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When will people realise that pensioners have paid for their state pension.

819 replies

notsafeanymore · 19/06/2026 09:13

Every time there is a debate about the cost of living pensioners get a bashing.
And some have also paid for a private pension.
It's people who have never worked that should be targeted first.
I'm not on about the disabled. It's people who are benefit cheats and have never worked.

OP posts:
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7
Decoart · Today 12:26

Differentforgirls · Today 12:19

Do you have a source for those figures?

Yes the civil service job page have a Google.

Oh and family that work in the NHS and civil service.

Do you have source that they dont?

Differentforgirls · Today 12:27

Decoart · Today 12:26

Yes the civil service job page have a Google.

Oh and family that work in the NHS and civil service.

Do you have source that they dont?

Why so prickly?

Decoart · Today 12:29

Differentforgirls · Today 12:27

Why so prickly?

Why so rude.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Differentforgirls · Today 12:31

Decoart · Today 12:29

Why so rude.

What was rude about asking for a source?

Decoart · Today 12:38

Calling people prickly when they provide one. Although I suspect you are being disingenuous to boot.

frozendaisy · Today 12:41

tokennamechange · Today 11:53

Exactly. Neither of my grandparents ever worked full time - at most they did very occasional jobs like being a dinner lady a few days a week. Both my grandfather's retired at 50 having worked manual jobs (i.e. not high earners thus didn't pay loads of tax). 2 of them are still going strong at 88! I'm not denigrating their hard work or denying that in many ways their lives were harder than mine but purely in terms of money in vs money out there is no way they paid for themselves.

Yes they were part of the lucky cohort who were able to do this.

never happened before
won’t happen again

and doesn’t help anyone who has yet to retire

Differentforgirls · Today 12:43

Decoart · Today 12:38

Calling people prickly when they provide one. Although I suspect you are being disingenuous to boot.

It was a genuine question but I've learned my lesson. 😱I google it btw. It's a deferred benefit. Do you think they don't deserve it?

Pickledonion1999 · Today 12:45

frozendaisy · Today 12:41

Yes they were part of the lucky cohort who were able to do this.

never happened before
won’t happen again

and doesn’t help anyone who has yet to retire

How did they retire at 50 whilst not having worked much? Apologies if you've already explained this, I have scrolled back a few pages. I mean even taking into account that people used to retire much earlier, this is really very young.

Snoopymayhem · Today 12:59

Zigoo · Today 12:14

So universities are completely funded by fees, no public money at all?

They get some public money but that has nothing to do with my comment
’we pay to attend’
staff are not employed by the state

crackofdoom · Today 13:36

Differentforgirls · Today 09:39

Could you live on £1000 per month?

I've said this before on similar threads.

The basic entitlement that I and my 2 DC get to live on from Universal Credit is £238 a week, which I gather is exactly the same as state pension for a single person.

(Obviously I work, but as I'm self employed my income fluctuates, and how that works is that in a good month most of what I earn is taken off UC - as it should- but if I have a month or two where work dries up, money is taken from our monthly payment as if I had earned a certain amount, leaving us with as little as £6-700 for a month).

So yeah, I think I'll survive just fine on the state pension 😆

frozendaisy · Today 13:43

Pickledonion1999 · Today 12:45

How did they retire at 50 whilst not having worked much? Apologies if you've already explained this, I have scrolled back a few pages. I mean even taking into account that people used to retire much earlier, this is really very young.

Edited

Well they probably didn’t retire as such it was easier to claim dole 40 years ago
Then do a few cash in hand jobs
Then move onto state pension with few questions asked

Differentforgirls · Today 13:47

crackofdoom · Today 13:36

I've said this before on similar threads.

The basic entitlement that I and my 2 DC get to live on from Universal Credit is £238 a week, which I gather is exactly the same as state pension for a single person.

(Obviously I work, but as I'm self employed my income fluctuates, and how that works is that in a good month most of what I earn is taken off UC - as it should- but if I have a month or two where work dries up, money is taken from our monthly payment as if I had earned a certain amount, leaving us with as little as £6-700 for a month).

So yeah, I think I'll survive just fine on the state pension 😆

I'm sorry to hear that.

crackofdoom · Today 13:56

Differentforgirls · Today 13:47

I'm sorry to hear that.

It's OK, it really is.

We can even afford to go on holidays, albeit camping rather than the "£5000 for a week's AI" so many Mumsnetters seem to feel is necessary 😆.

