To think that not all old people have worked hard all their lives...

[MrsKittyFane]

Go on, flame me.

well it would be a bit of a generalisation to assume that all had

I hear this a lot from FIL, who "worked hard all his life" and now "deserves better than this" - whatever this is.

No, you didn't, you blinkered old man. You retired at 55 and have spent the last 30 years making others run around after you.

I think that most reports re. budget say they have :(
Just as all men over 85/90 fought for "our country." :(

Pfft

DoUnto :) :) :)

Old people are just people. Who are old.

They're the same mix of good, bad, lazy and hard working as the general population.

Having said that, the old people I know well (ie in my family) worked extremely hard under circs we can barely imagine now.

My family were all solid grafters. nothing has changed. Pft.

Some have worked hard, some haven't, so you're right.

Morris Yes, exactly that.
I am just tired of hearing generalisations. :)

MIL hasn't either.

All the old people I know paid a few thousand for their house or inherited it, have private as well as state pensions coming in, claim carers allowance not because they need it but because they can and can't understand why nobody can survive on £6.08 an hour whilst they've been paid £1k a month to do f* all for the last 30 years like DoUntoOtters FIL with no mortgage or children to fork out for. Harsh and generalising, I know, but I fucking hate old people.

'I fucking hate old people.'

Lovely.

define work. My mum certainly had it tough bringing up 3 kids alone during the Thatcher years but apart from a brief stint at Tesco never worked. So, 40 years on benefits. She then goes on about immigrants and those on benefits as a lifestyle choice
Dunno whether to laugh or cry when she says she deserves her HB, PTC etc by dint of being English.

That was a particularly vile post tinysock.
One day you will be old, or will have to care for an elderly parent.
No, not all old people have worked hard all their lives, but those in their 80's as is my mum, who brought up four children, and was the classic 50's/early 60's stay at home mum, is old and helpless now.
She can no longer live independently and will probably have to go into a care home.
My dad worked 6 days a week until he died, and paid enough tax and NI so she's entitled to care in her old age.

You sound like a real peach yourself,Tinysock.

My parents and grandparents worked incredibly hard as did DH's and our grandparents before them. My lot originally were in the fields, DH's lot originally were underground - down the mine.

DH and I also work very hard. But supported by the efforts of our forebears have had things much easier. It got easier for my lot about three/four generations ago. DH's parents were the first white collar workers on his side of the family.

I don't understand why the op is generalising. DH's grandad lived with 9 other siblings in a two up two down miners cottage - his mother lived in a tied flat, above stables - it was bigger than the cottage - 3 beds but there were 6 children.

I was going to post something witty here but have been put right off my stroke by Tinysock's comment. How horrid.

I certainly hope that when I am old (not long to go now) that everyone thinks I have worked really hard and is lovely to me as a result.

The current into-retirement generation has been the most cosseted in the history of the planet.

Tinysock, perhaps you know lots of rich old people who had good careers and therefore get good works pensions. Perhaps they had well-off parents who left them their houses.
However, there are many more who never had the education or skills to find well paid work, couldn't afford to buy a house and neither did their parents, so lived in council housing. Is that their fault? Some people get the breaks and others get the shit.
One day you will be old, and regretting passing on to your children how much you "fucking hate old people". It will be interesting to see how they treat you.

I do think some older people have had it quite easy, what with free university education and grants, buying houses for pennies which then increased massively in price, retiring early on generous pensions... so it does grate on me when it is assumed that all worked so hard and are due so much more than younger people will eventually get when they hit that age. So YANBU.

YANBU. It's one of those unthinking cliches that gets trotted out.

With regard to free university education and grants, it's worth mentioning that there were far fewer university places available when those now aged 65+ left school - so they simply did not have a chance to benefit. Part of the reason students now have to pay fees and don't receive grants is that so many young people go to university that it would be unfeasible for the government to support them.

it gives me a wry smile when you get some old dude getting a round of applause on a cheesy daytime tv show for being 85.

They could be Beelzebub for all you know.

My grandfathers worked hard, but like someone else has said it hasn't been "all their life" - they are now 90, and retired at 55.

My grandad will tell the world how he 'worked down the mines' yes for one day! And how he worked at a factory, yes for a week until you left as you couldn't smoke on the premises. He has worked about a month in total in my lifetime (33 years) and my mum said he didn't work while they were younger too. And now the grandparents are still living in a 5 bed council house and still on benefits.
My dad worked hard until he was medically retired and he gets the same amount of money as my grandparents who have barely worked.