£610 a week pension demand is insane

[Thisismyfinesthour]

Just read that there is an online petition doing the rounds for a £610 a WEEK pension demand to the government.
WTAF? Is the heat melting some peoples brains? It seems over 5000 have signed it.
Where do they think the money is coming from?

Precisely, the status quo is absolutely fine given the triple lock.

Yes there are many pensioners just getting by. My grandparents were the same. Being wealthy on paper is not the same as having a decent pension in my view.

No i meant everyone should just get a full state pension based on 37hrs x current minimum wage and scrap the pension credit so everyone starts off with the same

You must know some different people. There are a lot of people struggling on the State Pension. I think it should equal minimum wage. If the govt deem it minimum for workers why not for pensioners ?

But 40 years of NMW won’t afford you a private pension.
Workplace maybe but what about those who just can’t afford it.

I’m not sure why you think everyone gets pension credit - you only get it if your income is below state pension level ( ie haven’t had enough years worth of credits) and you have little in the way of assets or savings.

Because it is work. Employees work for their minimum wage. The minimum wage, or living wage etc. is the minimum value that can be put on someone's labour. Unless you are dealing with profound disability, no one should get state benefits in the ball park of minimum wage.

You are asking the already hammered for tax taxpayer to more than double its payment for nothing in return.

Next you'll be saying that you shouldn't pay income tax and NI on it but workers should.

£12,547 indexed by the greatest of CPI, AEI or 2.5% is a pretty awesome deal.

Being a mentally and physically able baby boomer who has no money left is quite the achievement. Education, housing, employment, benefits have all been in their favour throughout their lifetime, all while they've ensured that their children's generation gets screwed over in every area. Disney couldn't write a worse villain!

I carried out 22 hours of unpaid voluntary work last week, and in an average week do at least 8.
At least give us retirees that do such work some kudos. And no, I don’t get pension credit.

How have they screwed over their children’s generation? I’m not a boomer but my DH is. Nothing he has done personally has screwed over the next generation. Successive governments may I have done, but I don’t see why old age pensioners are being blamed.

Because most pensioners have no housing costs, which is the biggest expense for working people.

I don't think any level-headed person blames individuals. I suppose it is the entitlement that exasperates younger generations who now have a very tough set of economic and social conditions to deal with.

Most pensioners have no dependents either. Living as a pensioner costs a fraction of the cost of 2 adults with kids and a mortgage, let alone a single parent.

Allow me to introduce myself.....never unemployed, never took more than 3.5 months maternity, have a full state pension which is great for thrifty, frugal survival, but as a single person now not great for running a home on one pension income only. (state plus a tiny amount of private)

I had a small private pension, never had any workplace contributions until the last legal moment it was compulsory for employers to contribute, and at the lowest legal level (all fine - I worked in the charity sector and knew I was never going to be rich)

Then COVID obliterated my job and I had to cover 4 years with no income at all - couldn't claim anything as I had been saving for my retirement - that got eaten up in those years.

Hey ho - I am 'ok', I manage as I do not have flash tastes or expectations.

But I am sick to death of hearing how all pensioners are wealthy and living the life of Riley.

Statistically there are loads of pensioners living in poverty and women are harder hit than men. The fact that you don't know any, but rise to click bait about daft petitions shows your attitude.

I have a 4 weekly income of £1400 made up of SP and small OP. No housing costs. I get WFA, free bus travel and free prescriptions. Some activities I get concession prices. I feel very very fortunate. I also get one third reduction on train travel within my region. I travel abroad minimum twice a year. Energy bills are low as not much laundry and I batch cook. The 1400 is after I pay £70 in tax.

Is it? Could you live on it?

That’s some level of bitterness you have there.

Do you have a link to that statistic? The “most” stat.

Which they paid themselves when they were young parents.

What the national living wage or the state pension? In general terms, no to both because my outgoings are comparatively high. But going out to work and working hard at my career gave me the choice to buy a nice home and run two cars. If I didn't work, or didn't study to progress, I wouldn't have earned that choice and I don't think it is right for the taxpayer to give people that choice who haven't earned it.

Who hasn’t earned their pension? Every pensioner?

The centre for aging study 2020 found that 74% of pensioners owned their home unencumbered.

If they have a sufficient national insurance contribution record, they have earned an entitlement to the state pension, yes.

That doesn't mean that they have earned a full time wage for an indefinite period on the taxpayer.

If they have contributed to a private/occupational pension arrangement, they have earned entitlement to that too.

Link please.

That’s the state pension that you couldn’t live on?