Are we morally obliged to work ?

[Justthisonce12]

630,000 economically inactive people in the UK not claiming benefits. Early retiree’s I guess.

Hunt plans to tackle this and encourage work force participation to allow businesses to grow. ie cheap labour I presume ? But also preventing a brain drain.

Will be interesting to see how he plans to address this.

Work is there to make money, if you don't need money then it's entirely up to you whether or not you work.... I do wish the very rich incumbents of the tory party would give up their well paying jobs for those who genuinely need an income. Surely they could save the country money by not taking a wage they don't need.

@ComtesseDeSpair so someone on a lifetime of benefits has ? Someone who could work but doesn't not disabled etc
Lets not do the famous mumsnet thing of they don't exist , I have them within wider family
We should really focus on getting anyone who can work and on benefits on to some kind of work , help with obstacles that may be in the way for others be that childcare or training
More help for those than geniunelly cannot work but real help for those that want to, when I applied for JSa No help getting a job , just sanctions and stiff but no actual real help

EARLY RETIREES !!!!! I retired at 60, pay tax on my pension, claim not a penny from the State. I have (and continue to) fed the machine since I was 15. Fuck right off 😡

@Schlaar no use childcare like many many have to

the reality is that the tax and NI they paid during their lifetimes didn’t even cover the services they and their family used, let alone decades of a state pension

I would imagine those who can accord to retire early have earned a lot, and have a decent private pension. So they probably have paid more in than they will take out.

This! I’m a SAHM with 3 DC in private school. I would say 40% of the mothers there are SAHM and they definitely don’t claim benefits.
I won’t be getting a job. I have too many family & voluntary commitments and, truthfully, have no wish to.

afford not accord!

Nah, the market isn't supposed to favour the peasants! Can't have them getting ideas above their station.

Most middle-aged and older women I know are doing crazy amounts of unpaid work caring for family members, since retiring a few years early my mum has cared for my grandma til her death, done two days a week caring for my kids and now cares one day a week for her grandchild. She's not not working, she's doing the unpaid work that it is impossible to do on a 40 hour week and remain sane!

I only work a few hours a week at present. Would love to work more and miss having a career. However, I have a child with SEN who can’t attend mainstream but there is no other setting available for us. So have been forced into home Ed world (though still ‘on roll’) while battling away to get help.

I have met many other parents (always mums actually) in similar situations, who have had to leave work or dramatically cut hours.

I think they would like to work too - just need somewhere safe and suitable to leave DC first, maybe Government could sort that!

Thing is, there is nothing like the resources available to honour these pension obligations globally. People are being promised things that can’t physically be provided when the time comes to call it in

Better get building workhouses then; because that's pretty much no welfare state.

I'm a sahm who does a lot of voluntary work and studies. Although technically I have a job but the hours are ad hoc so for example in October I only worked 19 hours. It's doing something related to the field I used to work in for the LA.

My ex boss (civil service) would like them to demand I either repay the cost of my two tax payer funded degrees and other publically funded training or "get my lazy ass back to work". He sends me a lot of vacancies to apply for.

Pre covid I intended retraining as a social worker when my youngest started school (hasnt happened yet) but covid put paid to that. I'll probably never go back full time.

Great, please tell me where this is available in my local area and I will use it!

Perhaps it's people like my friends husband - doesn't want to work but wouldn't get benefits, as he is able to but simply refuses to work. So he just lives off her wage. My cousin does the same with his parents - he won't work so lives with them rent free, they pay for everything and he sells a bit of weed, sells a few belongings now and again, cadges money off parents etc to get a bit of money.

It's valid to raise that as a concern but it's pretty clearly not what Hunt or the OP are concerned about.

Now that makes much more sense.

I'm in this category. Three different medical conditions that enable me to have blue badge and disability bus pass but I cant claim benefits as my DH earns too much (benefits cap). Unfortunately I don't see any of his wages so I'm destitute but unable to earn my own money. Now the government want to force me? Yay 🙄

They aren't funding themselves, though, are they? The NHS, education etc all need funding by taxpayers. If someone is in the position that they don't need to work and therefore pay no to minimal income tax (unless you are super rich and then it would be in some tax haven anyway probably!) you could argue that they should pay for their own health care.

Im not worried about people who are not doing paid work but not claiming benefits. All of them are still paying tax like VAT and council tax. Most of the will have paid other taxes in the past, like NI and Income tax. Many are carers or volunteers , they contribute to society in many ways.

Im much more concerned about the millions who are of working age who are on long term benefits. I want more help to get them into work and help them overcome barriers such as lack of childcare or work related skills or issues related to Disability and mental health.

Helping mothers to fit work around their children would lift many families with young children out of poverty.

Tackling many chronic illnesses of middle age ( obesity, hypertension, diabetes, back pain, heart disease ) would allow many to work until retirement age instead of relying on disability benefits.

On average the amount people have paid in and the amount they take out over their lifetime must be almost balanced or we would be in a much bigger financial mess

I recall seeing a thing that had calculated that immigrants tended to net input into the coffers over their lives for example

So many people could sit and take their pension happy that they have net benefited the country

But hey that's pick on the benefit scrounged pensioners why not

If I could get a proper wfh flexible job I would be working. I click on loads of flexi wfh jobs and they aren’t. They require working a set time. This doesn’t work with my health issues.

And no please don’t inbox me with your “amazing” mlm —con— job. If I wanted to spend my own money on products to try and flog I would be setting up my own business again.

@Maverickess well prob more the ones doing 15 hrs etc who could do more , if your full time you can't work more and with min wage going up this should help a little
Also some self employed who maybe earn a low amount who would be better off just becoming employed
The country can't support all and any that can do more should
I have professional friends working full time who have taken on evening and weekend work to make ends meet
So if someone doing 15 hrs can be helped to find another 10 or 20 then why not ?

Op maybe you should ask for your post to be changed as its clear its wrong

We are not morally obliged to work - but we are morally obliged to support ourselves if we are not working by choice.

My dad did similar.

Went to work for a charity where they offered him a paid position in the area he'd just taken early retirement from. He said it sounded great but the job should go to someone younger who needed it more than him. The appointed someone else and he stuck with his volunteering for the next 15 years. Win Win 😊