Generational wealth differences

[KeenGreen]

My first AIBU so let’s see what I’m in for!

First to make clear none of the problems now are the fault of previous generations. It is not a blame game!!

So AIBU to be frustrated with the rhetoric that todays generations of young families have it no harder than previous generations in terms of wealth and they just need to be more frugal to have the same standard of living??

I am sick of hearing the idea that older generations. So called boomers (for the record I don’t like this term) didn’t have it easier than younger generations.

I am 38 I have worked since I was 16, lived independently since 17. Put myself through university all the way through to PhD. My husband is 39 works in a school as support staff (LSA) and takes up circa £1200 a month. He has a degree.
I work in a university and earn just under £50K before tax so our household income is probably about £65K not the lowest by any stretch but enough for us to struggle to balance costs. We claim child benefit but otherwise no extra help.
Husband only works term time of course, but that means he’s around for our child during holidays.

We have one DC age 5, and can’t afford any more.
Our closest family lives over 2 hours away, so we have no family support with childcare or help if there is a sick day or anything.

We have a mortgaged small semi detached 1930s house with 3 bedrooms, It needs a lot of work but we haven’t been able to do much because of time and money. Current mortgage fix ends in 2026 and I expect our mortgage repayments to go up by about 50% extra £300 a month.

We pay off student loans and my pension contributions are also high.
I took only 6 months maternity leave because I couldn’t afford to go to half pay for long and not into no pay at all.

My husband had virtually nothing in his workplace pension because of low earnings.
Mine is keep being devalued because of sector changes and it’s definitely not the best pension in education. (Teachers pensions are better).
I can’t even imagine what it will be like to try and live off my workplace pension alone and I would have to go all the way up to retirement age which I can’t imagine myself doing in a stressful job.

Retirement age for us is currently 68, that means we have 30 more years.
But with the way things are going I have no hope that there will be a state pension at all for us, or the age will be pushed even higher, so will probably be dead! Despite the fact I will have been paying in with tax national insurance for 50 plus years by that point.

I just feel frustrated about this idea that I hear people say that our generation just needs to work harder, or get better paid jobs etc because it’s not that easy. We both work hard in the education sector. Enjoy our jobs for the most part and find them fulfilling albeit stressful at times!

Like I said not about blaming previous generations for the picture we are in, but I don’t like the rhetoric of ‘well interest rates went up to 15% in my day’ etc when house prices were so much lower in proportion to wages and the cost of living right now and inflation over the last 10 years shows wages haven’t increased in line with this.

ps I know we are not the most hard done by! But still feel the pinch and we certain don’t live an extravagant lifestyle!

I want it means tested so If I am wealthy I wouldn't get it! So it's a moot point

You aren’t wrong OP, but I think there is a misunderstanding from both sides.
Older people don’t understand that some of the things they grew up without (central heating, double glazing, subscription TV, Computers and Smartphones, for example) are now absolutely essential: you can’t search for jobs or pay E.g. your congestion charge bills without access to a computer (and in most cases, a Smartphone for time-dependent bills Etc.) now.
Younger people don’t understand that in the past, lack of such amenities meant that when they were introduced, they were considered luxuries to that generation.
What all people need to understand is that the monetisation of what used to be basic needs (housing, utilities Etc.) along with the successive driving down of wages (Thanks! Gordon Brown, for introducing UC and enabling employers to steal that safety net by holding down pay rises Etc.) has meant that the CoL, averaging 2/3 of take-home pay in the 1970’s, is now nearer to 9/10 of current take-home pay.
Add into this the desire of companies to improve their cash flow by introducing monthly subscriptions for everything, and you end up with everyone being forced (due to lack of capital) to pay for what would have been purchases, in the past, several times over, while never owning any large appliance outright, then rendering those items obsolete in order to reel in the next monthly looting, and you have a society that sees those with less money paying much, much more than those who have wealth!

Well bully for you. I've got 47 years and pay about £2,200k pcm in tax and NI and very little of that has been for my benefit or for the benefit of my own family.

At 38 I had another 28 years to go. It's life. Think yourself lucky you aren't wondering how many years you might have left.

I hope you put as much energy into your research as you do into whingeing. Publish a couple of four star monographs for the next REF, win a bid or three and you'll make Professor in the next couple of years. Then you can pay more tax and NI.

