To think 71 is too old for state pension age?

[winterwonder1]

This isn't just for people who are 21 now - that's for people born after 1970 - so 55 now. I can't imagine being fit enough to do my job at 71.
DWP State Pension age will have to rise to 71 says report | News Shopper

Eventually no one is going to be able to enjoy retirement as they’ll all be too knackered and have too many ailments to enjoy it!

They don’t get nothing back they get education, healthcare, housing, employment and sickness benefits if they need them. All the things government provides.

It’s maths - the numbers don’t lie! It’s just not affordable anymore. Like it or not state pension was a giant pyramid scheme and the unlucky ones are about to get stuck with the bill.

It’s not how I want it to be, it’s in no way political, it’s just what the numbers say.

Not quite @Swonderful .
People not yet retired who paid in for years prior to 2016 may still be affected but, yes, everyone starting since 2016 are all on a level playing field.

Think this is their aim.

I don't think they will means test it without having a huge backlash....if you have paid in for 40/45 years plus ....you expect your state pension ...no govt will do this in the foreseeable.

You'd have to retire quite a bit earlier not to get your 35 years in. You can always pay voluntary contributions.

There will be a riot if this happens.

I had a family member they sadly died just a few months short of getting to state pension age when they would have retired 😕and got their state pension....paid on for 5 decades and got zilch! never got to enjoy a day of retirement.

Pension age is too high now...

@Horserider5678 My Dad was the same at 70, but otoh, a friend’s Dad has just died at 72 after battling cancer. He worked all his life and only got four years of pension even now.

My Mum died before she was eligible for her pension so yes, some ppl won’t see a penny if it’s raised to 71. I suppose that’s the goal!

yep 100% ....riots if they try this...

That needs to be made crystal clear - for many years it wasn't and people, especially in low pay jobs expect their state pension to top their crap work pension (if they even have one). Don't forget that paying into a mandatory pension is relatively new.

Also don't forget those who've been on the receiving end of poorly performing pensions and pension rapes eg BHS.

well that was the point of the old age pension when it was started in 1909

but old people over 70 in 1909 were a much smaller percentage compared to working people in 1909 than 2025

The UK population is growing older. In 1901 the proportion of the population over 50 was around 15%, in 1951 it had risen to 25% and 31% by 1991 and in 2024 its 40%

by 2080 the population will start to decrease, its the tipping point of the older populations they die out

just to add average age of death was 54 in1909 when old age pension was introduced at 70years old. Times have changed and successive governments have had 70 years to lay down plans for the boomers and gen x but have done diddly squat

They do. NI contributions are payable until state pension age, currently 66.

Not all of us have been in a position to contribute to an amazing pension. Many people rely on retiring I was at 65 now 67 for me, I’d have a top up small pension but not a great one, to tell me I might have to work until 71 is just too old, not ill enough to not work but not well enough to work a physical job. I don’t known why theg want us working longer when they say there aren’t enough jobs, let the young people work

@BIossomtoes but what about for people who had a state pension age of 60?

I’m early 30s and I have resigned myself to the fact that there will be no state pension. I’ll instead spend my working life paying insane taxes so that baby boomers can enjoy their retirement they never saved for and their NHS that will be dismantled by the time I’m old enough to really need it.

State pension wasn't supposed to fund years of retirement because people died a lot earlier than today.

Or volunteers to work in the charity sector etc.

This. We're told to save, but if we save too much the economy is fucked.

Also if you're on UC and manage to save for retirement - or anything else - you're penalised for it, I'd raise the savings limit.

I never expected to be able to retire before my late sixties at the earliest anyway. Really I think I'll be working as long as I physically & mentally can. I have two pensions, they're forecast to be when about £1,000/yr each, DH basically doesn't have one and can't afford to pay into one at all right now, so I'm expecting a financially difficult old age. I try not to worry about it too much.

My main hope for the future is that we manage to get DS as independent as possible (he's autistic), both for his sake as he's an only child, and for ours as hopefully we'd get a few years where we could up our income a bit, assuming DH could get something full time.

I agree 71 is too old.

I also think part of the issue is the number of people not starting full time employment until aged 21 or 22, because of going to study degrees of little value.

54 average age of death - you didn't read that part?

The average age of death was 54 largely because of higher rates of infant mortality.

You really do. have to get the idea that your national insurance payments pay for YOUR pension, they don't. It all goes to the government and the government of our choice decides how to spend it. A further 5billion to farmers? Another 10 billion to the NHS? Where do you think the money comes from?? ( figures just plucked from the sky but you get the gist )

Each and everyone of us has access to our pension forecast , we can see how much we are expected to get, what years we have paid, what years we may have time to pay. Look at those amounts - my first year of full stamp was £52, last year it was still less then a grand, and Im on course for full pension

Also in my 60 years of life I have been hospitalised- twice on ITU for a week at a time, Day case ops, minor ops , had numerous outpatient appoinments, dental, physio , gp appointments .....

All this has to be paid for, and whilst our benefits bill is so high, something has to give. So do we stop allowing the disabled have a decent quality of life? Do we stop helping hard working families with UC? Or do we give warning, start saving or be prepared to work longer?

There aren’t huge penalties for taking your pension early. The yearly amount is reduced to take into account the fact you’re taking your pension for longer, which is only fair. You still get the same amount of money just spread out over a longer time.