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

[lazylab]

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.

[Andrewofgg]

Why was the age ever lower for women than for men! It never made sense; even in 1911 women had a better expectation of life than men. Logically it should be the other way round - I'm not suggesting that we should do that now and I don't pretend to know how to sort the mess out.

[MsHopey]

My Nan was made redundant from a position she had worked in for 15 years. She loved her job and was very happy there, they said they were making redundancies due to budget cuts (then advertised someone to fill the position they had kicked h3r out of). At 64 she is struggling to find another job, she has to go to the job centre to sign on and hates it. She is being sent on courses all over the area, some many miles away, but still, no job offers. Most people do not want to employ older people because training sometimes takes longer, and some employers see training as a waste of resources on someone who will retire in a year or two. She has also thought about releasing equity in the house, losing her only investment so that she doesnt have to keep visiting the job centre.
And it's only going to get worse. And I am aware that with today's property market most of us won't own a house to even release equity from

[plominoagain]

I'm going to be working until I'm 60 . As a police officer with a mandatory fitness test that is the same for everyone regardless of age. Failure to pass it eventually will end in dismissal . I can and have passed it every time, first time , but these days it takes more effort and time to reach that level in my forties than it ever did when I was 24 . I'll probably end up going early and having to try and find work to top up my reduced pension , because shift work is getting tougher to live with every year .

[BarbarianMum]

I can't retire until 68. Do I want to work that ling? Not really, no. Do I think it fair to add to the burden of younger generations by making them pay me my pension earlier - no I bloody don't! I may not be a baby boomer but at least i got an almost free university education and managed to buy a house whilst it was possible to do so . I'm pretty lucky really.

[sparechange]

Why was the age ever lower for women than for men

For the same reason women were banned from running marathons, playing contact sports, working once pregnant, etc etc

The weaker sex weren't capable of pushing their fragile little bodies to do such manly things as exercise and work.

Now we know that is bullshit, there is no way it shouldn't be acknowledged that women can work as long as men. It is equality, see...

[OhhBetty]

It's just an unfortunate necessity. I'm 26 so will probably work til I drop. A colleague (carer, physically and emotionally very hard work) is in her 60s. She can't retire for 3 more years and desperately needs a hip replacement but can't afford the time off work since we don't get sick pay. It makes me sad and angry for her.
I also think men will start to outlive women since we now work just as much due to "equality" but are also expected to do the majority of childcare and housework at the same time on the whole. And a lot of the time for less money! Equality my arse.

[Parker231]

OhhBetty - women aren't expected to do the majority of childcare and household - that is only the case if you let it happen. If you are both working full time, why not split the other tasks?

[AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered]

I think the key message here is that we all need to actively plan for retirement, starting as young as possible. I know it's hard for people to prioritise saving into a pension when retirement is decades away, but it's absolutely vital.

Similarly it's important to career-plan so that you don't have to work manual jobs if you're not up to it - retrain, study in the evening, do whatever it takes so that you're not on your feet all day at 65.

The other thing to consider is lifestyle choices - if you smoke, eat the wrong foods, are significantly overweight or do no exercise you will of course find getting around much harder the older you get. The new pension age will hopefully make people take more care with their health. My parents are 66 and 64 and in excellent health, partly through luck but also because they've made an effort to eat healthily and exercise. They have no problem being on their feet all day, so not everyone is 'old' in their 60s.

[Lweji]

are also expected to do the majority of childcare and housework at the same time on the whole

If you feel that you are, then change it.

[Miz10]

I also worry about this for my dad, he is 59 and works 12 hour days in a very physically demanding job six days a week. He is always so tired I don't know how he is going to do another 7years of it.

[Chottie]

Most WASPI women don't have private pensions to fall back on. Some companies didn't even allow women to join their pension schemes until the 1990s. Anyone who got divorced didn't get a share of their ex husband's pension until around 15 years ago. Many women now in their 60s don't even have a full state pension entitlement let alone a private one.

I am a WASPI woman and when I started work in the early 1970s, in a merchant bank in the City, women were not put into the bank's pension scheme until they were 28 and that was only if they were unmarried. I had children and went back to work teaching part time. And when I first started teaching, part timers were not eligible to join the TP. As soon as it changed, I paid in. But combine the above with having children and that is a lot of missed pension years. I have bought all the additional NI years I could, but I still won't qualify for a full state pension.

[SilenceOfThePrams]

Also, was lower as most husbands were older than their wives; couldn't have the poor old chap sitting st home alone. Wifey needed to retire too to be around to cook lunch...

[Chottie]

Ahedgehog

The other thing to consider is lifestyle choices - if you smoke, eat the wrong foods, are significantly overweight or do no exercise you will of course find getting around much harder the older you get. The new pension age will hopefully make people take more care with their health. My parents are 66 and 64 and in excellent health, partly through luck but also because they've made an effort to eat healthily and exercise. They have no problem being on their feet all day, so not everyone is 'old' in their 60s.

