What are all pensioners getting another £300 this winter??

[F0RBIDDENFRUIT]

They are amongst the richest people in the country, yes there are poor pensioners but a lot of them are way richer than anyone else.

£300 more for energy, none of the old people I know need this, they all have more money than their children.

Just because they vote, that is the only reason they can be doing this.

Quite. I started work at 17, so had paid NI for 49 years by the time I got to retirement age, and my state pension is only a couple of ££ a week more than MIL gets in pension credit.

I'm still aggrieved at not getting it at 60. I'm in the first tranche of women who had to work to 66.

Yes I am aware that NI contributions stop after a certain age, but you said you know loads of people who are high earners who are not paying tax. So you didn’t mean that? Just trying to clarify

It's always been like this
Paid by age not financial circumstances
DLA/PIP is also non means tested if you meet the criteria

Sure. Here is Spain:

Eligible qualifying years full pension = 37 years 9 months (this will be increasing to 38.5 years in 2027)

https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1129&langId=en&intPageId=4795

Social Security Payments (similar to NI)

Very hefty payments in Spain vs UK

6.45% employee (depends on contract)
30.45% employer (this is the largest difference)
1.50% variable (workers comp insurance)

These large employment taxes also cause problems as it makes it very expensive to hire people. Thats one of the drivers of the black economy in Spain (est. 20% of GDP).

https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/spain/individual/other-taxes

Same here! I recently paid some missing NI contributions and it was only afterwards I thought I wonder why I bothered, doubt I’ll see any state pension by the time I’m of the age, probably should have put it in private pension instead 🤷‍♀️

I am old, I am finding reading some of the comments on this thread quite distressing. If some of posts on here were addressed at people of different races it would be deleted. It feels as if ageism is the last permitted prejudice.Old people, just like young people and middle-aged people are not one homogenous group who think the same, do the same and have had the same life chances. We are individuals who will have all sorts of different life events, some good, some bad and some perhaps devastingly difficult. Nobody, not even the posters on here expressing some of the nastiest views are exempt from ageing and maybe they would do well to remember this.

HelpMeGetThrough, I don't care whether they need it or not, to be honest. They're legally entitled to it and it's £300, not 3 grand or 30 grand!

I'm a lot more angry about big companies that get away with not paying enough in taxes and making profits that they keep for themselves.

Politically speaking, people vote in higher numbers as they age. Any party that proposed removing the state pension would not be elected.

Politically speaking, how do people foresee the state pension ending? Do they think pensioners will just be left to starve?

I don't understand how the population would tolerate it.

I agree. MNHQ does sweet FA about ageism. Mind you, it often does sweet FA about a lot of bigotry these days. I guess it makes for more activity on the site. I am sure it didn't used to be this bad.

Some of them may put it aside in savings if they don't need it.

It's horrible, people really should read their comments back before they hit "post". I hate all this generalising "all pensioners are..." "all teenagers are..." and so on

Well said.

@Lifeomars I agree , it's vile to read these comments. What I find so awful is that now I'm 67 I had hoped I could enjoy retirement. I had hoped lots of things would be affordable because I worked all my adult life, paid into my public sector pension scheme, worked full time even though I had children.
But it seems that I don't deserve any of that , I should,perhaps be in the workhouse ,living on charity.
BTW, I am still working, I care for 2 adults with disabilities.

A luxury holiday? For £300??

Politically speaking, people vote in higher numbers as they age. Any party that proposed removing the state pension would not be elected

Exactly. All this guff about the SP not being around in a couple of decades or so is bollocks. Although going by this thread, if a party proposed abolishing it right now and sticking existing pensioners in the workhouse, quite a few non-pensioners would trip up in their haste to get to the ballot box.

Ageism on MN is, and always has been, the last -ism to go unchecked.
Posts did use to get deleted, but not anymore.

Be careful what you wish for. This will be your future state pension. Most pensioners are not wealthy and many, many more have mortgages than in the past. This coincides with the increase in divorces in mid life. The British State pension is the lowest of any in the wealthier countries, despite the UK being the 5th wealthiest economy in the world. You do realise that it is not ‘a benefit’. Workers must pay a specific amount in National Insurance over 30 plus years to be entitled to all but fewest of breadcrumbs! I’d love to hear your view if you had to live on it for even a few months!

I wouldn’t call 10% ‘many many’. 90% of pensioners have no mortgage.

Oh and the U.K. is no longer wealthy. In part thanks to spending we cannot afford.

Thanks, will have a read.

Being "old" isn't a get out of jail for free card to ignore economic realities.

For the older folks here, I would highly suggest you look into what happened to the pensioners in Greece who voted themselves outsized benefits to the detriment of the country as a whole.

When hospitals are crumbling, school roofs are falling down, and more importantly (to Govt) you cannot properly fund an Army (defense) with the money that you have left, they will be taking a cleaver to those excessive pensioner payouts.

As an expert, I am telling you this because its a "when" and not an "if" scenario at this point in time if the current situation keeps on going in the UK.

Its not ageist or age hating to think people shouldn’t qualify for something based on Simply age. I think things should either be for people of all ages or should be means tested.

How on earth does it benefit society for my wealthy pensioner relatives who can afford regular cruises and think nothing of opening a £20 bottle of wine on a standard week night evening in to receive an extra £300.

whereas of course there’s a huge benefit for someone living on state pension only to revive that money. I wish that it could be means tested so there would be even more for those people to have in payments.

Meanwhile I see my hardworking nhs colleagues of all ages struggle to pay their bills and their cars repairs needed for their community visits. Why on earth is my millionaire great aunt getting money over them?

Well I imagine there’s also a large proportion of people on this thread who think over 70s shouldn’t be allowed to vote, cos you know, they’ll soon be dead. I seem to remember that being quite a popular opinion during the Brexit campaign amongst some quarters

Its not ageist or age hating to think people shouldn’t qualify for something based on Simply age

Quite, otherwise the fact other people are too young to qualify for it would also be ageist.

My mum said she doesn't need it so I said she can always give the equivalent to me 😂