AIBU to think that I shouldn't have bothered working and paying into National Insurance for the 35 years I have done so?

[HauntedBungalow]

When all I will get is the bare State Pension. Whereas other people who did not make these contributions and/or did not work will get Pension Credit plus all the other nice little add ons like Council Tax Support, free boilers and now Winter Fuel Allowance? AIBU to think I'm a mug for bothering to work all those years?

I agree too.

What about housing benefit?

I don't think anyone can live, ie eat, keep warm and pay bills, on basic state pension and the government surely realises that.

Savings?

I am sorry you are in this predicament.

People on MN are always so quick to deny that people on benefits are doing well or better than some people in work.

You're right OP. It's not fair.

Why should people have to pay into a private pension as well as a state pension just to get the same as someone who's never worked?

Well I would if I resented it ‘that much’. They (well FIL has died) is just one of many people who do it. It does frustrate me, but I continue to pay a lot of tax and get on with it.

NHS is one of the best pensions around. I'm currently watching all my Nurse friends take their pensions at 55 with their massive lump sums and return on less hours for the same money. Appreciate you may not be a Nurse though.

Council Tax Support is paid to pensioners who do not receive pension credits, so if you only have you state pension, yourr entitled too.

I will never own my house, so no, the way things stand I would be better off without the private pension as I will have to pay rent...

Yeah, your life is bad because of people below you with even less.

Jeezo, some take.

I agree, the whole thing is thouroughly depressing. I work my arse off for very little, will never own a house yet pay around £250 pcm into my NHS pension, wtf am I bothering? My quality of life is totally shit and I could really use the money now. I will be screwed if and when I am ever able to retire and am suffering now for what?

If you are paying in £250 a month the NHS must be contributing a fair bit as their contribution is 23%. That will help in later life.

We are talking about how Labour will raise taxes on savings and inheritance.

Labour want to re-distribute wealth to people who don't work. They started this yesterday by means testing the fuel allowance. They have ingnored the people who are only just above the pension credit income limit. These are the people who are likely to have worked in low paid jobs.

Spot on, I agree with you completely. Worked FT as a single parent, living off overdraft most of my life. Loan for new boiler, received no benefits at all. Had to work OT to keep boat afloat. Couldn't go to all of son's sports days etc due to working. Yet, those who choose not to work get it all sorted for them and can attend every school event. Shockingly unfair.

Why should people have to pay into a private pension as well as a state pension just to get the same as someone who's never worked?

because you either believe in a safety net or you don’t.

SPOT ON

Yes, it is very tough for hard working working class families. Sometimes I wonder is it worth sacrifice so much just to do the 'right thing' by putting money our pensions. May be we should just spend it all on holidays.

what are you calling socialism? We live in a capitalist society, as shown by your two sadly failed pension plans. Taxation isn’t socialist, we’ve had taxation since the Napoleonic wars. Socialism seeks to create equality of opportunities and believes that society’s basic needs, such as health, education and housing should be available to all. As far as I understand your point, you aren’t against benefits and support for the less well off: your complaint is that you are not eligible for those benefits, with which I sympathise. I should be happy to pay higher taxes to pay for benefits for those who need it, including you, of course.

Oh yeah great! Another stick to beat less fortunate/less lucky/less privileged people with!

Sick of seeing threads like this now.

Many people have not been as fortunate in life as you and some others @HauntedBungalow ! Your post comes across as very judgemental!

!

Exactly. I wish I'd realised this at the start of my working life.

There's a fairly big middle ground where regardless of what you do, because your wage is so low and your costs are so high, what gets taken from you is so much and what you can't access is also so much you'll likely end up in the same situation as not straining yourself to any great degree.

No, Labour want to redistribute wealth to those who need it. They also have to try and reduce the social budget.

Labour want to redistribute wealth from the very rich to the very poor and less well off

Kind of like Robin Hood

If you would rather the Tory approach of taking from the poor to give to the rich - your can but don't expect any respect from me

I don't want children in poverty struggling to get a decent meal , their life chances blighted by their parents lack of wealth - shame on you if you don't care for them

Asking genuinely, worked since I was 13, had 1.5 years off due to mental breakdown, now 41, earning 35k. Have been steadily paying into workbased pension for the last five years (ish). Run myself ragged, 4 kids, 2 grown up, 2 in primary. I work really hard to propel us out of poverty. Am I doing this wrong? Aiming for payrise after payrise?

I don't want to seem goady, I just see working hard as the only way out of extortionate private rent and, well, poverty?

I've got 42 years of full credits and still 10 years to go until state pension age. I only had 10 months off total for maternity leave (2 kids) so none of those years is even for home responsibility credit.

It is what it is, not even that confident I'll get my state pension when it's time.

@SiobhanTheGoblin Quality of life is not all about money. You've been able to socialise, have a routine and contribute to society in that time. I would try and reframe this in your mind as punching down on other people won't change anything.
Says who? People who've never had to worry about money as they know someone else picks up the tab? And honestly the guilt tripping 'punching down' trope doesn't work anymore. As you can tell by some on this thread getting told how privileged we are to work our arses off, have no quality time with our family yet watch lazy arses do nothing for generations? No ones buying it anymore.

I have sadly thought the same recently. Worked 25 years paying into an nhs pension. Hasn't been easy as a single parent.
I rent which isn't ideal.
I have seen people recently who get state pension plus good work pension have to pay full rent and council tax yet those with just state pension get housing benefit, council tax help plus pension credit. Maybe I am missing something!

Maybe I should stop nagging my 27 year old daughter to start a pension.

This is so naive. You do realise people lie ?

Unpopular opinion but many, many people know how to play the system. Maybe it's just a coincidence that in some neighbourhoods there are huge numbers of people too ill to work. Must be contagious.