to think the retirement age should be LOWERED?

[hardhatdonned]

It seems to me that the employment market is saturated with over 50+'s and an increasing number of under 25's (and in some areas under 30's) are seriously struggling to get work.

I am all for being equal and fair and non discriminatory but shouldn't that work both ways with the older workers considering their children's generation may need to work? Can't help but wonder why they keep raising it (other than the serious lack of pension)

But as has already been put forward, surely it's more cost effective for the government to support the older generation through unemployment than younger members of the workforce who, potentially, have several children to support also?

Yes but if they earnt 50 k for another 10 years they would have paid a lot more tax than receiving 25k pension for those years. They were both previously higher rate tax payers.

The population is ageing which means it will be increasingly difficult for the young to support the old. The cost of providing pensions, health care and sheltered housing leads to increased taxes on a proportionally small workforce and many young people are employed caring for the elderly. Which in turn harms a country's competitiveness, since they are not producing products for export.

It is better to try and create jobs than to reduce the retirement age to 50 as it would be a large (and increasing) burden on the rest.

No, the solution is to generate more jobs and then encourage all people to go to work, whether part time or full time. I believe that there is plenty of work around in London and other large cities although I realise it's much more difficult in less propsperous areas. However our expectation about what type of work we are prepared to do has changed. For example I know a young man who has rejected factory work near where I live because 'it is immigrants work'. He would rather draw benefits.

Sorry Saltatrix, my post crossed with yours.

Well TheSecondComing, I agree they want to work but it's the type of work they are willing to do which may be the problem.

anyway, most over-55s want to work as well.

I think we are going to see the economy go from being youth focused, and young family oriented, to a more senior oriented one. They have many of the same needs, housing, transportation, personal care, health care, entertainment, etc and there will still need to be people providing all these things, which will add a lot of jobs to the economy.

I like working and I have no intention of retiring until absolutely necessary.

Good for you ilovesooty. I feel the same way. I object to the view that I should have to stop working just because I have reached a certain, arbitory age.

I don't think it should be lowered but not raised either. I've worked since I was 16 and I now have to work til I'm 68 to get my state pension. What really irks me is the plan to pay an 'across the board' pension of £140 per week to everyone....whether they've contributed or not,but that's an altogether different issue..

My MIL has a private pension - but it is now much reduced and hard to live on. It got smaller and smaller as she disputed it - they had invested badly. Over 30 years with one job and that happens....

My granny just died at the ripe old age of 94. She never worked, but had she have done her pensionable life would have been almost as long as her working one under what you suggest. Nice, but expensive!

My other granny is nearing 90 and the same applies.

I don't think people should have more than two children these days. Irresponsible.

Not irresponsible if you can afford them.

Incentives or schemes that encourage employers to be more receptive to people part-time working? ie it becomes more normal for 50 plus to work few days a week - so slowly moving into retirement but allowing them to earn but also have time to enjoy life and do more than just work till they drop?

Growing the economy so there are the job or training opportunities for younger people - without burdening them with huge taxes to pay for pensions?

I hear the argument about government employees and their average pension of 6k - but for a 60 year old woman retiring today from a private sector job, she'd need £100,000 plus pension pot to get even that.

You can't seem to win though. It's "irresponsible" to bring more children into the world because of overpopulation/they might take up more jobs (there isn't a finite, unchanging number of jobs, you know ) - but it's "irresponsible" to have too few children as we need more workers to support our ageing population as they retire.

manfromcuk - this is an AVERAGE pension. Plus women tend not to have worked fulltime or continuously for the whole of their working lives.

YABU - I'm 54 with a non-working husband (due to disability), DS2 at Uni and DS1 also disabled and unlikely to get a job. I'm also at the peak of my knowledge and experience in this job! I love it still and have so much to give to it. Sorry, but my brain still works fine even if the body is beginning to suffer a bit.

Nowhere near ready to retire! But I may be forced to as I am currently unwell, but that's another story.