The state pension is HOW MUCH???

[BeatieBourke]

Call me stupid (fair) but I've just realised how much the state pension is. £800 odd a month (£185.15pw).

As a non-means tested benefit. For EVERYONE.

I'm generally of the opinion that benefits are too low and too punitive. I usually advocate for universalism. I understand that people have worked their whole lives and paid in, and deserve a retirement. And that having pensioners in poverty does no favours to the economy or other welfare services.

But £800 a month / £9k a year for EVERYONE?? So a widower in rented accommodation with no other income or savings, £800pm. A wealthy 68 year old who's earned a 6 figure salary, has a huge property portfolio and investments coming out of their ears that pay a fortune out in dividends, £800pm. Seriously?

I understand that no party, least of all the Tories (because tory voters as a population are older) will ever go after pensions because it would be unpopular (and older people vote more generally). But in a time when the country is supposedly facing a financial "black hole" and everything else has already been cut to the bone for the last 12 years, why the hell are we paying out state benefits to millionaires?

Maybe if pensions were means tested (with a fairly high and tapering threshold) there'd be enough to pay pensions for women at 65, and more for people who haven't built up huge assets, can't afford to live, heat their homes or eat a hot meal every day in their later years. I can see the (cynical) political sense in it, but no economic sense whatsoever.

AIBU?

Yes and they only have to be eligible for £1 of Guaranteed pension credit and all rent and council tax paid.

It's not shabby though is it?! 2 pensioners living off £1600 a month, no mortgage, no life insurance to pay, no kids to pay for, no pension contributions to pay for!

They're richer than we are. A lot richer.

You don't get the same though, unless you have paid in. Or have NI credits for 35 years. If you fall short in years paid in you will get less.

This.

I'm 3 years short of the full pension. I need to pay another 3 years worth before I retire, to get it.

I've also paid into private pensions whilst working various jobs around my dc, I was told I will be taxed because of this. Even though I worked years in the NHS, as it went out to tender, it's classed as private.

Rent
House and contents insurance
Maintenance of house if owned
Utilities

Tes this. We can’t afford to give money to rich pensioners. It’s just not affordable.

Sorry so you believe that a millionaire shouldn’t get a state pension? Why not they’ve paid into the scheme why shouldn’t they get it?

single mum with one child will also get £185.15 makes no difference if your single, millionaire if you’ve paid in or signed on your stamp is paid for you. Child benefit all pays your stamp

I find the OP frankly offensive. Firstly, most people, don’t actually receive that much. Also, even when it is, that is an obscenely low amount to expect a retired person to live on, having worked and paid a large chunk of their NI over 35 years (any less and the pension is reduced accordingly). So it isn’t a benefit. A benefit is money a person is entitled to due to circumstances irrespective of whether or not they have paid into the system! The British state pension is also disgustingly low when compared to other first world countries e.g. the Spanish SP is 81% of your gross annual salary, the German SP is 48% of the average wage. In France, it’s the average of the your best 25-years salary.

Lots of people do not receive the full pension. You have to paid enough national credits.

Yesterday NI was paying for the NHS. Today it's paying for pensions.

What is it? 2%? 1%?

What is it paying for?

Reading yesterday I believed that NI paid for the NHS. Today, it pays for pensioners.

Which is it?

Tes this. We can’t afford to give money to rich pensioners. It’s just not affordable

Rich. Pensioners. Are. Taxed.

HTH.

You pay for that pension. Through NI.

@Babyroobs

But we do have a sort of guaranteed income for working people because if they are on a low income they get topped up by Universal credit although of course the amount paid is based on individual circumstances, rent , kids, illness etc.

Not at all - 'universal' credit is not remotely guaranteed. It's highly conditional on the claimant proving they are actively looking for work, and there's a system of sanctions/fines etc for people who don't meet the conditions.

Sorry if this has already been posted in the thread but I couldn’t see it anywhere

this doc compares pension provision in other European and OECD countries

The UK is already way, way below average for spending as a % of GDP; for the weekly net amount, and several other markers

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00290/SN00290.pdf

to further erode that by means testing a state pension would put us below countries considered ‘third world’ until pretty recently

it is pretty staggering that the desire to ‘rich bash’ is such an enemy to common sense that some posters would see us in the absolute dregs of international league tables rather than see people who don’t ‘need’ extra money get a small return on 40 years of contributions

batshit

We can’t afford to give money to rich pensioners. It’s just not affordable.

FFS, when will people learn? Take it away from the rich and the cut off line will drift down and down until pretty much no one gets it. NI will be cut as it isn't fair to pay for a benefit you don't get.

Stop trashing the welfare state which we all benefit from! We need a European model, not a US model.

Fucking Tories want to take every bloody decent thing away, cut tax and leave the rest of us to starve.

People pay in, they deserve to get their pension. It doesn’t matter if they have a private pension too. Plenty of things I’d rather cut than that

You have to claim your state pension. I assume a lot of very rich people do not.

But if it becomes means tested, within 10 years only the very poorest would get it.

If the state pension becomes means tested I am cashing in my private pension and spending all my savings having a great time before pension age.

But no one on the full SRP is going to get pension credit.

From Citizens Advice
If you’re already getting Pension Credit, you’ll keep getting it unless your circumstances change.
You can’t usually make a new claim for Pension Credit.
You can still make a new claim for Pension Credit if both of the following apply:
you reached State Pension age before 15 May 2019
you’ve been claiming Housing Benefit since before 15 May 2019
Otherwise you’ll usually need to claim Universal Credit instead - check if you're eligible for Universal Credit.

So no one on full SRP can get it, no one who retired after 15 May 2019 can get it. Not sure why we keep having it quoted like it is something any and all pensioners can get.

As already covered they are eligible for a whole raft of other benefits such as housing benefit as well. State pensions that are universal mean that we are paying £800 a month cash to some very wealthy people. We can’t afford it

Far higher than 2%.

www.gov.uk/national-insurance-rates-letters

That's not how it works. There's no 'pot' set aside for pensions. Current taxpayers and government borrowing pay for current pensions.

And I won't be the only one spending all my savings if state pension becomes means tested.

The welfare system SHOULD work as a form of social contract. We, the public, agree to work and pay our taxes and NI contributions to the state, in return the state agrees to care for us when we are unable to work due to ill health, old age or other genuine adverse circumstances. The universal pension entitlement is a great example of this working exactly as it should. Disability benefits and the NHS too.

House maintenance is a big one. I work for a charity for older people and we do get a lot of queries from people unable to pay for a new boiler or roof repairs etc. But these kinds of expenses are usually one offs, not a frequent expense. We get a lot of older people asking about equity release schemes to pay for expensive repairs and they get so anxious, it's sad to see.

I think you might need to watch what you wish for. All the tax payers might mover abroad...