I've done all the above. I have been married over 40 years and weigh the same as I did on my wedding day. But believe me, it is tiring working full time. Despite my best efforts, I do not have the same energy levels as when I was 30.......

[OhhBetty]

Parker231 and Lweji I am a single working parent so obviously I don't have a choice! Not gonna shack up with anyone to change it, wouldn't want to! However, I still think it is a widespread attitude within society and I see it amongst some of my friends who are in relationships. I firmly believe sexism is alive and well.

[LakieLady]

The other thing to consider is lifestyle choices - if you smoke, eat the wrong foods, are significantly overweight or do no exercise you will of course find getting around much harder the older you get.

I didn't do any of those things. It didn't prevent me from getting osteoarthritis in my hips, knees, shoulders, hands, elbows and spine. It's the arthritis that makes "getting around much harder".


Of course, now I can't exercise because it's bloody agony, and it started when I was 40, so hardly "older".

[ihatetosay]

66 isnt old I hope i am still working at 70 better than sitting at home waiting to die

[user1471545174]

The problem with the WASPI age group is that women of this generation had no expectation or record of an equal working life alongside men - we were still relative pioneers in the world of work and the equal pay legislation our efforts brought about STILL hasn't borne fruit. So it irks a bit when the menz start up the "well you wanted equality" bleat.

I'd have been OK with the 62 increase but 66 is a blow and only really clever budgeting will bridge the gap. My money has always helped support other family members too, it isn't easy.

[expatinscotland]

'The other thing to consider is lifestyle choices - if you smoke, eat the wrong foods, are significantly overweight or do no exercise you will of course find getting around much harder the older you get. The new pension age will hopefully make people take more care with their health. My parents are 66 and 64 and in excellent health, partly through luck but also because they've made an effort to eat healthily and exercise. They have no problem being on their feet all day, so not everyone is 'old' in their 60s.'

Or maybe it'll make 'em think, 'Fuck it, I don't want to live to be 90 and get dementia and wind up terrified of my own shadow. There's no guarantee doing any of those things is going to translate into anything, and no matter what you do, you aren't 30 anymore.

[sparechange]

Obviously there are lots of anecdotes on this thread about people who are struggling with health in their middle age, but as a cohort, over 60s baby boomers taking adventure holidays are one of the fastest growing areas for the hospitality sector.

So clearly, there are plenty of people out there who are doing lots of white water rafting and hiking holidays, so it doesn't seem like a huge stretch to think they are also ok for work also

www.theguardian.com/money/2015/aug/19/ageing-population-pension-reform-boon-business

[colleysmill]

I often think about this. My dmum died aged 51 so never got anywhere near retirement age and my ddad retired early at 60.

In hindsight ddad already had the start of a degenerative condition despite having lived a healthy lifestyle. Looking at him now (which is nowhere near the age I will be able to retire at) i can't see how he would hold down full time employment without some major adjustments. He certainly isn't physically capable of anything other than a sedentary role.

I do wonder whether we will see a surge in retirement of the grounds of ill health before the state pension age kicks in. If it kicks in at all for me

[UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea]

There are plenty of fit and able 60+ year old women. My mum worked FT to 65 and was no worse for it. Of course it's not inevitable that you will be worn out by then but you do need to take care of your health and wellbeing in your middle age. Being overweight or unfit will knacker you in your 60s for full time work.

[SuperBeagle]

Retirement age is 67 here now.

It's fine. It's in line with the huge increase in the average life expectancy. The 65 thing was set decades ago when the life expectancy was around 70.

My generation will be working far beyond 67. I accept that.

[StealthPolarBear]

"seventhgonickname

What about the knock on effect,some women may not be able to work if grandparents aren't available to childminder if they are still working."

Incredibly depressing that that sentence contained only the word 'women' but probably accurate. Men work to provide for their families, the woman takes a little job if she can get all of her childcare responsibilities lined up.

[StealthPolarBear]

Mummy meister, interesting thought linking it to life expectancy. I wonder how that would go - we could have regional variants which would lead to everyone moving I plan north in their late 50s :)

[nooka]

My FIL took early retirement at 55. My father fully retired at 75. I think my dad had the better deal to be honest, even though he died five years later. He staggered his retirement over ten years with no money worries and a lot of fantastic holidays (of the type that sparechange refers to). FIL on the other hand has pretty much done nothing which just seems a huge waste of potential really.

The fact is that people in retirement have to be supported by a larger pool of workers paying taxes. Birth rates have dropped so there are fewer young workers while the amount of older has increased. Either older people have to work longer or young people have to be imported. That doesn't seem to popular in the UK, so retirement age going back is the only option.