To be glad triple lock going and hope they means test it too

[Randomamsi]

I have a multi millionaire senior relative who receives £1,400 from the state pension each month, in addition to 6k private pension.

He's not means tested and he's received that for 30 years. Yes, he paid into the system but he does not need it!!! He also had free uni, dirt cheap first house back in the 60s and retired aged 59.

Meanwhile the younger generation:

• thousands in student loan debt
• asset poor as can't get on the housing ladder
• means tested for child benefit, tax free childcare etc
• working until late 60s/ 70s

Why do pensioners have it easy while younger ones pay the price?

For vulnerable pensioners at risk of poverty, there should obviously be provision to help them, I'm not suggesting we let people starve. But multimillionaire pensioners or very asset rich pensioners do NOT need the state pension. It's about time things changed.

The cost of means testing would most likely be higher than the saving.

Your relative has worked and paid in to receive the pension, unlike other benefits, like child benefit. I’ve not been able to have children but I’m not bitter about not getting child benefit.

My DM had a tiny pension, about £8k. She might have been able to claim additional benefits but she wouldn’t have done that so there was no point in even trying to have the conversation with her.

Don’t forget, your relative who gets 6K private pension is taxed on it.

How about we kill any kind of incentive for people to work at all?! just more reasons to go elsewhere to create growth.
I’m an employer. Since labour came in, I’ve seen my turnover absolutely tank. I’ve made someone redundant because I can’t afford to keep them on anymore. Soon there won’t be anyone paying into the system.

Why would means testing be expensive?

There’s no set amount to the old state pension. It depends on many factors - notably, earnings.

As several.people have said now, many older people are on a different system (ie not the new state pension) which may include SERPS contributions and a widow/widower benefit. My father is 91 and gets around £17k

OP sounds like an entitled thief to me.

Very good of you OP not to suggest that people starve.

So just becausd you know somebody who is very rich and receives a srate pension he is entitled to you think that ALL pensioners should be penalised? You actually sound as though jealousy and resentment of your relative is the motivation for your opinion.

I'm a pensioner. I have State Pension and a small private pension which I pay tax on. I'm not on the poverty line but my total income is low. I am comfortable , but only because I own my own home and I don't have an extravagant life style. I really feel for those people who retire on pensions that don't own their homes and have to pay rent, especially in the private sector.

Life is difficult enough with encroaching old age without adding money worries.

I'm a pensioner on a very limited income and I entirely agree that it's time to do away with the triple lock. As long as the most vulnerable are protected, it's more important to help young people into work than to keep boosting the state pension.

It would require a whole new govt dept, think Inland Revenue but for pensions. Millions of pensioners and each one with a different financial situation to be assessed.

Well it wouldn’t be free.

The problem is too few people paying in.

Agreed. There are lots of bitter people on MN, and in real life. They don't like it when they see other people having more than they do, and or having things they 'don't deserve'. We saw it very clearly with the whole bitter VAT on education debacle. Totally futile (where is the money now?).

The state pension hasn't hit £1000, it's about £985. I get it, and I also have a private pension of about £100 per month and I have to pay tax! Tax of about £300 per year. So they're taking three months of my pitiful private pension away from me each year.
But as for the rich relative, he paid into it, he should get it. Let's hope he pays lots of tax!

OK. But why do you think this would cost more than it would save? Everything is online these days. It wouldn't be offices full of people combing through bank statements. These days HMRC knows I've had a raise before I do. Means testing isn't a barrier to anything these days.

@Randomamsi - your relative will be paying more in tax than the value of the state pension they receive. So, despite being retired, they are contributing towards ‘benefits’ that others claim.

I'm hoping you realise OP, you're in the top 10% of salaries.

I'd suggest your pension one day will be worth over a million so be careful.

That's just for context, I by no means think you're out of touch, just done well and hope you benefit from this kind of salary (around £70k right?)

I think we need to re - define rich. Someone on £100k a year paying into a pension for life is not the money we should be going after. £10m plus fine but not middle earners.

New SP is 965.20 paid 4 weekly. I get 1140 as I get my late husbands additional SP element. Any % increase only applies to my SP amount of 965.20.

Yes, because the only two options could possibly be free or expensive...

Exactly. Everyone having to do some kind of self assessment, people to manage that, chase up people who hadn’t done it, people to man helplines.

Or you could give people the money that they are entitled to because they have paid in.

Doing away with the triple lock isn't 'penalising pensioners'. With a double lock, pensions will still rise at least as much as earnings. I think the problem is that many people don't understand what the triple lock is and why it's unsustainable. Sorting out the care issue will be far more beneficial to pensioners than keeping the triple lock.

I think pensioners should continue to pay NI. I think loads of people don’t actually realise that they don’t. I’m mid-fifties and I only just noticed that recently (and I used to work in finance). I think they should phase that it. Surely tax rates serve as a kind of means testing anyway? If someone has a private pension of £17000 then their overall income is around £30000 - they’ll pay around £3.5K in tax, so their income from the state is net around £9.5K. That effective level of clawback looks quite realistic to me.

Yes and some have ISAs and Shares instead of a pension and would you means test the pot when it was drawn down or the whole thing

This doesn’t change the fact it’s a benefit….

We manage to work this out for literally every other means tested benefit....