To cry over state pension age speculation rise to 75-81

[feellikeahugefailure]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/georgeosborne/12179375/Work-till-youre-75-or-even-81-under-Government-review-of-state-pension-age.html

Where has it all gone wrong? My parents could buy a home one one income for 3 times annual wage. Dad retired at 55, mum never needed to work and has been claiming a state pension for over a decade since 60. I do a similar job to my dad.

Where I live the average house price is 13 times my wage. My pension I've been paying into for over 10 years will if I keep paying into it for almost 40 more years give me 2'000 a year if it does averagely and 1'000 if it does poorly, and it probably will do poorly. Then no state pension until I'm about to drop dead. Can't afford a house or to put money away for retirement.

I suppose I am lucky. I was made redundant in 2012 after working hard all my life bringing up my children and working full time. I was 63 and qualified for a Government pension as well as a private pension.

I have enough to live on and don't have to look for another job so I do voluntary work and help my children with their families (with money and childcare).

I worry about the future and what it holds for my children and grand-children - life isn't fair.

This probably sounds dramatic and ridiculous but I imagine that I'll end up taking my own life when I get to an age and stage where I just cannot keep going. I can't bear the thought of having to keep working into my 70s. I can't see myself ever owning a house. My parents retired at 56 and 57, mortgage free, had had no student debt etc. They'll probably outlive me at this rate.

Your life can just change on a sixpence. DH took early retirememnt aged 58 as his ( small) firm was in decline so no,no huge payout there.

He expected to get a job In his field,computers. Nope that didn't happen either. So he sold his ( modest) house tomovein with me and lived off his ( meagre) capital.

Fast forward to this year, aged 62. Woke up after new year, my previously fairly fit and fairly ( healthy) so we thought husband, had a stroke. Totally knocked his vision out. He now can't drive and would struggle to work with computers.

Even though most of his vision has come back, he tires really easily. Can't concentrate like he could and needs much more improvement ( hopefully) before he ever gets behind the wheel again.

That's a 62 year old. Where are all these hale and hearty OAP's ? Idont see any/ many.

Just a bit of scaremongering to keep us in our place.

I agree with Tinkly too- it's hard for many people to scrimp and save when they know you will get the same as those who don't save at all - the same trap that can keep people part time and in tax credits as it is the same income as full time no credits- but I have no idea how to solve it without making the poorest destitute.

I guess there will be jobs available in the euthanasia clinics..bound to be a booming sector

Homer, when top tax rates were between 70-90%, the rich didn't pay up, they moved offshore! London wouldn't be the global city it is these days if top tax rates were so high again, and the people who earn that money are incredibly mobile international citizens, so would relocate to countries with more favourable tax regimes. Just like Amazon, Google, Apple and a million other companies.

Agree with Dowser. My dad went from working at a fairly physical job to needing 24 hour care overnight at the age of 64. Then died a couple of years later, this was less than five years ago.

One of my mums friends had to go into a nursing home at 68yo.

My mum is 70. Physically she would be able to work, mentally she wouldn't. And I don't just mean stress, I mean dementia/Alzheimer's.

This will have a big impact on social care as well. Many people in their 60's and 70's care for partners, parents or others who are ill or disabled. It is very common for women to care for an older ill Husband.

"“healthy life expectancy” for females is now 64.1 years – almost a full year less than the state pension age of 65, which comes in from 2018.
Men can already expect to fall into ill-health before they retire, with an average healthy life expectancy of 63.4 years."

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10976348/Todays-women-will-reach-ill-health-before-retirement.html

This is why these increased retirement ages will not work. It is very different going on day trips to garden centres, to working full time.

chelsea but the babyboomers will more or less all be dead by the time their dc retire.
Average life expectancy is what now? Just under 90yo? so that's another 20 years for my parents by which time I will have reached my 60s and thinking about retirement.

That's why I'm worried about a system that will take the state pension out through the back door saying we can't afford it but will leave nothing for the new generation of pensioners, at a time when the age distribution curve won't be that top heavy anymore

None of my family have lived healthy beyond 75. I think when you are in your 30s you do think you could work for ever, I'm now in my 50s and I'm bloody tired! So many people in my office have life threatening illnesses and I certainly know more than 1:4 with cancer. We may want or have to work longer but I think ill health retirements will shoot through the roof and pension funds will not be able to afford it.