I am a boomer and I having read your post I will now apply for an assisted death as soon as it becomes legal. I will leave my tiny terraced house worth about £130k that I had to do two jobs as a single mum to pay for and all the cheap second hand tat in it to the nation!

That isn't a typo. It's a fundamental misuse of the English language.

Ok but that's not what you said-you said you would give it to your children

Surely if no one is getting any benefit in terms of pension people will cease to want to work?

You are not a "wealthy" boomer , so obviously you can't pass on what you don't have

Wrong,
Australia is doing very well actually and they means test their pensions

I agree re my DH

I think he does an important role, and whilst I have encouraged and supported him to consider teaching etc he is not in that place and feels he cannot do it.

The balance works well and he picks up nearly all household jobs.

For which I bow down to your superior intellect!

I already apologised for my grammatical error! Typing quickly from my phone.
I retyped the sentence in question because I realised it was 3 weeks not 2, as I forgot the October week.

Perhaps I should start a new thread, AIBU for making a mistake!

Shock horror! Someone with a PhD is capable of making a silly mistake.
and further, shock horror! There will always be twats people wanting to tear them down for it when it is completely besides the point of the thread.

Well done to you for winning the internet - here is your medal 🥇

Utter nonsense! You don’t get “taxed higher” on a second job, you just don’t apply your personal allowance as that’s used on your main earnings; any earnings above PA are taxed at 20%, regardless of whether it’s your primary, second or fifth job, until you go over the HR threshold. OP’s DH may well be under the LR threshold and would still have part of his allowance to use on the second job. Financial issues really should be taught in school 😭

I hope you put as much energy into your research as you do into whingeing. Publish a couple of four star monographs for the next REF, win a bid or three and you'll make Professor in the next couple of years. Then you can pay more tax and NI.

Wowsers, how bitter are you @RosesAndHellebores

completely uncalled for. Just ignore @KeenGreen, some people have little else in their lives.

Shock, horror! Paying tax towards things like schools, hospitals, universities… 🙄

How do you know I’m not already on that trajectory?

I on a path to be in the next REF I have a funded project I am leading currently and another lined up for when it finishes.

My point in the comment you quote here, is in response to the idea that the state pension is earned by the number of years of contributions is unlikely to be the situation in 30 years time.

Also absolutely! Currently the age is 68 but I have no idea what the age will be then or IF I will be around for that.
Ive already worked out the maths of dying and what I would leave my family, it is something I am also concerned about.

You wouldn’t pay £40 an hour for somebody with a physics (insert any subject) degree to tutor your child in physics, unless they’d done a PGCE? How bizarre that a 1 year certificate would be more valuable than a BA/MA.

Yes terrible, so why are the boomers so against means tested pensions when they don't need them. It's money for ALL of this.
I can't see 20% of 8 hours a month on minimum wage as the tax contribution you think it will be

Does the Ops husband have a Physics degree?

You really are offensive.

Why is is offensive to pull up priveledged people on their inability to understand that other people are not as fortunate

Nope religious studies!
Not sure there are many tutors required for this!

He originally wanted to be a teacher but the social anxiety is too much for him to even contemplate it, I have encouraged and supported over the years, but he won’t consider it.

As mentioned in an earlier post we feel he is likely to have undiagnosed autism, it actually it all fits, but he doesn’t want to pursue a diagnosis at the moment.

I only just fall into the boomers category by one year. Not all boomers have gold plated pensions you know.

I'm of the era that you didn't actually get a pension with a job, that came way down the line. I have, however, paid into a private pension since the age of 28.

Incidentally, what cap would you put on for means testing the state pension?

Your husband working as a TA is holding you back. Fair enough, you've made that choice to support your family, but TAs never earn a living wage.

If you want a better standard of living, he needs to get a professional job. Not necessarily teaching but something that pushes his income above 30K a year. Which would take the family income up to around 80K. Plenty of families exist with 2 professional parents. You've chosen to have 1. Of course it's going to hit your wallet.

Not much to add except that my mum (boomer) often points out that it was a lot harder in her generation to go to University as a woman, even keeping a decent job after having a child wasn't the "done" thing
Yes you could manage on one salary but what happened when that went wrong?

Also - we live in an age where more treatments exist for cancer etc etc - that has to be a better thing?

Just to add a little balance to the other side

But I totally see your pov OP

I have no idea, that’s why I added the obvious caveat.