To think we shouldn’t have to contribute to soch if we don’t intend to use it?

[slozenger]

For example, I don’t want a state pension - so I should surely be able to opt out of soch based contributions percentage. And just pay a lesser amount to cover anything I do take advantage of.

So you say you won't want a state pension. What happens if your circumstances change dramatically through something unpredictable like ill health, divorce, bad investments, financial crash, etc and you suddenly need a system you have not contributed to? Do you expect a safety net funded by the rest of us or should we leave you in the gutter?
DH and I have always contributed, as most of us do, despite paying for private education and private health cover. If people like us do not contribute the system will be more poorly funded for those who need it and cannot afford other options.

The system you suggest is simply not practical

It’s easy to say you are a non NHS user until you have a life changing injury and need a level of care the private system cannot provide.

Are you prepared to say, I did not pay in so I will take the consequences and die?

No it's not!

Food for thought?

Unless you're not breathing air, drinking water, walking on footpaths, eating food, benefitting from security and emergency services, you don't really get to detach from society. You can't pick and choose your taxes as an individual, since nobody gets back based on what they get in. But you could consider politics or emigration as routes to change your tax burden.

That's not how it works. You've picked a really bad example anyway, your taxes are paying the pensions of people right now, not being saved up for your pension in however many years it may be so no, you don't get a discount for not drawing one.

Don't we get a discount on ni? I know we used to because when I left my first job without 2 years pension contributions, they refunded me less the opt out discount.

I don't know if it still applies because I don't care. I want to live in a society where we care for each other and I'll pay for that.

I never said I wanted to fully opt out, just a discount for what I won’t be using as I cost less to run.

Another boring edgelord. How do they keep finding us?

"Ooh I'd like a badge that says non-NHS user, so noone needs to call an ambulance for me". Yeah, yeah, whatever.

No because we indirectly benefit from things like the nhs. We need a fit healthy workforce and things like immunisation work if everyone has them and some illnesses spread whether you like it or not.

You might not feel you benefit from other people having a pension but there is no personal pot you can chose not to recieve. you arent paying your own pension, your paying current retirees and jt would be very hard if everyine decided they didnt dancy doung that. Maas homekessness and starvation. Loads of people die before state pension age and they dont get a refund.

Given more than one person has asked you, it’s not. It’s not a ‘thing’. We are all
making a rough assumption based on your grade 3 GCSE Sociology understanding of the different ways society can work.

How rude of you.

Why are you happy to pay for society's children to be educated but not for those children's grandparents to eat and put the heating on?

I'm interested why you prioritise one group's needs over another's if you personally will benifit from neither.

But how do you know that you'll never need the things you want to opt out of?

I’m not sure why you are clear that you will not receive state pension, do you have a signed death warrant ahead of the curfew?

Or will you not be eligible as you haven’t paid in your full stamp? Although I imagine there are safety nets with pension credit etc.

Can't be done. You need to subsidise others, just as they may some day need to subsidise you.

Every generation pays for the generation before them. I paid into the kitty for my parents but neither reached pension age.
It’s not as cut and dried as you suggest

I'm in my 40s and had no idea what it was. Yes I Googled it and now know but to assume everyone knows what you're talking about or that it's self explanatory just makes you look like a bit of a knob really.

You know nothing until you know it

Why have I just paid three grand to uplift my state pension?

I don’t know what soch means either and I’m fairly bright…
The state pension is a ponzi scheme that will have collasped/become heavily means tested like care homes by the time I retire so my future planning does not include it as I’d like to not be in penury in my dotage, however opting out or paying a reduced amount because you don’t use certain services would be too expensive to implement for it ever to be considered and people could not be trusted to self declare 😂 I pay more in tax and NI per year than the average gross salary, so on paper I should be pro this sort of thing!

And as people have pointed out, others may want to opt out of other benefits the NIC go towards. Why stop at the state pension? I actually don't think this thread is real, are people really that ignorant about how this all works.

@slozengerSorry if this has been covered but why won’t you use a State Pension

I'm not sure about soch but I think everyone should contribute to bilf and magasso. What's your view of treng?

But the only option for this thread is opting out if you do not want to select a state pension. You’re over complicating matters here.

If we allowed people to opt out of income tax or NI payments on the basis they won't use state funded services in the future, then there simply won't be enough money in the pot today for everyone that currently relies on state funding.

I expect the state pension will eventually be phased out and everyone will be expected to fund their own retirement through auto-enrolment. But we are probably 20 years away from that yet.