When I was 23 I earnt £25k and bought a flat in London for £64k. 30 years later I earn slightly more at £30k but that flat is now worth £300k. That is the problem. In the past people could supplement their pension with equity from downsizing. Now we can't afford to even buy the house in the first place to supplement any pension.

I also think my private pension will be offset by state top up for those not in a pension. I should have gone on a cruise every year and driven a flash car. Complete waste of time.

Part of the problem is that the government is using the money it takes in taxes to pay the pensions of the current pensioners and is not investing them for the future pensioners. So all the money you are paying in tax, thinking at least you will have a state pension, you may well not, as it will already have been spent.
Charming really.

BetaDad is absolutely right back on p3 or 4 - the problem is debt built up by the generations before hand, unfunded pension schemes and increased life expectancy.

My auntie lived for longer after retirement than her working life. She had a small occupational pension and half my uncle's much larger occupational pension. They were both state employees.

She cost the state a heck of a lot that all our kids will end up replenishing but, despite being well off, complained when anything that she expected to be free eg home help wasn't, due to means testing.

Loved her lots, but she had a pretty unrealistic expectation of the UK economy!

No government is going to face up to the impending crisis. There will be hordes of people retiring in the next few years. Their pensions cannot possibly be paid by those still working unless everyone's taxed at 90%. As cressetmama observes, tax the very rich at this level and they leave the country (or find a way around things). So taxation has to be targeted at those who can't do much about it, ie the middle-earning idiots. Since naice people don't really ever kick up much of a fuss about things, they will merrily be paying most of their salary to retirees but will get nowt themselves.

And I sniff local taxation in the wind, too, because squeezing money out of earners (with mortgages, children and university debts) is an as yet unmined seam.

It's a bloody stupid idea raising the state pension age to late 70's/early 80's. I know I won't be able to work if I'm lucky enough to even reach that age. I'm falling to bits now! And where will all these jobs appear from so everyone including the young has one?

I find it thoroughly depressing.

How is it just to pay a work related pension to a spouse after the person whose work earned it dies? Unmarried people are subsidising married.

People might well be living longer but this does not mean that they physically or mentally in better shape in their old age than people were 30 years ago. The aging process has not been magically slowed down or halted.

The reality is that as people get older they start to get tired and in many cases will be less able to keep up with work at the same level they did before. While I fully support the idea that anyone who wants to continue working should be allowed to do so, those who need to retire should also be supported. Simply changing the pension age will not stop the aging process.

My parents retired at 60 and lived the life of Riley. To be honest, I don't think they needed to retire when they did, they did voluntary work, had holidays etc.

Now they are 70 and I can see they are slowing down and getting old I do think 70 is a more realistic age to retire, especially from non-manual jobs.

And I say this as someone who hates working and can't wait to stop!

My DM at 76 is the only one in her social circle who doesn't have health issues, and she and all her friends are widows.

My FIL was a hale and hearty 82 yo then he had a stroke and declined rapidly until he died 4 years later.

I was always fit and healthy. Never smoked, don't drink, yet I had cancer at 47. The treatment affected my mental capabilities and I've gone from being "clever" to someone who struggles to learn new tasks.

You can plan as much as you like but things will happen that you never considered.

Because my uncle supported my aunt, who raised kids and worked a bit. So the pension arrangements mirrored that.

The current 80+ year olds are the healthy generation - were children when there was rationing and less junk food, fewer cars, less pollution, etc.
In the future older people will be less healthy than they are now. And will have far less money. Many of them will not own their own homes.
I predict a massive increase in suicide among the elderly. In fact it will probably be encouraged by the government.

Why do people keep saying the birth rate is falling?

It isn't.

The large number of obese people will sadly probably not need pensions for as long a period as their slimmer parents and fitter contemporaries.

My dmum had to retire because of a health condition at 55, dad was made redundant at 58. They owned their home outright and had small work pensions from ordinary jobs plus some savings. They've mostly had a really good retirement and aren't struggling financially. IL's retired on a tiny pension but saved a lot, they have loads of holidays, always doing up their home etc.

Remember you will need a lot less to live on especially if you've paid off the mortgage, go down to one or no car, no more saving, school/kids stuff to buy, holidays for two etc.