But I just wanted to offer a counterpoint to the "Why are our pensions so pitifully small when benefit scroungers are handed barrowloads of cash to sit on their arses and pop out kids?" (as an aside, how can you pop out a kid while sitting on your arse? 😆) narrative.

In reality, we're raising the next generation of taxpayers on far less money than pensioners receive, all the while being berated as lazy scroungers. It's not very nice.

Scotiasdarling · Today 13:57

tokennamechange · Today 11:53

Exactly. Neither of my grandparents ever worked full time - at most they did very occasional jobs like being a dinner lady a few days a week. Both my grandfather's retired at 50 having worked manual jobs (i.e. not high earners thus didn't pay loads of tax). 2 of them are still going strong at 88! I'm not denigrating their hard work or denying that in many ways their lives were harder than mine but purely in terms of money in vs money out there is no way they paid for themselves.

It's been said quite a few times. There was no need to pay in as much as they took out, they paid for the people getting pensions while they wor ked. Those younger than them paid their pensions. Because of inflation the amount paid in has always been less than the amount taken out by any individual.

The system would continue to work if we didn't as a country spend more and more on a society where having no work and lots of children makes economic sense, and where anxiety is seen as a reasonable excuse to never work.

crackofdoom · Today 13:59

Scotiasdarling · Today 13:57

It's been said quite a few times. There was no need to pay in as much as they took out, they paid for the people getting pensions while they wor ked. Those younger than them paid their pensions. Because of inflation the amount paid in has always been less than the amount taken out by any individual.

The system would continue to work if we didn't as a country spend more and more on a society where having no work and lots of children makes economic sense, and where anxiety is seen as a reasonable excuse to never work.

A wonderful example of precisely the attitude I refer to in my post above.

Differentforgirls · Today 13:59

crackofdoom · Today 13:56

It's OK, it really is.

We can even afford to go on holidays, albeit camping rather than the "£5000 for a week's AI" so many Mumsnetters seem to feel is necessary 😆.

But I just wanted to offer a counterpoint to the "Why are our pensions so pitifully small when benefit scroungers are handed barrowloads of cash to sit on their arses and pop out kids?" (as an aside, how can you pop out a kid while sitting on your arse? 😆) narrative.

In reality, we're raising the next generation of taxpayers on far less money than pensioners receive, all the while being berated as lazy scroungers. It's not very nice.

I agree. It’s not nice. Well done btw 😊

thepariscrimefiles · Today 13:59

june35 · Yesterday 14:36

Working age people on benefits get a lot more stick than pensioners do. They are benefit bashing stories in the press everyday but not much negativity about pensioners. The opposite in fact.

UC is much less than the state pension too, a single person gets about £420 a month.

I agree. The horrified reaction from some off the most wealthy pensioners to the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Allowance was ridiculous. The difference in the narrative around pensioners (plucky, deserving, hard-done-by) and benefit claimants (scroungers, feckless, work-shy, lazy, cheats) is so stark as to be utterly ridiculous. This is fanned by the right-wing press and in the hierarchy of people in the UK who are 'destroying our country,' benefit claimants come a very close second after immigrants/asylum seekers.

Snoopymayhem · Today 14:15

thepariscrimefiles · Today 13:59

I agree. The horrified reaction from some off the most wealthy pensioners to the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Allowance was ridiculous. The difference in the narrative around pensioners (plucky, deserving, hard-done-by) and benefit claimants (scroungers, feckless, work-shy, lazy, cheats) is so stark as to be utterly ridiculous. This is fanned by the right-wing press and in the hierarchy of people in the UK who are 'destroying our country,' benefit claimants come a very close second after immigrants/asylum seekers.

I didn’t see horrified reactions from some of the most wealthy pensioners

here's an insite into the breakdown of opinion

The Wealthy: While many wealthier pensioners felt the loss of a universal benefit was unfair in principle, it was the "stigma" of being pushed onto means-tested benefits like Pension Credit that caused particular distress. Many retirees with modest private pensions were angered by the policy.

The "Just About Managing": The loudest outcry came from pensioners who missed the benefit cut-off but were still struggling to meet their energy bills. An estimated 2.5 million pensioners who lost the payment were deemed "too wealthy" for government help but too poor to live a dignified life.

General Sentiment: The decision drew heavy criticism from across the political spectrum, with reports of severe anxiety regarding "heat or eat" choices. The situation was described by many as "needless and cruel", forcing many older people to drastically ration their heating and hot water

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