Pensions to rise with inflation - but what about working people???

[doris9034]

BBC Website: "Liz Truss and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt jointly agreed to guarantee that the state pension rises with inflation next year - thereby maintaining the "triple lock" - ahead of PMQs this morning, Downing Street says.
In a huddle with reporters after PMQs, the prime minister's official spokesman said the decision reflected the "unique position" of pensioners who are "unable to increase their earnings through work"

But I - and millions of others - are also unable to "increase our earnings through work" because we are in the middle income bracket, our employers do not have the capacity to raise our earnings in line with inflation and we don't qualify for any state related benefits.

So, whilst I 100% don't begrudge the helping of pensioners (many of whom are probably among the better off anyway), I can't help but feeling a bit annoyed that it always seems to be the ordinary working person / family that never gets any respite from the ever increasing cost of living.

But it still encourages the old 'rich, tory-voting MIL' comments that are really upsetting to us whose only income is the state pension.

But we’re talking in general terms, and you know that. If it upsets you I suggest you click off the thread. We are entitled to discuss pensions and the nature of that means we will always be talking about people of retirement age. If we were discussing student loans it wouldn’t be a ‘bash the young people’ thread.

Lucky old you @Blix. Just send it back if you don't need it.

Yup. So many public sector workers being attacked and called grabby and entitled for wanting pay increases in line with inflation whilst pensions are being increased in line with inflation because that's only "fair". My private sector employer increased my salary by 25% compared to those who were at my pay point a year ago - but the public sector doesn't seem to follow.

And people who are working now will themselves be pensioners one day.

I can't help but feeling a bit annoyed that it always seems to be the ordinary working person / family that never gets any respite from the ever increasing cost of living.

People drawing the state pension had been 'ordinary working people' for many years in order to be able to draw their pension and have already been through what you are going through now: there have been recessions in every decade since the 60s. Whilst there are many pensioners who are well off due to having good occupational pensions, those who only have state pensions will be in a far worse situation than a lot of working people with rising costs. So please don't make this about it being unfair that state pensions are increasing.

That said, I really do understand where you are coming from, things are tough and going to get tougher. It's a shame we have a government that don't look after the lower paid working population. For that you need to blame the conservative voters, not pensioners

@Blix well it's great you're not poor, but plenty of older people are. Nothing stopping you giving it to your children or a good bank if you don't need it, but just because you don't, doesn't mean plenty of other pensioners DO.

And a lot of people who have worked , both full time and part time, have been thoroughly fucked over with pension rights, sudden changes to retirement age, not informing people of their rights to claim pensions based on their spouses pension contributions etc etc etc. and funnily enough the people who have lost out most on pensions over the last few years are women.

If it makes you feel better quite a lot of any triple lock increase will be swallowed up by income tax for many of us.

I think pensioners with paid off houses, huge savings and huge private pensions, (I'm talking millionaire pensioners) shouldn't get state pensions, winter fuel allowance and so forth. I remember seeing a tv programme with the founder of JD Wetherspoons (multi millionaire) getting winter fuel allowance and asking the government could he give it back? It's ludicrous. There's no many ways the government can cut back without hurting the poor and middle classes. Thrash non dom tax avoidance. Dodgy LTD company tax, trusts tax avoidance, etc. But choose not too, as it suits the rich people that vote them in.

Use that money to fund much higher minimum wages, inflation linked public sector pay (inflation calculations which includes housing costs)....and naturally, private sector wages more likely to increase. After all the private sector employers have to compete with public sector employers, and compete with the minimum wage rate, in order to secure and keep workers, especially highly skilled workers, or workers in high stress roles.

Many of my parents contemporaries voted (and still vote) Labour. They picketed when the coal mines were shut down and when the steelworks closed, they marched against austerity, they lost their homes in the 80s when mortgages hit the heady heights of 15%. My father didn't apply for Pension Credit despite being eligible because he believed others needed the money more than he did.
So no, pensioners dont all fit your narrow minded description of Tory voters rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of an extra £9 a month in their pension pot.

Ah, I get it. Those who’ve paid into their state pension all their working lives shouldn’t get it if they’ve managed to be financially successful. Do you also think those who’ve not paid a single penny in National Insurance should NOT get a pension and just starve?

Got to love the people on here begrudging their parents of their pension!

Not all. My MIL gave up work after four years in her twenties to raise a family, and never returned again.
She's now 80. Many hundreds of thousands of similar woman of that generation.

Pensions make up 50% of state benefits, so you can’t complain that people on benefits aren’t benefitting from the triple lock. Very many of them are, and rightly so.

The real scandal is that disability related benefits aren’t being protected in the same way.

If their reasoning is that pensioners can’t do anything to increase their earnings while others could, then surely that should apply to disabled people and their unpaid carers?

Well they manage to distinguish who gets child benefit and who doesn't, so they need to decide a similar method, removing benefits from those that don't need them and redistributing them based on need and not solely on age.

How can your MIL receive full state pension if she hasn't worked the required number of years? Maybe I've misunderstood how it works?

I think pensioners with paid off houses, huge savings and huge private pensions, (I'm talking millionaire pensioners)

Are you going to define 'huge'? and how many millionaire pensioners are there? and does 'millionaire' mean money in the bank or assets like property? I can't wait for you to tell people that if they do well for themselves (however you define that) over their working lives that they forfeit the NI they've paid in for 40 years (and which while they were working went to support a previous generation of pensioners). Should be really interesting.

Don't see why it has to be an either or situation

So she shouldn’t have a pension?

My Dm would be 102 this year if she were alive. She went to work.

But yes, women did give up work. I think they had to if they became pregnant in the 60’s?

They didn’t have to it’s just ironic they’re now the demographic to say ‘don’t have kids if you can’t afford them’ etc.

I am a not well off pensioner so I will take all the help I can get

I didn't say she shouldn't have a pension.
But it's not true for many many thousands of usually women, to say they paid in all their lives. FIL didn't either. He's currently nudging his thirtieth year of retirement in his mid 80's.

She raised a family who presumably are contributors to the economy and presumably also supported a working husband. I thought motherhood is the hardest job there is and that mothers aren't appreciated enough?

Well they did have to, because there was no childcare.

And I’m pretty sure their response would be, to anyone who doesn’t work because they’d be worse off paying for nursery, ‘you shouldn’t have had children if you couldn’t afford them’