To be angry with people who describe the old age pension as a "benefit"?

[FlubandSlub]

When I started my working life, aged 16, I entered into an agreement with the government for them to save my pension money for me. It was stated that it would be until I turned 60 which would be when I could starting drawing my old age pension. Even though I made my FULL pension payment contributions by the time I turned 51 the government has decided it will not abide by the original agreement and that it is going to keep MY money until I am 67. Probably hoping I will die before then.

Consider this, not only did I contribute to my pension, my employer did too. It totalled 15% of my income before taxes. If you averaged only £15 000 p a. over your working life, that's close to £220,500. Read that again. Did you see anywhere that the Government paid in one single penny?

We are talking about the money that I and my employer put in a Government bank to ensure that I would have a retirement pension. It was not money that the Government had any right to spend on other things! Upon reaching the age to take it back they've started to call the money we paid in a "benefit" !

If you calculate the future invested value of £2500 per year (yours & your employer's contribution) at a simple 5% interest (that's less than what the govtpays on the money that it borrows from overseas), after 49 years of working you'd have
£892,919.98.

This money was supposed to be in a securely locked box, not to be used as part of the Government's general funds.
Successive governments borrowed the money to spend on other things but that doesn't make my pension some kind of charity or handout!! If a private pension company did this we would sue them. Unfortunately the Government can legally rob us blind and get away with it

IT'S MY MONEY! IT IS NOT A BENEFIT!!

The rigid mindset of the employment market is probably responsible for half of those.

if she’s claimed child benefit for a child under 12 she will have class 3 contributions for that time which will entitle her to a reduced pension. She may have claimed other state benefits which attract NI contributions and any reduced pension will be topped up by pension credit.

“When I started my working life, aged 16, I entered into an agreement with the government for them to save my pension money for me.”

No. you didn’t.

You fulfilled the criteria (paying NI) that makes you eligible to claim the age related benefit called State Pension. Your money was used to fund the NHS and people who were currently claiming their State Pension. Just like my NI contributions will fund yours. I’ll be lucky to even GET a State Pension.

OP - I think you need to re-educate yourself on the welfare state - it’s definitely not a savings bank, but a “social security” system and is paid for by the working population for the most vulnerable in society (including the elderly). I agree with you about lack of fairness, like you I’ll be waiting until 67, despite working (or studying) for over 45 years and never claiming benefits. Our adult children will probably have to wait until age 70 at least. We’re all living longer than our parents’ and grandparents’ generations so something has to give. I also think it’s right that men and women have an equal retirement age - we can’t expect to retire several years before men and yet still be seen as equals - society doesn’t work like that.

“When I started my working life, aged 16, I entered into an agreement with the government for them to save my pension money for me.”

That agreement has been varied every single election since. With the publics consent. Because - shock horror - that's how things work.

I wonder how common this view is. My mother holds it. I mentioned once the issues countries face with a growing retired population, and she seemed confused as she thought like the OP that that money was saved away somewhere.

Do you claim Child Benefit? You will get NI credits for the years you claim Child Benefit. Certain disability benefits such as Employment Support Allowance also give you NI credits. PIP or DLA do not as they are not means tested.

National Insurance not only pays for State pensions, but for other benefits too. It goes into a big pot for communal use.

Pot pays for

Job seekers
Maternity
Child benefit
Non working people
NHS

People also have the opportunity to pay into a private pension too.

Info here

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance

My state pension age has increased too

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/what-national-insurance-is-for

It is a benefit. There's nothing wrong with being on benefits of you need them. That's what they are there for.

Well, surely state pension IS a benefit for those who have not worked or contributed. For those of us who have worked and paid in all our lives it's no less than what we expect to receive by having paid such contributions for many years (not that we had much choice).

Yes exactly

I’m sure if I hadn’t gone back to work in the 00s when ED was 6 my n.i. Stamp wouldn’t have been paid and I would’ve had to pay extra N.I. Contributions

NI doesn't just pay for the state pension. You are forgetting, the NHS, contributions based benefits, maternity allowance, and social care for starters.

More than 50% of households take out more than they contribute.

I get that it is disappointing if you thought you would retire at 60 and the age went up. But so has everyones. Mine has gone up twice in my working life and I expect it to go up again before I actually retire. I never understood why women got to retire earlier anyway, and the claims that people did not know about the changes does not ring true.

Why are you so defensive about receiving a benefit? It doesn’t mark you out as “less than”.

Can we ask also for patronising as shit thread policing posts to be taken down? 😉

Sorry @FlubandSlub but it's a benefit. You can be as angry as you like but it doesn't change the facts.

Maybe because it's such a complicated sounding system is why people like your mother and the OP get so confused.

Where I live we just pay straightforward tax, and it goes towards everything.

Completely off topic, how I hate the word "pension", it sounds so old fashioned and when combined with "old age" it makes me shudder. 😬

The other poster is correct. The initial post is both stupid and steaming with anger so I can't blame the responder for being a bit patronising.

Yes it is a benefit. What does your bank statement say if you claim pension? Does it say DWP? Because I am on Universal Credit and it says the same.
We are the same. We are getting benefits from DWP.

No shame in it. I do think people try and separate it as they think people on UC are workshy scroungers.

The simple face is the State Pension is - and always had been - a contributory benefit. And it has always been the case that current contributions from current tax payers pay for the State Pension. Nothing in your rant acknowledges those fundamental facts.

You are 100% correct and I, as a pensioner, do not understand why some pensioners resent the word 'benefit', when they do benefit! I was happy to pay contributions while working and am now happily receiving my state pension. What's the problem?

Each person can view their own National Insurance record here

It shows each individual year
It shows
Fully paid
Part paid
No payment
So if a person worked or claimed benefits the info is here

https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

because they see people who claim benefits as scroungers. They dont want to be lumped in with that group