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

And they have.

They have paid their NI.

A lot of pensioners are sitting on a lot of housing wealth so could sell up and downsize or get lodgers. Not all I know, but many. So they will have to make compromises the same as young people are having to do. Young taxpayers on a student loan are paying about 50% tax once they get into the higher rate tax band I think. That plus their housing costs will mean having a family will become unaffordable and that is not sustainable for society is it.

People on the whole would love pensioners to get more, that's not the question. It's what we can actually afford and what is realistic and fair.

Cheaper childcare costs!!
You are joking. There were no free childcare options when my children were young. I very much wanted to return to work but simply could not find childcare. To make up the money my husband had to change his job to one where he worked away from home quite a lot.

This with bells.

I have seen an alarming rate of posts on universal credit groups and on here basically asking if they can commit fraud and claim as a single parent when their partner works away yet have joint accounts and pay towards the house bills. There's a huge number of claims committing fraud pretending to be single. Go after those.

Parents should make up for it.

Having children is a lifestyle choice. Ageing isn’t.

Yes, I am interested to see how that would look, and also, how long that fudge would go on for.

Thresholds are due to be frozen until 2031, if they continue to increase the state pension at say 4%pa, in 2031/32 tax year it will be £15,250, giving state pensioners a tax break of £536 pa, or nearly £3,000p.a additional personal allowance?

Why should an earnings of £13,306 pay £97.87 in tax, yet a state pensioner keep that money?

As with everything it's a question of political will.

Of course we can 'afford' to have decent pensions for all, of course we can have a decent living wage, of course we can afford to have free higher education, a free NHS etc etc. Indeed it makes sense as when poorer people get more money they spend it, boosting the economy.( Btw China though having a much lower income per capita allows most women to retire at 55. Only managers need to work to 60.)

What we can't afford is allowing the very rich to off shore their wealth, or major companies avoiding tax, or privatising our water, electricity, gas, transport etc so we pay more so the billionaires can offshore the profits from these industries instead of investing in our Country's needs.

We have a 'fiat' currency. Our currency is not based on the amount of eg gold we have; it is based on us ( and others) 'trusting', that the Government will act sensibly ( fiat means trust). National banks create, control and issue the money supply. If the Government needs more money to invest they issue more gilts ie they create money and lend it out.

We and foreigners eg look at our economy and decide whether we/they think we have a more or less viable, trustworthy, economy and will be able to continue to pay the interest and return the original loan.( We have never failed to this btw.) If not they/we want a higher interest rate on gilts for lending us money because of the higher risk they might lose their money. If they think we have a sensible economy then they/we are prepared to get a lower return in return for the security.

Selling off our industries, our services, etc to private investors ( eg by Mrs Thatcher but also by later Conservative Governments) has damaged our economy by taking money out of our country ( off shoring by the rich and foreigners) instead of investing here. If we can reinvest in our country, nationalise industries ( Steel, water, transport etc), stop the privatisation of the NHS to US interests etc. costs will come down and we will be able to boost the economy.

Where did i do that? Would you mind pointing it out?

Nail on the head. Pull up the drawbridge after them.

Well PP have just pointed out that the state pension is also a benefit but you didn't respond with "benefits bashing bingo" to the original post. Is it different?

There are a few widowed pensioners on our street. They rely on the kindness of the community, one elderly lady can barely walk 100m on the street. She’s lovely and chats to those who now know her. She probably won’t be around much longer, someone else can have her house then.

AI will nab these eventually..

I'm in the same position. I only paid SERPS for a few years though, so the addition to my pension is about £6pw. They deduct the tax due on my state pension from my (small) occupational pension.

When I left school, it was only really the public sector and a few large employers that had pension schemes. Private pensions were considered something that was only for rich people, and we were led to believe that the state pension would be sufficient to live on.

I was planning to sell my house and buy a flat, so that I could use the excess equity to give me some additional income. When I started looking, I was shocked to see that even non-retirement flats very often have service charges in excess of £3k pa, so it wouldn't make me a lot better off.

Yes because the original poster put some thought into it. The poster i replied to just regurgitated daily mail nonsense. Hope this helps.

You’d have to be pretty dim to expect to be able to live off the state pension though. Who the hell isn’t trying to save for retirement? If you’re not, let me make it clear for you - you’re going to be skint.

UK state pensions have already adapted to people living longer. I expect that more changes will occur in the future.

Female pension age increased from 60 to 66+

Male pension age increased from 65 to 66+

I never understood why men & women had different state retirement ages.

However

England - No free bus pass or free prescriptions until state pension age

Wales & Scotland have different rules

Personally, I see lots of elderly pensioners struggling with their health & social care.

We as a society, should be proud that we can continue to support our ill & elderly, because that is the right thing to do.

Indeed, but pensioners are also benefitting from the additional savings allowance of £5k covering interest etc. Well, in reality, everyone "could" benefit from it with the right income profile/level, but it's mostly pensioners who benefit, because it's only available to those with total income under £18k or so, and for whom £5k of that is interest, so an income of £12k pension and £6k of interest, total income, £18k, no income tax to pay. Compare with a worker on wage of £18k who pays income tax on £6k of that. Just another way in which pensioners (who are the most common beneficiary) get a tax break that workers don't.

Do you really believe that?

It's in society's interest for people to have children so that there are workers to actually pay the ageing population's pensions.

No one is saying that pensions should be cut, but they can't keep rising indefinitely. The triple lock has to go. I don't even understand why it's controversial. Isn't it just obvious?

Put thought into it, bullshit.

A "let's scupper pensions" post on Mumsnet is almost as fucking lazy as a "my MiL's a bitch" posts. Low hanging fruit that attracts ageists.

Triple lock was introduced in 2011. I was already a working adult at that time and I don't recall childcare or housing costs being subsidised by the government before 2011. Do you? I assume not, because it didn't happen. So I will ask again, how do we think cancelling triple lock will help with housing, education and childcare issues?

You said now though. I'm sure the £93.20 a year will be worth collecting.

Back in the 80s when private pensions were rolled out, the "mantra" even back then was doubt as to the future of the basic state pension, hence the massive push for people to make their own arrangements via private pensions alongside contracting out of SERPS. That's 40 years ago. It was a huge thing when private pensions were rolled out alongside contracting out. If people chose not to engage then that's on them. It was the lack of people joining that led to compulsory workplace pensions and auto-enrolment. Far too many people either gave it no thought or just assumed that the state pension would be there for them. A bit like the howls of anguish from the Waspi women who claimed they didn't know pension ages were changing when it had literally been everywhere for years!

Agreed OP. So many pensioners in houses worth a fortune that they bought for sixpence and a packet of mint imperials. Not everyone, I know but I’m really worried for my DDs generation, it’s time to prioritise the young people who can only be so lucky to have a good inheritance

Their state pension!

Well yes. But the idea of a state pension (to me anyway) is that it covers the basic living costs and pretty much nothing else.

Not that it allows people to save money to not be "skint".