will keep putting the retirement age up, raising taxes, dismantling the health service and piling more work onto me (teacher) and I will die long before I get to retirement age of either something preventable had I been able to see a bloody gp....or the one on the end of the phone didn't dismiss everything I said.

It’s still one of the best pensions out there

But can’t you take it at a reduced rate 10 years before NPA?

I’m 34 and would be so shocked if I get state pension. I used to work in the NHS and thought I’d get to retire at 55, then that got scrapped. I joined the military on the old pension scheme which could see me receive it after 22 years service and that’s since been scrapped for me. I feel like I am the right age and employment history to keep getting the rug pulled from my tired feet until I pass away.

Maybe there’ll be some kind of UBI by then?

It’s not really short sighted to prioritise feeding your children though is it? That’s the reality for most people. Paying the bills and food takes almost all their income. They may well be saving into a pension too and making huge sacrifices to do so. But the actual amounts are incredibly low. If you worked full time in minimum wage job the whole of your life from 20 to 68 and save 5% per year into your pension, you would have less than £10k a year in income.

im early 40s I think the retirement age will be well into the 70s when I retire! It’s already dating my NPA is 68. This was the most depressing thought when I turned 40, I’ve still got another 30 years to work!

I think state pension will stop increasing with inflation and private pensions will be needed to make pensions liveable! Though despite playing into private pension when I was in banking for 10 years though part time as was at uni too that’s only predicted as being a couple of 1000s a year and county council is just over 13k if I carry on working there til 68!

Labour don’t like landlords so that part of my pension looks less helpful so looks like I’m working til I’m dead or win the lottery.

And I’m probably one of the luckier ones

It works better for us to be paying additional into dh’s very, very good work place pension. The old nhs pension was good, it isn’t what it was at all. I’ll likely die before it pays out. So yes, we did speak to an IFA and although it puts me at a slight disadvantage, in a divorce I’d get half the pension and the policy has a very good spouse clause and death in service etc.

We will probably get an additional investment vehicle for me when we have paid off the mortgage (4-5 years, house is worth 750k).

It will be there are long as you live into your 70s to claim it

And I’ll be one of the lucky ones

The old nhs pension was good, it isn’t what it was at all.

It’s still one of the best pensions out there, though. Appreciate in your circumstances it makes sense for you to opt out, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the scheme itself.

Surely the triple lock will go and the claim age will rise to at least 70 by the time people under 50 retire. I also think many more of us will have a softer retirement by dropping the number of days worked or moving to less stressful a d lower paid work as we retire.

I think that we should do away with the term national insurance and just have income tax. People believe they are paying in to a state pension due to the muddling of words. Auto enrollment shouldn't have an opt out clause and the percentage should increase to 6% employee contribution and 4% employer over several years to get used to it.

Most people don’t earn minimum wage though, especially not for their whole working life. Average salary is £37k.

It won’t be everyone of course but a significant enough number to worry about. If you factor in those who need to work part time for health or caring reasons (around 25%) even those who earn more FTE will have a similar pension level to someone working full time on minimum wage.

A lot of nhs workers (not necessarily me, due to dh being a high earner), cannot afford to join the nhs pension, 9.8% contributions feels like a lot when you are a “senior” but only earning £34k.

For goodness sake. Start a pension now……
even small amounts start adding up.

I'm not sure about a pension, perhaps by then it will be UBI or something else? Perhaps we'll all be injected with antiaging technology and made to keep on working?

I can’t see the state pension ever being means tested to any significant degree. People will just stop paying so much into private pensions if they’ll end up being penalised by losing out on the state pension.

I doubt there will be a universal pension for anyone under the age of 45 or so. The age will probably be increased even more and mean tested with the same rules as universal credit, I’m guessing. Pensions are one of the only benefits that isn’t means tested these days and that won’t last forever.

The reality is no generation will have it as good as today’s pensioners, it’s simply not affordable.

I’m late 40s. My assumption is that it’ll still exist but it’ll be means tested and the age to get it will keep going up. I’ve planned on the basis that I won’t get it because I have my own pension. I don’t love this but realistically what we are doing now simply isn’t affordable.

Bloody hoping so, I’m mid 30s now and only have about £1k in a workplace pension from 10 years ago before I had DC and took 7 years out to be a SAHM due to financial reasons.

Think I have another couple of workplace ones from other jobs but wasn’t in them for long so they will be worth about as much as the paper they are written on.

Ive been back in work for the past 18 months or so but opt out of my workplace one as like a PP said, with the current costs going up, I can’t afford to pay into it and take a hit on my wage each time. I also rent and have pretty much no chance of ever owning my own home/a mortgage unless my parents (late 50s/mid 60s) leave me theirs which is looking unlikely.

But yeah, basically I’m screwed and try not to think about what’s going to happen in 30 years time as currently just trying to afford getting into next week at this point as unfortunately like many others in a similar situation.

We should plan for half our pension from our own private pension and half from the state. The massive change has been the shift away from final salary schemes in the private sector.

Anyone who doesn't have enough NICs ATM just gets given pension credit which actually makes them better off than those who paid in a little bit.

For someone in their mid-40s to build the equivalent of the state pension, they’d need to start putting aside around £750 a month now.
So no, “every little helps” wouldn’t really cut it if the state pension were abolished in 20 years’ time. The state pension on its own is barely enough to live on as it is , even assuming there’s no mortgage or rent to pay by then.
I can’t imagine that people who haven’t been in a financial position to save aggressively before will suddenly go, “Oh well, I’d better start building that £300K pot now,” and actually manage it. Raising the pension age? Sure, that’s realistic. But I don’t see employers queuing up to hire people in their 70s. Even 60-somethings struggle now, and plenty of people in their 50s already face age discrimination, not that you can prove it, of course. There will just be “someone more suitable for the role.” So no, I don’t expect to be working into my late 60s or 70s — nobody will hire me. Without the state pension, I’ll simply be dead. 😂

I don't know why people are saying "I've paid into it so I expect it to be there"

NI pays for other people's benefits, including pensions and it also partially funds the NHS.