Who is going to pay for your state pension/ care in old age?

[itsadlibitum]

Apparently birth rates are falling, and this is putting future pensions (and I would imagine general tax income) in jeopardy as the population will proportionally age.

What's the solution? Should we just write off our paid for "right" to a state pension and state support for care in older age?

Does this change your view on public investment in supporting people to have children if you otherwise thought this was a personal choice and you should support/ pay for your own children?

AIBU to think that NI contributions for "pension" is essentially government mandated mis-selling and state pension will go out the window in the next few decades?

Many many moons ago when I started working my expectation was that I would retire at 60.
Like my grandma.
Like my Mum.

Then they moved the goalposts and at 58 I'm looking at 9 more years.
And I feel downright ROBBED!

You've got statistically more years of life and health than your mum and grandmother, so you know, swings and roundabouts @Boogery

At 33 and 36 we’ve just assumed no state pension will be available to us. Both high earners with no kids and no plans to have any so we know we need to plan to be completely self sufficient and pay for any support we need. Luckily employer has a good scheme so we max out contributions. Also have a rental property- my house from before we met. We don’t profit on it month on month but once it’s mortgage free we could sell it and fund retirement.

Because I’ve worked since I left school I’ll be paying it all myself.
Also feeling robbed.

I’m 49 and I have always assumed that the state pension will be means tested and I won’t get it by the time I reach retirement .

Hmmmm.
I wonder what percentage of us will be in a state to " enjoy" retirement as we continue to grind for almost a decade more than previous generations.

Think 60 was a bit young.

Healthy life expectancy isn't rising anywhere near as fast though and sits around 62ish last I saw. So @Boogery is - statistically - likely to be spending most of that in poor health.

Do you not think voters might have a view on that?

How do you feel about that though? And your NI contributions?

Do you think people should have more children to pay for your pension?

Do you resent paying for current pensioners (knowing you are unlikely to get the same)?

Where does life expectancy sitting at 62 "ish"?

I'm the same age as you, but am more reasonable. Pensions are a fairly modern concept. When first introduced they were a safety net for the last 5/10 years of your life. The can was kicked down the road for too long as life expectancy increased. It was never sustainable to be pensionable for 30+ years.

It will gradually even out as the boomers die off, Gen X are not as healthy, and the next biggest generations go through.

The question will be, who will care for you, if the birth rate is plummeting? It’s not exactly the best paid job and it’s hard work….

Here. Healthy life expectancy, not life expectancy. The number of years you can expect to be in good health.

I think healthy life expectancy is also an important variable. Will increased levels of obesity, poor mental health, ultra processed food, poverty and sedentary lifestyles, plus reduced investment in health and community care, mean that life expectancy (or healthy years within that life expectancy) start to reduce? Or will improvements in medicine (weight loss injections, early cancer detection) cancel out these trends?

Also not true though. Prett much everyone we know, late 50's, already retired or part time. Planned that way!

It won't even out though. The population is aging overall. There are an increasing number of old people to young people, and the falling birth rate is making that worse.

To answer your question… no I don’t resent paying for the current pensioners. They were a generation of workers, also paying taxes and NI. I also believe older people are amongst the most valuable in any society and should be looked after

Do you think voters will get the choice?

What about today's generation of workers? Who pay taxes and NI?

The trouble with that argument is that most people in their fifties have parents who probably started working full time at age 14/16, so the quantity of years worked will be roughly the same (especially for men). I fannied about with education and ‘travelling’ until I was at least 24!

And I know it’s a side issue to your question, @itsadlibitum , but it should always be remembered that the present annual interest paid on the national debt is roughly equivalent to the cost of paying the state pension.

But it will, because those old people will continue to work longer and pay taxes for longer, which is what op is pissed off about.

Everyone you know retired late 50's??????

What are these privileged circles that you move in?

I honestly don’t think I’ll make it to my retirement age, which is 68. My mum died aged 67 and I’ve already had an aggressive cancer in my 40s. In some ways this is a relief as my life insurance is worth more than my pension at this point…..

DH is putting lots into his pension at the moment to make up for periods of unemployment and short term contracts in his 20s and 30s. He/we should get by.

For the generation after, lots will still have mortgages waiting to be paid off until around state pension age, so the cohort in their late 50s now, may be more able to manage a phased retirement with reduced working hours, downsizing properties and living off their released equity until state pension age, but the younger generation will be unlikely to follow similar choices. Obviously there are many in their late 50s now working full time unable to retire or reduce hours, but I imagine in 20 years time, there will be very very few able to wind down towards retirement at that age