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AIBU?

To feel sorry for women having to work till they're 66

364 replies

lazylab · 01/07/2017 11:11

I have 2 friends, one 60 the other 61 who are just so tired and worn out. The 60 year old works full time in a factory, she's totally shatttered at the end of her shift. Basically they're just desperate for retirement, but no chance of that till they're 66. Both these women are single, still paying mortgages, one of them earning fairly good money but the other is basically working just to live, can't afford luxuries or holidays etc. It's just soul destroying. These are just two examples of the plight of those affected by the changes to pension age.

Working full time as a young woman is definitely not the same once you hit 60, the body struggles to cope. I realise it's the same for men too, especially the ones doing physical jobs.
Sorry if it sounds like i'm moaning, but isn't life just shit for some people.

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Lucisky · 02/07/2017 22:45

BunsyGirl, how many people do you know who have retired on final salary schemes at 50? Not many I reckon!
I get a bit fed up with this intergenerational envy.

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Out2pasture · 02/07/2017 22:53

but isn't that the problem those women who started working in the 60's and 70's (now 60+ years old) didn't have the options available today. they were not able to put into private pensions so are stuck slaving away watching the goal post move in front of their eyes.

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BoomBoomsCousin · 03/07/2017 00:02

The changes in 2011 were pretty abrupt and that is hard, especially on people who planned. I do think the unfairness is more that changes were not made soon enough than that the changes that were made were unreasonable though.

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Out2pasture · 03/07/2017 00:30

yes boom or that some sort of "grand fathering" wasn't available.

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Oldsu · 03/07/2017 01:14

BoomBoomsCousin the changes in 2011 were not abrupt as it only meant that women my age would have to work an extra year over the changes that had already been made public in 1995 when we were told our pension age would rise to 65, I would suspect that many many women only realised their pension ages would rise when they found out about the 2011 rise having believed before that they would still retire at 60, but there is no excuse IMO for that belief it was all over the newspapers and I think I remember getting a letter about it at the time - but however I found out I found out in 1995 and not 2011 as I have said before I am getting a tad annoyed with the whinging waspis

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lizzieoak · 03/07/2017 02:00

I'm exhausted working full-time in my early 50's. it scares me to think how I'll feel in ten years time.

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AvaCrowder2 · 03/07/2017 02:07

No my mum works in a relevant government field. She got one letter, then a year later another, pushing her state pension back by about three years. It was a really bad way to deal with it.

I think it's these women born 1952-1954 who have worked and really been shat upon with regards to their state pensions.

I don't have any faith that I will get a uk state pension, but my mum really did.

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38cody · 03/07/2017 07:00

Well - YABU because each case is different - my mother had to retire at 65, just before the law changed and she was devestatef. Young for her age, dad had died, my brother and I were off travelling and her work was her life - she hated leaving. She just loved her job, had a lot of friends there and was very young in herself - she would have love to work for another 5 or 10 years!
I on the other hand am a teacher, grew to hate my job and have just retired at 50. I'll get my private pension at 55 and TP at 68.
I just don't want to work anymore.
Each case is different but if I financially had to teach until I was 68 as some do - well, I'd feel for the poor kids too.

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Janeinthemiddle · 03/07/2017 07:16

And state pension age is now 68

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simon50 · 03/07/2017 07:32

The other cloud on the horizon is, that a lot of office based jobs will go in the next 10/15 years.
Take car insurance as an example, 10yrs ago you spent hours on the phone ringing around talking to real people for a renewal quote. (yes it was a pain). Now you just go on Go Compare etc and get 30 quotes in seconds. That's a whole swathe of office/call centre jobs that no longer exist.
The only jobs going will be minimum wage in the care industry !

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Daisymaybe60 · 03/07/2017 10:04

Please don't rely on www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record as a guide to how much State Pension you'll get. The years in which you "opted out" when paying into some occupational or private pensions used not to count towards the SERPS top up. They now don't count towards your basic state pension. You need to request a pension forecast if you're nearing retirement and want to know what the real situation is.

