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

[notsafeanymore]

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.

The thing is the younger generation are now the ones who are most likely not to be able to save into their private pension schemes. So although they are saying that we can't afford pensions what happens when they retire with little or no savings because they simply cannot afford it due to the cost of living.

Same as every generation before.

I am not sure what you mean by that?
We live in different times than before.

Yes and in times before people rarely paid into private pensions.

So what will this generation do that is the 'same as every generation before?'

Read your own post!

🙄

The thing is the younger generation are now the ones who are most likely not to be able to save into their private pension schemes. So although they are saying that we can't afford pensions what happens when they retire with little or no savings because they simply cannot afford it due to the cost of living.

No, housing costs in proportion to wages have doubled over the past few decades. That's the huge drain that today's workers suffer that previous generations didn't.

On The plus side food is much much cheaper.

When will pensioners realise that they have NOT paid for their state pension? It is being paid by current taxpayers.

And everything else.

I think the ones who have read this thread won't be unaware of that since it's been repeated on nearly every page since it started.

I think energy may be more expensive but as you say pretty much everything else is cheaper than it was 40-50 years ago.

I think the majority knew it before
Saying
‘ I paid for my pension’ doesnt always mean in a literal sence. It means I paid in my day
Some people, I think, are assuming pensioners don’t understand the system
They aren’t stupid just because they are old.

Exactly!

Only once you take inflation into account. Otherwise everything is much more expensive but that's obviously a silly way to measure it. When you take it into account with inflation then remember inflation is driven higher by energy and housing costs. So if everything else doesn't rise at the same rate it if course ends up looking cheaper in comparison.
Some things are a lot cheaper in real terms. Eg air travel, items from overseas. And overseas manufacturing has driven costs of certain goods down but while that's good for the consumer it had consequences for workers in those industries. So working out winners and losers is more complicated than just age groups.

People can’t be expected to be aware that things are cheaper or more expensive than they might be fifty years later. We all just live in the era we’re born in, and do what others like us do, on the whole.

Individuals can’t pull up ladders - speaking in metaphors like that just confuses things. Electorates of any era are made up of all age groups over 18, so it makes no logical sense to assume that today’s pensioners were responsible for voting in governments who have made things worse for today’s younger people.

I asked earlier what an individual poster had done off her own bat to improve life for future generations and got a predictable response - there was bluster, but the bottom line was that she did nothing. Most people don’t. We muddle through, trying to make our own lives better, and providing for our children. Making societal changes is above the pay grade of the vast majority of us.

Today’s pensioners may have marched for women’s rights, to stop student fees, to protest against the National Front, or all sorts of things that they hoped would make a difference to today’s society. Obviously not all of them did, but nor do all young people make an effort to do more than live their own lives.

It’s governments who should sort out benefits and pensions - letting them put us against one another isn’t clever, is it?

Well said.

Exactly as pensioners did when they were working tax payers. That’s how it works. We all know it’s akin to a giant Ponzi scheme and unsustainable, but blaming pensioners themselves is batshit.

"They should give everyone a decade and just reform the state pension"

Reforming pensions like this is basically impossible even with 10 years notice because current workers would end up paying for current pensioners whilst at the same time having to save for their own.

That's exactly what's happening today though. We have compulsory workplace pension schemes with auto-enrolment, so today's younger workers are paying towards their own private/workplace pensions, but still paying tax/NIC that goes towards today's retirees. At the same time as being unlikely that workers entering the workforce today will be eligible for non means tested state pensions when they retire in 40 years' time.

My workplace pension was compulsory so I was paying towards my own workplace pension for 42 years but still paying tax/NIC that went towards today's retirees. I have retired but have paid tax towards today's retiree's for last two years and will be until I pop my clogs.

What you're describing isn't unique to young people.

"What you're describing isn't unique to young people"

Even "boomers" with "gold plated db" pensions had to pay towards them although most of cost was net by employers.

Although the slight difference is that since 2018 there has been compulsory employer contributions.

so there is a huge benefit there

Anyone starting work after 2018 is in a better financial position, pension wise, than anyone working before with ‘others’ paying something on their behalf

However in order to get rid of the state pension you’d either have to
for-warn
a generation before they hit 18
or
compensate for the years they haven't been warned by an equivalence of the SP

Meanwhile you’d have to work out some sort of state pension and state pension subsidy / pcredits for those that haven’t worked enough to pay in
through no fault of their own