you can't complain about not having enough money as a pensioner if your able to work

[madhurjazz]

Just that really, certain person I know complains about not having enough but they have no health conditions and have enough to get by. No reason why they couldn't work.

Aibu to just say get a job and late 60s isnt really that old thee days?

Dh won't be fit to do his job by the time he is 67 he knows this and is really worried about it.

OP do you mean everyone who moans about money should get a job from students to 95 year-olds? Everyone? Or just pensioners?

I think everyone that moans about something should either do their best to improve the situation or shut the fuck up.

I clearly said has no health conditions so not fair to compare to an ex miner with health conditions.

Gah I thought more than a couple would agree. I need to hide this as starting work soon.

I've recently worked out I will have to work another 38 years to get my state pension. That's longer than I've been alive!

I think at 68 I will have had enough of working. However, if I didn't have enough money to live on then I would have to work. That's just the way life is. If I had enough money to live on now without working I wouldn't!!

People are living longer these days hence the reason the state pension age has gone up. The money has to come from somewhere. It might have been ok when the state pension was introduced back then the average length of retirement was something like 7 years, now it's more like 27! Don't quote me on those figures

I don't think YABU to mention a job if she hasn't enough money to live on and is fit and able to work. But that doesn't mean it's easy to get a job at her age or even any age to be fair even if she wanted to! Maybe you could speak to this person and work out their income and outgoings to see if she could cut back in places?

The pension is not great. You're back to subsisting as if you were on the dole. There's no joy in life like that.

madhurjazz

I think she's very entitled to expect to have money for holidays and dining out often on the taxpayer

Taxes she herself has paid in to for the last 50 years

Wind your neck in.

PS your you are moaning and yet I don't see you "doing something about it." Fight a campaign against ageism, work to promote jobs for older people, actively recruit pensioners ... Or not..

PS I moan about things all the time - being too fat, ( while stuffing face), being too tired, (while watching just one more episode at 1am), house being a mess, (while choosing to chat to teens rather than press-gang them into a Family Tidy-Up). It's the human condition( at least for me! )

The state pension is about £150 a week.

Assuming when I get to 68 I will have paid my mortgage off haha yeah right and will have no debts then I think £150 is enough to live on. It pays for the basics but anyone who wants an income higher than this will need to think about funding it themselves.

My Mum was forced to retire at 65 (in 1994), she was fit healthy and upto date with skills, she'd gone from growing up in a house with gas lighting, to being a supervisor in on-line shopping, after bookkeeping etc.

The only work that she could get was as a LollyPop lady, luckily she loved it, it didn't pay much and took her over the threshold to have to pay Council Tax etc. She did it until she was 81.

Will the benefit system make "it pay to be in Work?" I suppose that depends on housing costs, my Mum was Mortgage free.

My friends, who've faced redundancy have all struggled to find work in their late 40's/50's. As people aren't Morgage free in their 50's anymore, then we are going to see a new wave of "poor pensioners", in a way we did before the Minimum Income came in.

You're delusional if you think a pensioner getting a job is going to be a remote possibility just because she happens to live next to an outlet village. Pretty sure proximity isn't a requirement in the job description.

I think it's really sad that we seem to be in a race to the bottom over people on low incomes, who did after all pay into the system all their lives, being resented for feeling one of the richest nations on earth could provide for them better in their old age.

I think the same applies to working families on low incomes, families with disabled members, and even chaotic families who are so hated for not having the life skills to provide for themselves. People don't have money trees which suddenly fruit if they find themselves in poverty, and as you don't know the full details this lady may be depending on Pension Tax Credits, which would make her very little better off if she were to take on an exhausting part time job in retail.

IzzyIsBusy does your Dad want to carry on working?

There's a real shortage of handymen in this area, especially for other retired people who aren't as fit and mobile. Things like putting up shelves, fixing a leaky tap etc. alongside keeping lawns and drives tidy, maybe some light decorating.

Would he be interested in doing something like that? Some local Councils have lists of Approved Traders so the elderly don't get ripped off by cowboys, could he get on their lists?

""The state pension is about £150 a week. ""

£119, £30 makes a lot of difference, when you're on that income level. If you've got to start paying people to do odd jobs and gardening etc, it goes no-where.

You've got to be quite ill to get the Pensioner equivalent to PIP, yet services that used to be around, such as Gardening done on employment schemes have been cut back.

This next load of pensioners will have the advantage of being able to use the Internet to not be as isolated, though.

It's not old if you are fit, and plenty of people would appreciate an experienced person helping (for payment) with babysitting, shopping, DIY, gardening, secretarial support, driving, errands and so on. However this takes a bit of entrepreneurial spirit and community-mindedness. It's easier to moan.

YABU

Oh well I won't get any support here, I think she's very entitled to expect to have money for holidays and dining out often on the taxpayer when she should of saved for her retirement if she wanted to do expensive things in retirement.

You're very judgey of your 'friend' OP. Best get to work yourself and start saving for your pension.

What did she retire from Op ?

I would have been getting my pension now if they hadn't moved the goal posts! I have to work two jobs to earn enough just to live on. I don't know how much longer I can do this, I'm knackered :(

It's hard to get work when you are over 60, companies don't want you. OP I think you need a shot of 'empathy'.

What about the folk in their 20s 30s 40s etc who live off benefits and have no intention of working.

I very much doubt someone in late sixties could do a caring role - it's very physical and my mum at 56 struggles let alone dad of 64. Who incidentally has not worked for 4 years but not through lack of trying - lost to young men every time. He's worked more or less continuous (8 month redundancy in 08), all in factories and cannot get a job. he hates not working because he always has, he has days where he is down because of it. To say he , or others like him should get a job is disgusting. Its hard enough for young people let alone older people. BTW its not 'your' tax he's spending. Its hardly as if they're living the high life on their blimming pension, and my dads worked nearly 60 years for it. Lets see what you fel when you can retire is it? Or maybe it's sour grapes st them retiring sooner

IzzyIsBusy does your Dad want to carry on working?

Oh god yes. He is driving mum up the wall as he is at home all day

Birds yes the basic state pension is £119 plus there is the additional state pension on top of that based on earnings. The new state pension from April 2016 is £155.65 a week for everyone who has paid 35 years NI contributions.

Pudcat some benefits count towards building up a state pension so they may still be entitled to it anyway.

I work with several people in their late 60s and 70s that have re entered the workplace after retirement, they enjoy it, the social life they've gained through new friendships and the extra cash, they have chosen to come back to work! Hitting 65 doesn't mean knackers yard!!

I think everyone that moans about something should either do their best to improve the situation or shut the fuck up.

So, you're moaning about this person... are you going to do your best to improve the situation or shut the fuck up?