Pensions… again

[GoodnightAdeline]

https://amp.theguardian.com/money/2024/apr/08/uk-state-pensions-benefits-changes-april-triple-lock-rise

Another pension increase we can’t afford when working people are grappling with the cost of the country.

What will be the endgame in all this? Where will we be in 20 years?

Those on pension credit should get the rise. Easy, done.

I don’t think younger people will do that at all. Most of them barely think about their pension until their 40s in my experience, which is a shame.

The public sector liabilities are already greater than our GDP 🤯🤯🤯 the denial is amazing!

OP keeps repeating the mantra that pensionsers are the “wealthiest demographic” an utterly worthless phrase that means nothing, and OP has steadfastly refused to justify.
This thread is straightforward age hatred.

Why is it worthless? Because it’s an uncomfortable truth? I could say it’s ’age hatred’ not wanting the money to be spent on the (much higher number of) children in poverty rather than those who generally speaking need it less?

and stop being held to ransom by voters who are not currently working people

Aye, pesky democracy eh?

So the people who pay the least into pension provision ie nothing their entire lives get their pension protected but everybody else who have paid(many of whom will only have a state pension, housing to pay etc) get their pension eroded?

Sounds great!😂

The same ‘democracy’ that has lead to 15 years of Tory rule.

You saying something over and over doesn’t make it truth, uncomfortable or otherwise.
There must be millions of pensioners wondering exactly what is going on if they are the wealthiest demographic.

So you’re blaming older voters for voting now.

Indeed. We are sleepwalking into a public sector pensions time bomb, the government knows this but has its head in the sand. Terrifying.

But if the government suggests trimming public sector pensions to something more affordable there will be uproar.

I have never voted Tory. I voted for PR in the PR referendum - we need electoral reform but we are stuck with what we have, and moaning about governments doing what people who voted for them want is surely not a good look?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions/news/number-millionaire-pensioners-quadruples/

Do the people in the link above deserve more money when many many many children live in poverty, yes or no?

Everyone who needs the help deserves the help

Nobody is arguing for children to live in poverty.

A system that takes money from working people during their working lives and gives it back when they retire is not, however, responsible for making children live in poverty. There are many reasons for child poverty, but that is not one of them.

Do you not get basic maths. 3 in 4 are not millionaires.

So yet again what is your plan? A proper plan, not some vague, utterly ridiculous suggestion such as only those getting pension credit having a non eroded pension.

Plan for what? You keep saying this yet I have no idea what you’re going on about. There wouldn’t be a plan because there wouldn’t be a change to the current system.

There is a recruitment crisis in many areas of the public sector.

Worsen their pension conditions. Yeah. That will help.

A plan for not keeping the triple lock and safeguarding the state pension from being eroded.

@GoodnightAdeline I'm interested to see your comment that it would be better for the government to spend extra money reopening early years centres. Why? You seem to have overlooked the fact that adults can decide whether they can afford to have children and have choices in how they raise them if they do decide to have them. Early years centres are a relatively new provision and there are other options available to parents. Unfortunately, no-one has a choice about ageing and, assuming people live into their late 60s, and have paid NI contributions for over 40 years (50 years in my case) they have the right to expect to have a basic minimum to live on. Many older people have worked their entire lives and have scrimped and saved to get their homes, with mortgage interest rates which people of your age can't conceive of.

So because 1 in 4 pensioners are apparently millionaires the other 3 in 4 should be punished regardless?

Ridiculous straw man question. Of course Millionaires aren't more deserving than poor kids, but that's not what is happening, it's much more complex than that - but you keep on trading soundbites, it's much easier than trying to think about the whole picture.

Oh. That again if you can't see why that's simplistic thinking I don't think I can be bothered to explain it to you.

https://fullfact.org/economy/millionaire-pensioners/

Early years centres are a luxury particularly when you consider most families are now getting free childcare and thus most of the facilities early years centres would provide anyway.

What aren’t luxuries are a decent nhs, decent dentistry, decent mental health services….