Bring Retirement Age Back Down?

[BlueBrian]

Should people in their 60s be offered early retirement by the state to allow more young people to get jobs?

Risk of 'dole queue' future for young people after Covid-19 crisis.
www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/06/risk-dole-queue-future-young-people-after-covid-19-crisis

Yes

Yes they need to, but more likely will increase it to pay for all this, they'll want to stop paying pensions etc

Anyone who doesn't think retirement age isn't going to go up after this debacle is bonkers.

Hell yes please, if it went back down I could retire from the NHS next year, as it is I'll be working to 67.

You still earn more by actually working than you'd receive on your state pension though. Most people won't rely on the state pension only for their income when they retire.

Unless retirement at, say, 60 becomes mandatory, bringing the age when you can start to receive a state pension won't make much difference.

I'm 60 next year - I have no intention of retiring for several years yet, regardless of when I can take my state pension - I enjoy my job.

I'd be quite happy to take it, the state pension is easily enough to pay all the bills, and pay for food etc, add in a bit of part time work, and it would be fine for me.

I think so as many people would be happy to stay in rather than be risking their lives

But if you're doing "a bit of part time work", to supplement your pension, you're not really helping to free up jobs for the young are you?

You are freeing up a full time job though, and what makes you think a bit pert time work isn't something you can do from home like trading on Ebay?

@Keepdistance

I’m still working full time in transport in all this, I’m not risking my life any more than usual. Statistically I’m more likely to die of getting hit by a car than the Covid

Who exactly is going to be left actually working and paying for that?! Between everyone shielding, the vulnerable, everyone who lives with someone who is vulnerable or shielding, anyone who has small children who now can’t go to full time school or childcare, now everyone over 60 - the list of everyone who people on here suggest shouldn’t have to be economically active is ridiculous. Who is actually going to actually go to work? Produce things? Pay tax? Provide services? Yes, the government can just keep pouring money at the situation but all that will happen then is massive inflation.

What do you think the average age of say, a GP is? And how easily replaceable do you think those people are with all these unemployed young people being predicted?

Plus private pension funds have been decimated. Hardly the time to take your pension even if you were allowed to!

Bloody ridiculous idea. There is no fixed number of jobs in the economy. The more people working and earning and spending, the more jobs there will be.

@HorseRedArrow So that's a no from you then?

Yeah :-)

They won’t do this.

They should however bring the age at which you can access your own pension to 50 again or allow all pension scheme members the chance to take up to say £5k from their pension if in financial hardship. This should be easily done with no advice required and almost available at the touch of a button.

I think it should go back to being 65 for all, but that's nothing to do with Coronavirus - I just think it's a more reasonable age.

People live too long. My own DM has been drawing her state and government provided employment pension for longer than she ever worked.

Another idea would be to bring it down but you get less if take early.

For example £170 a week at 67

But reduces to £100 if age 60 for example.

I don’t see why they couldn’t work this out based on life expectant and assume RPI rates.

As such some people could retire at 60 if they have other pensions, freeing up jobs for others.

We're not going to get to retire! At least not with a state pension.

How the hell will we pay for it?

I don't think people truly comprehend how much this is costing us. The bills have only just started.

We have Brexit on top of this.

We are well and truly funked.

*fucked not funked ha ha

They could make the state pension means tested. but it's a difficult sell, with a large number of voters feeling they've paid in, so they should automatically get their money back, also the Tories need the pensioner vote so it's a bit unlikely.

Anyone who thinks they can pay all their bills and have a nice life on the basic state pension (£175 a week /£750 a month) lives in cloud cuckoo land.

Where would the extra money come from The state pension is funded by working people paying NI. If fewer people will be working, that means less money to pay the pensions. The logical consequence would be to raise the pension age so more people keep paying in.

Not everyone wants to retire. DM certainly doesn't, she's 68 and still working FT. She's in great nick, physically and mentally and I'm sure that wouldn't be the case now if she'd been put out to pasture at 60.

Nope. I can't afford to retire, not now my private pension has taken a battering. The chances of a state pension still being around by the time I get to the current retirement age, are slim - dream on.

Should people in their 60s be offered early retirement by the state to allow more young people to get jobs?

No. I don’t want to retire thank you. And my private pension just took an almighty battering.