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

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5239387-universal-credit-pensioner?page=1

The average pension pot is £37k.
You need a pension pot of about £2 million to get that big a pension.

This makes me feel sick, TBH. I work for the NHS in a job that I find physically and mentally challenging. I'm 50. My NHS pension is linked to state pension age. What I get is also based on my average salary in the years in the run up to my retirement.
There is not a chance I will be able to do my job till I'm 71. I'm not sure I can do it till I'm 67. But I don't think there are enough roles that are suitable for people in their late 60s within the NHS that we can move into for those final years before we are actually allowed to retire. (Or rather are able to retire and claim a pension).

I want to cry 😔

@telephonelady It is a proposal by a think tank. It has not come from government. It is only an idea.

@telephonelady your pension is based on your best three years out of ten years rather than your last three. That is a very useful difference. You will be able to take it from 57 (based on your age now) and while lowered by the reduction you will only lose out financially if you live a very long life. Your state kicks in at 67 so presuming you have some years behind you your situation is hopefully ok. You may know all this but wanted to share in case you hadn’t looked more closely.

For those in the public sector, where the pension age is now the state pension age, you might be able to claim the pension linked to your earlier service (ie pre Apr 2022) if you started before 2005.

As a civil servant that started in 2000, I can claim my 22 years service from 60 with no actuarial reduction. The years I've worked from 2022 onwards I can only have at state pension age - unless I opt to take it reduced.

Most of my colleagues go part time at 60, take the earlier pension and work 2/3 days a week and earn pretty much the same. Worth reading up what the McCloud judgement means for your pension scheme as I think it is similar.

A friend of mine lives in the US. Her sister is 78 and still working part time as she cannot afford not to. My friend is 80 and only just stopped working because her health was so poor. She will really struggle now.
In the UK, the State pension was original set to start two years before average age of death. I expect it will go back to that, so if average life expectancy is 78, it will go to 76. Lots of people will die first, or be stuck in poverty, working PT in whatever jobs they can, relying on top up benefits and housing benefit.
Studies have shown that in the Georgian era, over 60s made up 20% of the population, but 40% of suicides, in no small part because so many faced extreme poverty or destitution, or being a burden on their families. This at a time when suicide was both a crime, and seen as a mortal sin, which tells one how desperate such elderly people must have been.

I feel truly sorry for the generations to come but it's no good just refusing to face the financial realities and saying things shouldn't have to change.

But the state pension has increased and the number of years you need to contribute NI has reduced. This is a very recent change and has not been backdated. So why do that if there is such a crisis coming?

Because the politicians who used these levers to gain support will not be around to be held accountable when it all collapses. Because we all value what we can have today over consequences years in the future.

Votes

I don’t think state pension should be relied on as the sole support. I will retire on my own work pension and personal pensions years before I am eligible for state pension. I agree 71 is too late to be working. But do think people should plan to support themselves with their own finances and not rely on state pension.

I pay into an NHS pension. It's linked to state pension age.

Where does that leave people who can't afford to do that?

All private pensions are linked to state pension age- you can access it 10 years before state pension age, I believe, which would mean that a state pension age of 71 would mean you couldn’t access any private pension savings until 61. It has made my ISA more important to me in some respects as it is a true emergency fund that I can access when I need it. I still contribute to pension for tax relief, but having started my private pension at 20 and seen good growth, am pretty confident will have more than enough for my 60s and beyond. But having had a parent develop a terminal illness in their 50s, as well as other relatives made redundant in their 50s I know you cannot count on a steady income into your 60s or beyond.

@winterwonder1 it’s about prioritising a pension and starting early. I think there needs to be more education around school leaver age around the necessity. My personal pensions were inexpensive and my work one is offset by tax relief. Sure if you think if I had an extra X amount of pounds a months I could buy Y or afford Z. But like affording food/heat etc. pensions should be a necessity. Unless you are happy to work longer and rely on state pension or benefits. I suspect that will bridge a gap since I imagine more people will suffer from age related health comorbidities at advancing age and then will no longer work but get benefits instead.

@telephonelady but you can take it earlier if you want, and it is given with reductions according to how early you take it because you are receiving it for longer so it evens out and you are not losing out on your contributions. It also continues to increase with cpi +1.5% each year once you are no longer actively contributing.

Everyone has to join an employer's pension these days, and for older people who don't have one, they will either get the full state pension or the basic state pension topped up by pension credit. I assume self-employed people will need to sort out their own private pension if they want more money than the state provides.

You have to enrolled in a pension scheme. You can also opt out.

Given many workpensions are linked to state pension age that doesn't help.

Agreed

All pensions are to my knowledge, you need savings elsewhere to be able to retire earlier

I had no option but to take my NHS pension aged 59 instead of 60 due to health worsening and yes I took a cut in payout - but I will be claiming it longer - god willing

End of the day each and everyone of us has the choice of what we wish to save for , because seriously, even though me and he have been on our uppers these past two years, we are still squirrelling away , yes we are down to saving loose change but over the year it all adds up and into an isa it lands ( eventually ) Ive been in this job 4 months now and have told them I want to pay the max I can into the pension which kicks in next week , if I` don't have the money in my hand I cant spend it, and the more I can convert to pension, the less tax I pay ( usually none ) and the more the government give me free

Everyone says over pay the mortgage , they are wrong, pay all excess into the pension ( unless your mortgage is going on past retirement age ) because the government gives you money to do so

No lots of employer pensions allow you to retire at 65 with no reduction. Most public sector pensions simply say state retirement age, but that keeps rising.

Well said!! Totally agree

The state pension is not a bonus for most people. The average annual income for pensioners in the uk is around £13,000, that includes state pension. For most people private pensions are a top up.
You have to have a private pension pot of about a million pounds before the state pension becomes a bonus.