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

I hear you. I have a DC pension and my former employer paid the statutory minimum. I don’t work at the moment, due to ill health.

It’s all so depressing

I had no idea I could pay extra into my pension. Can I add to it myself, or does it have to go through payroll?

It’s better through payroll as it attracts tax relief.

HRTFT so may have already been covered, but mandatory workplace pensions came in to force in 2012/2018, so by the time this cohort is looking to retire in their mid-sixties, they will have a workplace pension to draw from. State pension cannot and should not be seen as your full retirement provision if you want to have a comfortable retirement.

When state pension was brought in for men over 100 years ago life expectancy was about 65.5 years and people started work at 14 and jobs were more physical.Women didn't often get pensions in their own names as once they were married either stopped work or opted to pay reduced contributions and their husband would get an increased married couple.
Life expectancy now is in the eighties we cant afford as a country to pay 12000 a year to everyone at 65 who wouldn't have started work until they were at least 21 and most are still capable of working.
And I say that as someone who is still working and older.

If I came on here and posted something along the lines of:
“I run a bakery and took loads of deposits for wedding cakes and birthday cakes, but I spent all of the dosh on my holidays and some clothes now I can’t afford to buy eggs and flour and such”

I think I could expect a pretty hard time, why do governments get such an easy pass on pensions? People should be furious.

I think in years to come, this will probably turn the other way, that is, the state pension will shrink in comparison to the private pension.

What about people in manual jobs who can't work into their late 60s?

If we wont get a state pension or we should just be relying on our private pensions, why are we all paying in to the pot?

The call to rely on private pensions is not realistic. Most people do not build up enough savings.

Because the model has always been pay it forward. And here is where the problem lies. We’re not paying for our pension. Our children will theoretically. do that. We’re paying for our parents pension. As they did for their parents be for them.

Plus our NI isn't just for pensions.

We all end up paying for stuff that seems unfair, most of my working life I was paying for the loans for reparations to slave owners, bad for me even worse for my husband who is the descendant of slaves, what a slap in the face for him to be funding the reparations.

WWII loans were also being paid for a large part of my working life, I wasn't alive in WWII.

I used to know the dates when those loans stopped but I can't remember them now.

Sometimes things seem odd, sometimes they seem unfair. Not alot we can do about it really.

You do realise that it isn’t a savings scheme? The first people to receive the State pension hadn’t paid into the scheme, because it was new. What you pay now pays for the current crop of pensioners.

I know that. But we pay that because someone pays for us.

I have a relative who was teaching supply into their 70s (quite literally unto death). Their nearest family member received a death in service payment from the local council and was told she was by no means the oldest on their books - they had ladies over 80 (!) doing supply.

i admit to being shocked by that but maybe it will become more common.

I am a bit lost at the net effect on the state with this - if the pension age moved to 70+ and someone lost their job at 60 and couldn't find another one (until they reach retirement age) would the state then pay them unemployment and other benefits until the retirement age (which I assume could be higher than the state pension)?

The WWll debt was finally repaid in 2006. I paid towards it for 34 years of my working life and I wasn’t born until eight years after it ended.

But surely if the state pension was to be scrapped, then it would have to be replaced with a similar scheme?

Well if we are going to make 70 year olds retake their driving test and they end up "failing" because testing these means they wont have to give up work and claim benefits if they fail or rely on public transport to get to work which is what would happen if other age groups were made to retake their test and failed which is why they wont do it to them
then the 70+ year olds are going to need more money for things like taxis After all its always being said on here that the older age groups are the biggest users of the NHS so will need to get to their appointments Assuming they can find a taxi that isnt doing a school run.

I think it will be. A means-tested one as in Australia.

Then loads of people will not bother with a private pension, and others will simply retire early and spend up.

And anyone who has paid additional NI credits will sue the government to get them back plus interest.

I think that's what will happen.

If they do means tested it would have to be introduced very slowly because everyone's pension planning currently takes account of the state pension. And if suddenly you have to forfeit state pension because you've got a small private pension then what's the point in saving? The average pension pot in the UK is far too small to replace the state pension so most people would stop saving for retirement.

Means testing the state pension would only work if private pension contributions were mandatory and much higher than the current standard . Otherwise you are disincentivising savings, especially among low and middle income earners.