86 year old Secretary sacked

[furryjammies]

There is an article in the DF today about a now 88 year old woman who sacked from her NHS Secretary job for I think fairly spurious reasons at the age of 86. She has won her case for unfair dismissal. Do you think there should be a cut off point for retirement or should you be able to work as long as you want? She wanted to work until 90.

I have no private pension to speak of because one could only put money into a pension fund if one was earning and I was married to a high flyer, CEO of a multinational at 36 and never at home, and we had three kids inside four years and we wanted them to be parented rather than child minded. Before everyone jumps down my throat I don't mean to cast aspersions on anyone who goes back to work full time; each to their own choice, this was just the choice we made.
So I stayed at home because, with himself bringing in a six figure salary, I could. He had a fat pension pot which I was constantly being reassured was, "ours" so I wasn't too worried.

Then he left. After not working for so many years I found it quite hard to get back into the job race but I did, albeit in very lowly roles, and I have been unable to put away anything like enough to enable me to live what I would consider a comfortable life without working at my state pension age of 67.

As to space hogging, one of my children already has a child of her own and the other two, no doubt, will soon. I would like to be able to host my AC and their partners and children occasionally and have my grandchildren to stay for holidays as they did with their grandmother and I did with mine. Obviously that makes me a space hogger and, by implication, selfish.
Oh I also, being a countrywoman, like a bit of garden, which is why I don't fancy a flat.
And, I have only had two days off sick in the last 5 years despite hurtling towards old age and having two chronic health conditions. That's because I'm product of an earlier age when one didn't get sick pay (and I still don't in my particular role apart from SSP but who can live on £92 a week?)

SSP is less than £92pw. But, why did you not get part of your ex's pension in a divorce settlement?

I couldn't afford a solicitor. I was divorced before I even knew it really. (Found out about the decree nisi the day of the decree absolute, about which I was told two days later) By the time I had the money together to pay someone to look into it for me it had somehow, "disappeared". He had a very clever accountant by all accounts.

Oh and SSP is £92.05 per week. www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay

I don't think retirement will exist by the time I'm at my retirement age which at the present is 70. I think pensions will be abolished. So we will all just work until we drop down dead. I've come to terms with this future. I should imagine that when my time comes euthanasia will be a thing for those too old to work. Isn't the 21st century a wonderful thing!!

Ifeelsuchafool - what a shit he was/is! I cannot fathom how someone could do that.

I don't think retirement will exist by the time I'm at my retirement age which at the present is 70

It doesn't 'exist' now really, there is no 'retirement age'. There is a state pension age but with the changes in how pensions work you don't have to stop work to draw your state, or other, pension, you can still pay into a pension (with limits) while drawing one etc. Employers cannot make you retire.
You can stop work any time you want and you can draw your pension in a number of different ways from age 55.
I plan to take my 25% tax free lump sum at 55, reinvest it elsewhere, change career completely, earn about 1/5th of what I earn now, but live on that as I won't be paying into a pension, and hopefully do that for ten years or so, using the invested money, and other savings, if necessary.
Then I will draw my private pension in various ways, and in another couple of years from then draw my state pension and my defined salary pension from another employer (that's worth leaving to age 65). Maybe downsize my living arrangements.

So, there is no 'retirement age' currently.

I'm in the U.S and are you saying in the U.K. there isn't a Mandatory retirement after 30 years of employment? An employer can be forced to keep someone on the books until the day they die?

Does everyone rely on the government for their retirement in the U.K.? Aren't there private retirement accounts that employees contribute a percentage of their wage to and the employer makes a contribution. The money is then invested so it grows over the years? Is there nothing like that? Sacrifices have to be made during your working years so that you can have a comfortable retirement.

There is no mandatory retirement age nor length of service, no.
An employer is not forced to keep someone on their books, they can manage them the way they manage any employee

Yes, we have workplace pensions and private pensions, but it's only been the past few years employers have been forced to contribute. Big employers usually did but many more employers did not.

I'm 70 years old. workplace pensions as they are now didn't exist when I was working. I took quite a number of years out of work to be a SAHM so I had no pension provision.

If I had no other source of income, which thankfully I do, although it's not pension related, I would be living on my state pension alone, which really isn't enough to live on, imo.

There are a great many people in that position, living on only the state pension, and it very hard.