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

Yes we cannot afford the triple lock and it should be replaced to a single lock tied to average earnings.

I really struggle to understand why anyone would have a problem with this. It wouldn’t be stopping the pension or stopping it from rising year on year.

We are expecting the over 85s in this country to double in the next 20 years the pressure that will put on the NHS and social care is going to be huge and it’s the younger generations that will have to pay for this.

I recently became a pensioner and no matter how hard I try I just can’t find my millions I’m accused of having. Maybe I could hire a few of the young people who can’t be arsed working to help me find them. I’m still paying tax and my husband who had the bad luck to die at sixty received no government pension - after working for 44 years and helping finance other people’s pensions.

If I didn’t get the triple lock would I manage - yes. But the glee with which people want to take money from some of the poorest in society is sickening. A lot of young people don’t want to work - and a lot of young people are doing okay. Each case should be judged on its merits - the triple lock isn’t some massive amount of money.

Why are the "super rich" the problem? What have they done apart from be successful?

Government should bring Jackdaw on line.

All the infrastructure is there to bring it up quickly apparently. But they have decided to wait for approval until after the Oct 8th by election. What a bunch of idiots.

Meanwhile Eu gas stocks are well down at 65%.

I think that's fair

So that the true value of pensions can be eroded again 🤔

On the backs of other people.

Ascribing extra costs to the triple lock is dubious unless you think the UK state pension should be frozen. The whole point of the triple lock is to increase the pension in real terms. The OBR's claim of an extra £11.6 billion this year & £15.5 billion in 2030 is compared to increasing the pension only by RPI.

Currently the pension is about 30% of median salary. If it rises by 3.9% next year because of earnings growth in the past year it's still going to be about 30% of median income. We need to decide what the target level for the pension is e.g. 30% of median income or 35% or 40% or whatever & then yearly increases to maintain the level.

We all need to tighten our belts (we’ll have no choice imv) but the first thing that should happen is stop immigration -even for a couple of years -those given leave to remain then get to top of housing list as homeless here and no doubt basic benefits -hundreds of thousands a year are coming to this country and we Brits are squabbling over the pennies that are left

Is it currently just about enough to scrape by? If it is, then fine, it's doing it's job for those people (usually those most useful to society) who scrape by on minimum wage their entire working lives and who can't afford to save any extra for retirement. But you ALSO want to penalise those who HAVE been able to save for a more comfortable retirement by saying that they don't deserve a state pension, and we should cut it (or see it eroded by inflation) FFS!

Burnham almost certainly will not have a choice but to restart fossil fuels. If only for national security like the nationalisation of steel.

Agreed.

It's just the idiocy that annoys me. Jackdaw could have been producing probably all summer, filling up EU tanks which are well below their normal capacity at the moment. Making money for the business and workers and tax revenue while helping with energy security.

Instead they decide not to do it, and risk us ending up with an energy crisis.

One thing I can pretty much guarantee is that if we end up with an energy shortage this winter and rationing the people that have been arguing against it will be nowhere to be found.

The UK has zero assets left. All we have is debt. None of this is the fault of pensioners

Well by your narrative someone voted for Thatcher ?

They havent left because they are vilified they leave beause they are greedy bastards who dont want to pay tax

Liquifying natural gas is not instant. It takes time so is best done as a strategic reserve. I'm pushing my memory but I vaguely remember a factor of 50:1. Meaning for one days output you need 29-50 days liquifying.

Why is this? Surely you had the choice of paying into a pension, or saving?

Pensions are benefits.

The majority of people did not vote for her, but that’s not unusual for the government in any general election. I don’t think she ever got more than 50% of the vote..

Lots of people voted for Thatcher because they wanted the right to buy their council house, they wanted privatisation and demutualisation windfalls, etc. No PM in recent history has achieved a genuine majority of votes - most win with around a third of the votes, whether Tory or Labour - it's how a FPTP system works.

It's well known that older people are more likely to vote, hence why all the political parties trip up over themselves trying to attract the "grey" vote.

Isn't there a general presumption that if you are on benefits, you should only receive enough to live on ?

Making "saving" impossible.

Well said!

I haven’t RTFT.
I’m 65 and retired this year (obviously not getting state pension till I’m 67). The topic of the triple lock has come up in discussion with other people of a similar age and older - every one of whom has agreed that the triple lock has served its purpose and now a different method for raising it should be used. Maybe CPI. And also that the current system where people are taxed specifically for the luxury of working (or employing people) - the no longer accurately named ‘National Insurance’ - needs reviewing. It’s really not right that for a given level of income I would be paying less tax than my daughter.

I just assumed you know most people plan for retirement, save and build things up instead of expecting to live in hand outs

Well some people's pemsions have to pay housing costs and yet it is ok to tax that?

I know people on UC and they certainly get more than a "supposed amount to live on". Certainly more than the basic pension.

This country is heading for real trouble when we have so many scroungers not willing to work and pretending to have anxiety/depression etc

Most people can save something for their retirement, but not everyone, and many couldn’t possibly live on what they’ve managed to save. Most employers only pay 6% of a salary into a pension scheme.