Clutching at straws again today - pension policy

[leafybrew]

So Rishi now is talking of a Pension Triple Lock Plus - ie cutting taxes for pensioners.

Well that's a great plan Rishi - but it doesn't change the fact that I'm 60 and I'm not getting a state pension until I'm 67! Therefore - I for one, am so not bothered about your stupid tax cuts.

Appealing to the older demographic with this carrot might not wash - as what about taxes for public services??? Perhaps quite a few older people might want a functioning health service. Aim at getting the billions owed in tax by the seriously rich.

Yep, it's so transparent it's embarrassing.

Well I'm pretty sure it will win them quite a few votes back from selfish people. Probably isn't needed though because they've already been persuaded by the national service (for other people!) idea.

They haven't even done a full week of electioneering yet - goodness knows what other 'super' ideas will be bandied about.

They haven’t succeeded in bribing this pensioner. I’d happily pay more tax. It would be more sensible if they’d cap the state pension at the point of the personal allowance.

And yet none of the pensioners I know are inclined to vote Tory.

I'll be a pensioner ny this time next year and I'm not won over either. I'd rather see a decent NHS and social care system. Which needs tax.
If alkalis can be funded by cracking down on tax avoidance I do wonder why they have let public services slide so much in the last 14 years when apparently it was so simple to find the money.

I don't think it will bring them many votes. Most pensioners that I know, including my husband, would rather the younger generations who are struggling more than pensioners were helped more.

If Sunak was serious about regaining the grey vote he’d be doing something about the NHS. A piffling discriminatory tax cut is pointless when you have to pay for your cataract surgery or hip replacement.

It will only appeal to people who vote Tory anyway, I think there are many older voters who are so fed up that a few extra quid wouldn’t persuade them. The desperation of this is embarrassing.

What pension..?! At the start of my working life it was 60, now it is 67. Got to get there first.

Do you mean bring the state pension up to the personal allowance? ie increase the state pension by 1k a year? If so I agree. The state pension always used to match the personal allowance, not sure why it doesn't any more.

No, I mean cap it at the personal allowance so it never exceeds it. So no more pension increases once it reaches £1275 unless the personal allowance is also raised.

On the radio, I think they said this is predicted to happen by 2027 anyway. So by 2027, the state pension will be larger than the personal allowance (because the personal allowance is frozen).

From what I understand it, the Tories are saying they will increase the personal allowance for pensioners so that after 2027, they won't pay income tax on their state pension, which at the moment is going to happen from 2027.

A desperate attempt to hold on to the older vote which is slipping away from them by the day.

All the older people I know are past the point of watching the country go down hill in order to put a few quid in their own pocket each week. The just want to be able to see a GP, travel on the road without busting a tyre on a pot hole and they want their grandchildren to be able to build a good life for themselves in a country that cares about ordinary people.

It seems the greedy Tories aren't as public spirited and I hope this is the final nail in their coffin.

"I hope this is the final nail in their coffin."
God I hope so too. I honestly think they're becoming more and more like pantomime villains by the day. The Rwanda policy? National service? What the hell is next?

Shorter maternity leave to increase productivity?

Reducing the school leaving age to 7 for those taking unpaid apprenticeships as chimney sweeps?

National service to include two weeks stoking the coal fired heating in Rishi Sunak's personal 12 metre swimming pool?

The chimney sweep one won't work. Modern chimneys are too narrow so he'll need a programme to slim down infants as well.

Ah now if he can properly tackle childhood excess weight that just might get my vote.

It’s a policy that is total rubbish because pensioners actually did used to have a tax allowance which meant they didn’t (prospectively) pay tax on the state pension. But the Conservatives got rid of that back in 2010.

If I were a pensioner I would be more concerned about the NHS and social care - because those really will affect my life!

They won't be sweeping the chimneys of ordinary folk on modern estates for heaven's sake!

Just the chimneys of the grand houses owned by the landed friends of Tories, their titled mother in laws and rich Tory benefactors.

I would put this in the same category as taxing private school fees - a guaranteed crowd pleaser to directly appeal to a certain demographic you think will vote for you.
I am a natural Tory voter and I don't agree with either of these policies.
Raising the tax threshold for pensioners is giving even more to a group who in the main get quite a lot already at the expense of young families with higher outgoings.
Taxing school fees is rooted in envy and is an easy attack on 'the rich' and will affect relatively few people

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ggvrp8v28o

Taxing school fees is rooted in envy and is an easy attack on 'the rich' and will affect relatively few people

Really? I thought it was removing the charity status from private schools, as really, they are not charities, and the fees should cover VAT.

I'm really not envious of people who send their kids to private schools.

That's great if you want to go and do that - 6 per cent of the popuation. Big deal - I struggle to see how it's an attack on the rich. Suck it up - the rest of us have had to do on everything else.

From what I understand it, the Tories are saying they will increase the personal allowance for pensioners so that after 2027, they won't pay income tax on their state pension, which at the moment is going to happen from 2027.

Just for pensioners? Well that stinks 😡

I'll start this by saying that I hate the Tories & everything they stand for but this is actually a good idea!

Those 'younger' pensioners in receipt of the new state pension (and just the state pension nothing else) will start to tip over the personal allowance in the next 12 months or so.

State pension isn't taxed at source so if this happens HMRC will have to start issuing tax returns to everyone in receipt of the state pension & they will have a tax bill to pay!

So this is quite a practical solution, in years gone by anyone aged 65 & over had a higher personal allowance but that was abolished.

While the best solution would be to increase the Personal Allowance in line with inflation for everyone, this stop the additional admin & cost of paying people a pension & then clawing a percentage of it back!