To think most of us will work to death?

[Fifi0000]

I was thinking retirement age is rising again. I'm now 30 my grandparents are late 80s and retired before I was born. They aren't wealthy , They have only started really slowing down health wise. I was thinking about this and very few of us will get a 30 year retirement. If the retirement age rises to 68 I'm dreading what it will be when I reach that age and my daughter. I do have an ok pension pot but I think the expectation will be very short retirements in poor health basically work until you drop.

I can't speak for 'most of us' but for me, yes pretty well I will be.

I'm in my 30's, I've basically written off the idea of a state pension.

I am just shovelling money into my life savings account and my private pension. I outright own a house so accommodation isn't an issue, I'll just need money for food, utilities and the car. I'm not planning an extravagant retirement just simply not working.

I only have one child also so long term that's cheaper.

I'm also a loan parent so I will only need to support myself financially in my retirement than a household as such.

I aim to retire about 55-60.

Interesting thread so following

My pension forecast is that it will be worth about £1200 a year. I don't think I'll be holidaying much on that.

It's not down to personal responsibility completely though is it? There aren't enough jobs with high enough pay for everybody to be able to save/invest enough to retire early, it's literally not possible.

There don't seem to be any firm estimates as it seems to depend of the definitions used and figures include all adults.

Using data from Care Quality Commissions Provider Information Return (CQC PIR) ONS estimate that between 2021 and 2022, there were an estimated 314,839 community care service users in England. Of these 25.8% self-funded their care. However, we expect these to be underestimates.
blog.ons.gov.uk/2022/07/07/who-is-paying-for-their-own-community-care/

Meanwhile National Audit Office estimate 814,000 adults received home care or supported living services across the health and care sectors as of March 2020, this includes both regulated and unregulated care providers.

A third of older people self fund:

Services providing community care for older people (aged 65 years or older) had the highest proportion of self-funders (33.2%), which was statistically significantly higher than services providing community care for younger adults (aged 18 to 64 years), which had the lowest proportion of self-funders (6.7%).

@EilonwyWithRedGoldHair a job is never going to make you rich tho. If you want a long prosperous retirement it all about investment and owning a buisness

The idea was that it would save money as people who did have to pay couldn't always afford the fee and therefore went without.

As the majority of prescriptions were free anyway (90% in England apparently), there would be saving on admin as well I imagine in just making them free to everyone.

Point is it's impossible for everybody to earn enough to retire early, however others do it.

I prepay so mine are subsidised. It would be much more expensive for the state if I was in A&E every month having an asthma attack, and bed bound with chronic pain unable to work, take care of my child and provide unpaid care for my own mother

A lot of people are struggling. If elderly people cut back on prescriptions it will just lead to more expensive care. I know from experience it can be hard to get some elderly people to take their medication anyway, especially men. Non compliance rates are surprisingly high. Putting another barrier in the way will just cost the NHS more anyway.
And to be honest this is the problem sometimes with the NHS. Penny pinching in one area just pushes the costs and often increases them in another area.

@beetr00

I have always loved work. I have done jobs that haven't been fulfilling - but going to work, working hard, achieving what I can has still mattered.

I now do a reasonably senior role where I have responsibility & can make a difference. I really love many elements of my job. It's not an easy job though - I manage a team that is not an easy team, at all. It's a public sector role so the bureaucracy can be frustrating.

My own parents had professional roles that they worked very hard at. That was probably a value that we all adopted as my 3 siblings all work hard too.

However, I've been guilty of working too hard, and prioritising it over my family. I'm a single parent with very little support - when my marriage first ended I had 3 v small DC, recession was in full swing & I was working on a contract. When it ended it was a significant period of time before I could work & that was awful, mentally & financially. So working matters in a practical sense & for my own identify.

In terms of the OP's question, I think I can make a difference, and health permitting, hope to stay active & working in different capacities for as long as I can. I also recognise financially I will be unlikely to afford to retire till later, despite being lucky enough to have a public service pension (Ireland).

I'm 30 and I know I have 40 years of work ahead of me.

I have to work full time till 67 and am in my fifties. I may have to work part-time after that.

Me too.

Anyone retiring now, with the necessary NI contributions will get the New State pension, which will be £203 a week from April. Older pensioners, who retired before 2016 will get £156. Almost £50 a week more.

I’ve not noticed much of an outcry about it.

Same here in NZ. Free prescriptions for everyone must cost a horrendous amount of money, which surely could be better used elsewhere.

Old style pensioners will qualify for pension credit if they don't have any other income. New style pensioners won't as the cut off limit is the £203pw.

Most people retiring now will not get a full state pension. Younger people will when they retire.

@talkingdeadscot loads of pensioners have just too much savings or a small private pension so do not qualify for that benefit. You only get that amount if you have no other income.

I work with elderly people and so many of them tell me they "went downhill" after retiring. People need a purpose.

I have known a lot of retired people, over many years. When I've asked how their retirement is going they always say the same thing, "I don't know how I found time to work", as they are all busy doing many things, often helping others, or embarking on a project they never had time for before. I've yet to meet one who didn't have a purpose.

Yes, I think the long term plan is to phase out pension credit completely as its a passport to lots of concessions and other benefits. If I remember correctly.

When I was in Australia and the cost of prescription was pretty much the same as the uk, maybe a few dollars more. Free prescriptions are given to people over 60, under 18, people on benefits, expectant mothers, some people with lifelong medications. I would assume it’s the same in NZ and Australia, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this group makes up the vast majority of people who need medication, as being older and poorer is not great for your health in general. As for the money going towards a better use, surely preventative medicines to keep people out of hospital and a crisis is ideal. I am saddened to see that NZ puts such a low priority on the health of its people and that attitude has been ingrained into posters on here, it’s obviously not the socialist utopia we are led to believe it is.

OK, i'll bite. I get sick of all this boomer bashing.

I will soon be 70. I started working after school and at weekends when I was 14. Like most of my peers I never went to university (in fact I don't personally know of any my age who did). I was made redundant at 60 and after applying for other jobs realised that no-one wanted a 60 year old PA. So I was in the workforce for for 46 years. I paid what was asked of me into the state pension system and I had paid into a company pension plan which I could take from 60 so I retired. By the way, as I paid into a company pension this means that I don't get the full state pension.

Like many 1950s born women my pension age increased from 60 initially to 62 and 9 months. I was happy with that as I agreed that the pension age should be equalised. I was not so happy that subsequently my state pension age was increased to 65 and 3 months, so an extra 5 years 3 months. But there was little I could do about it.

Also, like many other women of my age, the pay differential between men and women was vastly different to now. Yes, we bought a house. It was a struggle and we went without a lot. The interest rate was 13% when we bought and quickly rose to 15%. We had two camping chairs and very little other furniture but we made do. Lots of baked beans and eggs were eaten. We had no help from parents. We had some very worrying times. It was the same for all our friends and relatives. I was 60 before I was first able to buy my own car with my own money.

Yes, we are comfortable now. Not rich by any means but comfortable. DH has one voluntary job, I have 3. I believe I have earned my retirement and if I want to do an art class or go on a cruise I bloody well will.

I fully accept that things aren't easy these days. I have nephews and nieces and other young relatives in my life. Each generation has its crosses to bear but please don't assume that boomers just sailed through life having everything they wanted.

Sorry for the rant.

Exactly that. Lots of older pensioners, who tried to be responsible, and have modest extra pensions, are often just over the means tested limit for Pension Credit. Younger pensioners are not means tested for that extra £50, so even a small private pension will make a difference.