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.

You can retire whenever you like, its up to you to commit to a decent private pension from your first salary payment if you want to achieve that.

I’m on to get that, I’ve just saved VERY hard and I am no where close to millionaire territory.

No, it can be up to £415 a week on the old if he has SERPS/SP2

Look on the bright side @Randomamsi at least he will be paying tax on his pension earnings - both state and private. Sounds as though his pensions still put him in the higher rate tax bracket.

As no doubt many people have pointed out by now, those figures are impossible. No way is he getting £1,400 a month as a state pension! The current state pension is around £1000 a month. And if he's been receiving payments for 30 years, he's on the old state pension, which is about £800 a month.

It's not means tested, but if he also receives a private pension, he will be paying tax on his combined state and private pension income

Pensions are not benefits they are something which has been paid into for, in my case, 50 years. Even if you have a workplace pension you still take a major dip in income when you retire and for most of the retired people that I know, the state pension is a necessary part of their new income level. My mortgage was only finally paid of a couple of years ago too.
If you worked hard and saved in a savings account for many years and the Government then decided to means test it and so you then only had access to part of it how would you feel?
Things do need to change, my mum had dementia and we had to sell her home to pay for her care fees, but pensioners are an easy target.
The Government needs to addressing issues with all parts of the work (or non work) force.

Its perfectly possible under the old state pension to get up to £415 a week.

You need to read the OP. It says he gets £1400 as a state pension, which, as numerous people have pointed out, is perfectly possible under the old scheme because of SERPS.
My mother gets a bit more than that per month as her state pension. It's possible for those on the old scheme to get significantly more than the current pension.
Look it up, it will enlighten you.

You dont know what you are talking about. It is possible to get as much as £415 a week under old state pension rules.

You are making yourself look daft. The fact is under old state pension a total of £415 per week is possible.

Oh my - envy corrodes the soul. Focus on your life and not hating others

You are talking complete nonsense.

Not saying I agree with the proposal at all, but it should be possible to do it on a sliding scale if that was the issue.

Google SERPS and old state pension.

Nah, let's bash migrants, benefit claimants and Rich Pensioners. Leave the huge non tax paying corporations alone

Why contribute to the thread when you clearly dont have a clue about the differences between old and new state pension?

Where did you get that from?
The table I looked at puts us in the middle (ranked 13 out of 28).

Personally, I think the UK would be better moving over to the Australian system. Quick run down in the link below. We operate on a sliding scale here. We each have a private super fund that we and our employers pay into during our working lives, and we draw that down from 67 onwards. Once our personal Super falls below a certain amount, the age pension kicks in, but on a sliding scale. That means that wealthy people are never eligible for it, but poorer pensioners always have that safety net.

jasonoconnell.com.au/uk-and-australian-pensions-3-important-differences-you-need-to-know-about/

Its been explained numerous times already.

Yet another clueless response.

The problem is that the NI payments you make don't actually earn your pension - they only earn your entitlement to a pension.

For the baby boomers generation - ie those receiving pensions now - it wasn't a problem to pay their parents & grandparents pensions ; there were fewer of them and they didn't live as long.

But now people are living a lot longer. If I live to 100 (which isn't unlikely) I will have drawn state pension for almost as many years as I worked!
Think about it. It's just not possible for my NI contributions to have earned enough money.

And the problem is compounded by a falling population. So the burden on our children and grandchildren is huge.

Why do people that dont have a clue what they are talking about insist on coming on to pension and money threads to spout complete nonsense. It just confuses people.

You are correct

However the facts don’t matter much here on MN (or I suspect with the wider electorate)

The triple lock is a safety valve for millions of pensioners who have earned it and you want to end it as you happen to know a bit about a millionaire’s finances.
That really isn’t reasonable, considered thinking.
Another solution must be found.

If you know his entire business so well, how much tax has he paid in his working life and how much does he continue to pay. ?

You’re right, the cost of living is making everything a lot harder. But have you ever stopped to actually work out why (hint it’s nothing to do with billionaires)? The cost of living crisis is just another name for rampant inflation, which has been caused by years of economic mismanagement.

Too much government borrowing is now increasing this as bond yields increase, making borrowing even more expensive (a doom loop). Their only options are to reduce spending, increase taxes (which would stifle growth even more), default (never going to happen) or inflate their way out of trouble. Inflation robs everyone, but guess which option they’re choosing? And they’re happy to let everyone blame the usual scapegoats…

If you look at the price of most assets like houses in real money (gold), not credit (fiat) you’ll find they’ve actually risen very little. The average house price in the UK is actually the same price in gold ounces as it was back in the 50s.