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

big weight loss injections vs big junk food & we are all just collateral damage, shrinking and inflating as we hand over all our money to the corporations

It wasn’t until I started teaching 18 years ago that I had the option of a workplace pension.

Yes but with auto enrolment now, It is easier to save up 4 years worth of pension over 40 years than it is over 12. You get compound interest in your side.

55 year old don't all have great jobs and cheap housing.

Well yes , unfortunately - I really hope euthanasia will be available, which is a whole different conversation.

Given that where I live is one of the most deprived areas in Scotland and that people living in my town have a healthy life expectancy of 55.7 years, it's almost impossible to imagine the effects of pension age being raised to 71. There is enough poverty and I'll health here without folk having to try to contend with that.

I'm 65 and still work full time, and don't want to stop. I enjoy my job, earn well, hours aren't too long, feel I add value, etc. Plenty of people do feel able to carry on. We have a guy 77 who's still working and valued as a colleague.

Of course when the job is physical it's different, but isn't the problem that people don't like their jobs anyway, irrespective of their age?

It will be interesting to see what happens to sick leave payments as pension age rises so high.

The likelihood of more people ending up on paid sick the older they are out there working will surely rise.

Life expectancy may be higher but it a healthy life expectancy the same? And expecting much older people to be working full time will likely reduce the healthiness too.

I am sure you’re being sarcastic. Save up how? Everything costs too much. It took 1 minute to earn a Freddo in 2000 and today it takes 5 minutes. And that’s just chocolate, housing has inflated even more!

I don't think that's ever going to be acceptable. If it becomes OK to euthanise poor elderly people then I'll be hoping the apocalypse comes sooner rather than later.

We all have a responsibility to save for our own retirement and the state pension must not be relied upon.

I know what you're saying but I think the economy is going to be absolutely fucked if everyone is having to squirrel their money away for years on end instead of spending it. And IF they manage to reach retirement age then the "grey pound" is not going to be spent on things like long haul holidays or other travel and days out for very long, because people's old age health issues will kick in sooner into their retirement than what woulld have happened into the past. People are also going to be too worried to spend money because even if they have it and are physically able for a more few years, no doubt they'll also have to pay for their own social care before too long too.

It is very worrying all round.

But if this happens where will be the incentive to go without and save for our pensions?

How much does someone need to save to get a pension of 11k a year? Say 300k? Just imagine if the government said everyone who has scrimped and saved, and managed to get to the magic figure of 300k in your pension, well you now get no state pension.

Insane

I actually think for lots of people paying into a private pension is very doable if they are aware of it (which is why I think it should be taught in schools) and start early enough.

Will that apply to everyone? No. But it does to a lot of people.

Of course when the job is physical it's different, but isn't the problem that people don't like their jobs anyway, irrespective of their age?

I love my job - most of the time.
However, as I've got older and have developed some health issues and dealing with perimenopause on top, some days it's hard, and getting harder.

I'm not sure I'll be able to keep on working FT for another 10 years, let alone 20!

When the state pension was first introduced in 1909 the pension aged was 70 and life expectancy was 52. The people who got to 70 lived on average another 5 years. So pensions were received by a small minority for a short time.

Now the pension age is 65-68 and life expectancy is 82 so the average pensioner receives their pension for over 15 years.

Something needs to be done so that the country isn't crippled by pension costs but I'm not sure raising the pension age alone solves the problem.

I'm not 55.

I just can see why telling someone at 55 they have to make up 4 years is harder than telling someone at 18.

life expectancy was 52

This didn't mean the most people died by 52y though.
The life expectancy then was still heavily skewed by higher infant mortality.

Just imagine if the government said everyone who has scrimped and saved, and managed to get to the magic figure of 300k in your pension, well you now get no state pension. Insane.

I don’t know a single millennial or gen z person who doesn’t think that this is exactly what will happen. I think it’s hard for older generations to accept it as likely, because of decades of political favour. The young haven’t known anything from politicians except being shit on.

I like mine, but it's already getting progressively harder to move jobs in my field because in lots of knowledge-based roles, you're seen as ageing out once you pass 50, especially if you're a woman. I think it would be a struggle to keep going with decently paid jobs right into my 70s.

What does it matter whose fault it is. Yes, it's true I lived my life rather than just eat bread and water to be able to have a private pension. I just would not have been able to afford it during most of my life.

I completely understand this. But NI doesn't just pay towards state pension. It pays for many other things so if younger generations don't pay, many things in society don't get paid for.

If I were you, I'd worry more that you will end up with virtually no state pension, because of your teaching pension. I have an NHS pension, and was "suprised" to find out those with NHS pensions, already don't get full state pension. I'm sure people think the NHS pension is a gift, rather than something some people have paid into for 40 plus years. I imagine teaching is the same. Of course 71 is too old. Those still working on wards in their early 60's were generally knackered. People in very physical jobs, without work pensions, will be too knackered to move to another less demanding job, after 40 years. People will be living on sickness benefits instead. Lots will die and never see a pension. Average age for dementia onset is 65.
Edit - sorry my quote disappeared, I was responding to PP wbo is a 46 yo teacher

My DH is the oldest person, at his level that does his job in our county. He’s early 50s and retiring at 54. The other people in his role at his level are early 20s-mid 30s. Usually by aged 40 people at his level change departments and get a desk job until they can retire at the 30yr point. He always says it’s a young man’s game.

There is no way he could do his job at 71.
Fire fighters retire at 55 for the same reason. Imagine a 71yr old fire fighter!

Very few 71yr olds have the stamina, energy and brain power to want to work.

What DOES happen to those who are of retirement age, but simply can't afford to live? Work til they drop? What if they can't?

Yah there is a huge lack of jobs, why do you think over a third of uni graduates end up at home and job hunting for months to years? Even with degrees in engineering, computer science, law and so on…..

Yes but with auto enrolment now, It is easier to save up 4 years worth of pension over 40 years than it is over 12. You get compound interest in your side.

You think people are able to save up enough for a decent pension? 😆