To think we can't afford the triple lock

[paddleboardingmum]

Things seem very weighted against young people right now in terms of tax, student loans, and then there's the cost of mortgages and childcare. I know there are some older people struggling and I do feel sorry for them. But plenty are not and I think we just can't afford the triple lock at the moment. AIBU

Payments range between £100 and £300 depending on age and household circumstances. No a bad freebie. Not life changing, but I'm sure it helps.

Exactly.

I only "get", if I apply, which I won't, free bus travel. But that's also available to under 22's.

Do under 22s get free bus travel? I didn't know this.

How is this a relevant comparison? The French ‘state’ pension includes the occupational element paid by the employer and employee to the state to be paid out as ‘state’ pension. The UK government has invested in tax breaks for separate occupational pensions. When you tally average occupational pension and state pension across Europe the UK sits in the middle of the pack.

Do we trust the government or the BBC? This is what the government says

• 13% of pensioners aged 66 and over were beneficiaries of a WFP in winter 2024 to 2025

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-statistics-for-winter-2024-to-2025/winter-fuel-payment-statistics-for-winter-2024-to-2025

Removal of the WFH was miserable.
Sat in an eye clinic in winter I looked around me at a lot of old people who were not well off. It was the NHS not a private BUPA or anything like that.
Old people feel the cold. It seemed miserable to me. And for a Government the amount of money, a pittance.

I think it's a stretch to call the fish and chips a benefit! Surely that's just a business trying to get a particular demographic of customers to visit, isn't it? Unless the garden centre get to claim the price difference back from the government later - surely not.

How much do you pay as a matter of interest?

How long do you think they're going to stay? 😂

In Scotland.

If you are renting and get the bare minimum state entitlement you’ll get housing benefit, council tax reduction etc. contact age concern / citizens advice etc

The total foreign aid budget for this year is 9.5 billion.

The triple lock (not the pensions bill, just the cost of the policy) is 15.5 billion a year.

Even if we spent zero pounds on foreign aid (no help for Ukraine, no support for natural disasters etc) it wouldn't be enough.

But why let maths get in the way?

14.9 billion was spent on PPE.
Money rustled up out of nowhere.
Money is always found.

Yes, borrowed and added to the national debt with a current interest rate of 5-6%.

Good find. It shows the drop off following the change from Labour. Would be interested to see this year.

Asking for personal details yet again I see.

Asking for personal details yet again I see.

Just checked. We won't get it.

And this pushed us even further into debt.

Universal credit? Freelance work? Directorships, trustee positions?

For Fish and Chips? Its about £15 I think, its gone up quite a bit. I prefer the lamb kofta to be honest.

National emergency

I'm not sure if how much a fish and chip lunch is is personal details. But when you play the man rather than the ball it demonstrates a lack of intelligence.

I agree that the pension triple lock should be abolished. I don't see what the problem is tbh - I can only assume people don't actually know what it is and assume that pensions will either be cut or abolished, which of course is not the case.
Pensions used to be very low, and the triple lock was brought in to address this. It's done it's job now and needs to be retired itself.
I also have no problems with pensioners paying tax and don't see why they should be exempt (I know they pay tax if they have other income on top of the state pension but I have heard mutterings about pensioners being a special case if they just get the state pension).
But then, I think everyone should pay tax at the going rate, regardless of where their income comes from. Universal Credit, Pip, maintenance, pensions, wages - once the income breaches the tax-free threshold tax should be payable.
One thing I don't understand though: Why the vitriol towards pensioners on MN yet the largesse towards benefits claimants? One had paid 'into the system' and the other may not have paid a penny - why the raging support for the latter at the expense of the former?

Have you actually done any surveys/research to prove such an assertion?

The vast majority of young people are working their arses off, first at Uni to get the required degree for their chosen job/profession, and then to earn enough to have any kind of life after all the costs, such as commuting, etc., and wages deductions such as tax, NIC, workplace pensions and student loans.

I am sure there are some lazy sods, just as there always have been, but I see the vast majority as wanting to actually get on in life.