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Floisme · 03/07/2017 10:11

I agree with Daisy about getting a forecast. I had assumed I would get a full state pension as I'd paid National Insurance for the requisite number of years. I won't.

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ihatethecold · 03/07/2017 10:18

so I've checked my record and it says I have 28 full years of NI contributions so far, (I'm 43)
It also says I've got 23 years to contribute before 5 April 2040

Is that right that i need to contribute for 51 years to get a full state pension?

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Floisme · 03/07/2017 10:30

I believe it's 30 years - but don't take my word, gov.uk will confirm it. But, as Daisy says, it's do do with occupational pensions - if you've been paying into one and they 'opted out' then not all those 28 years will count.

I believe the opting out has now stopped but it went on for quite a long time and crucially, it wasn't exactly spelt out. I like to think I'm reasonably on the ball and I had absolutely no idea until I took the forecast. I've seen it predicted that few people will get the full amount for one reason or other.

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ihatethecold · 03/07/2017 10:35

Thanks Floisme.
Its saying its full years for the past 28.

About half is covered by claiming CB, the rest is out of my wages.

How would i find out if its a full pension or am i way too young for them to tell me anything?

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WankYouForTheMusic · 03/07/2017 10:35

I think it's stopped now.

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lazylab · 03/07/2017 10:50

The other cloud on the horizon is, that a lot of office based jobs will go in the next 10/15 years.
Yes, and what about supermarket jobs, i reckon in the next ten years all tills will be self service. The thing is, there won't be anyone going in spending much because there'll be that many out of work.

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WankYouForTheMusic · 03/07/2017 11:01

One of the many reasons I try and avoid using self service whenever I go somewhere that's not Aldi! See also, refraining from Uber.

I think a big issue is the refusal of some employers to be flexible also. Some of the examples listed in this thread, the people concerned probably wouldn't be massively worse off doing 4 days a week instead of 5. Eg if you're earning 15k full time, that's £1123 a month. 12.5k is £983. Now obviously there are people who'd need every penny of that £1123, so an employer willing to allow part time is irrelevant to them. But there are others who might be able to manage on the 4 day wage, particularly if they could use the extra day for eg getting to markets for cheaper food, using free internet access at the library to chase good deals online if they can't afford internet at home, things like that. It's often possible to live more cheaply when you have more time to devote to doing it.

But some people are prevented from doing this purely because of their employers. Some are brilliant, and see the potential advantages to them, but not all. I accept there are jobs that genuinely need doing full time, but most people in their 60s aren't surgeons or Prime Ministers.

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ihatethecold · 03/07/2017 11:07

Ive just looked on the you gov website and its saying that you need 35 years of contributions to get a full state pension.

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Floisme · 03/07/2017 11:24

Sorry, I stand corrected ihate Maybe it's only 30 years if you've already paid a certain amount of National Insurance? Anyway it's fiendishly complex and there are probably different rules, depending on your age. But if you don't think your online forecast is correct I would contact them directly and do it quickly, otherwise it's going to stand. I believe they do a postal one.

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IvyWall · 03/07/2017 11:35

This is a good summary from the money advice service
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/the-state-pension-rules-and-changes-explained

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ihatethecold · 03/07/2017 12:15

That link is very useful, thanks

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stumblymonkeyagain · 03/07/2017 12:30

Surely it's the same for men over 60?

Don't we feel sorry for them too?

I do believe that retirement ages should be equal irrespective of gender. I also think I'll be working well beyond 66 so I'll save my sympathy...

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stumblymonkeyagain · 03/07/2017 12:35

I've started reading a book about adapting to a world where at least 50% of people will live to 100 (which will be the case soon).

It's interesting...basically we need to abandon the three stage idea of life (childhood/eduction, work, retirement).

That being said a lot of the concepts are really only talking about middle class people. I do feel sorry for everyone in jobs that involve standing/walking/labour.

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kaitlinktm · 03/07/2017 12:35

Yes it is the same for men over 60 - the OP has explained that her title was because she was thinking of her two women friends. In a later post she acknowledges that it's the same for men.

I would imagine (and hope) that when you retire, people will in general be healthier in their late 60s early 70s than they are now.

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