To be annoyed pensioners effectively now get a bigger personal allowance

[FlightBeforeXmas]

So because of the fiscal drag from not increasing personal allowances the chancellor has announced basic state pension will not be taxable.
So if you earn this amount you pay tax on it despite having the extra costs of working.
Pensioners are also much more like to own their homes.
How on earth does this make any sense?

But that is for pensioners who ONLY receive state pension. Nothing more. Elderly people (who are also challenged by the cost of living increases, and who now have no opportunity to increase their income). These are people who are trying to survive on £12,500.

Anyone (like me) who also has a small personal pension will pay full tax on that. I would much rather do that than try to survive on a state pension.

I don't understand why the working population who will likely have no state pension are funding a sometimes over double pension (if their homeland gives a bigger pension so say £12k from here and £14k on top from theirhomeland) for the retired now.

British passport holders (if they lived here at some point for 5 years and obtained paperwork) abroad and migrant pensioners here who get a pension from their homeland. Where as the British pensioner who stayed here only gets one state pension.

Doesn't a working person on a low income get universal credit to help them?

I have worked in some capacity since age 13.

when you were working house prices were, on average, 3.5x the average wage. The cost of living was a lot lower. You could survive on one income.

house prices are now 10 times the average salary.

As a working person on minimum wage, the grand total of help id be entitled to is £91 a month. Why am I less valuable than a pensioner sat in their mortgage free home?

Say the basic state pension is £12,861 in 2027/28 - the least it will be if the triple lock is retained.

The personal allowance will still be £12,570.

So someone on just the basic SP would theoretically have to pay tax on £291, which would raise £58.20. It's not impossible that it would cost more than that to collect it.

Who says there will be no state pension? This is another one of those statement that is trotted out without thought.
If we've established pensioners are untouchable, how exactly do you think the entire state pension will be abolished in the next 30 years? Engage critical thought.

On what are you basing this prediction?

The current system would already collect it, they will have to introduce a new layer of bureaucracy to stop taking it.

The personal tax threshold, for pensioners AND working people, is £12,750

The full basic State Pension is £9,175 per year.

Therefore, a person living only on the state pension will currently not pay tax - because their income is below the tax threshold. It’s not rocket science!

I find it rather sad that some folk on here appear to begrudge a pensioner getting £9,175 a year to live on - even though that pensioner may have worked, paid tax and NI, for over 50 years.

Whatever happened to empathy!

I dont think any pensioners with income other than state pension are complaining about paying tax on their total income. I haven't heard any.

But if just over £12,500 is such a pitiful amount to live off why is anyone paying tax on that income? Why would you say there's no need to pay tax if you get that in pension, but if it's wages then you should?

@TheRealMagic if it is a pitiful amount for a pensioner why is a working person taxed on it?

Older people have worked and contributed longer; they should get the most generous breaks.

Pay some dues, young people. You can't expect to have the lifestyle of long-working 50-60 somethings when you are in your 20s, 30s and 40s.

Because they need someone to pay for their cruises!

The bit over the tax limit will be tiny! Have you tried to live on that amount of money? With no real option of increasing your income. £12,548 and many pensioners do not own a house!

God forbid we want to have the equivalent lifestyles of previous generations?

But if you earn £12,861 they seem to find the tax worth taking?

There's currently no system that allows tax to be deducted at source for the state pension. I imagine the cost of collecting tax on state pensions for people who only receive state pension outweighs the tax that would be collected.

Should’ve saved more. Like your generation always tell mine. Live without luxuries and get on with it.

Because the working person probably isn't elderly, has the health and option to work two jobs if necessary, and is otherwise in the building stage of their working life, not the ending stage where options to augment income are far fewer.

Old people have paid taxes all of their lives.

Yes. Perhaps they could go around clubbing all the pensioners to death to ease the resentment.

I'm not sure if you mistagged or misread me - I agree entirely with you!