The Elderly. Try and put yourself into their shoes.

[ivanhoe]

You have paid into the system all your working life, and for a lot less money than today, and all the Government can pay you back is a £97 a week State pension.

Try and put yourself in their shoes.

How would you "feel" about this ?

Now forget the age you are, put yourself in the position of an elderly person knowing you have worked hard all your lives payng into the system.

How do you "feel" ?

How do you know I'm British?

And I didn't say a pet topic couldn't be a national disgrace. As a matter of fact I do think that there is something very wrong with retirement planning in this country - but not simply because the Gov spends £££ on e.g. Overseas aid, which, I guess, is what you mean by upholding Third World countries. I, for one, as a UK taxpayer, am very happy for some of my taxed income to be directed at the Third World. Just as I am for some of it to go towards pensions for today's pensioners, particularly those who are totally reliant on the State.

And that's all I'm going to say on the topic.

As I've said in another post most of the elderly I worked with as a Social Worker were poor, impoverished and neglected.

If we are paying into the state pension, then why should we not get it? Whatever our circumstances, otherwise the Government are stealing our money aren't they?

I do feel that by the time I reach pensionable age, they will have 'done away' with it. Anyone with a private pension, will not get the state pension they have paid into.

I would never rely on the state pension, I think you can opt out can't you? I have put money into property. It's seems safer than paying contributions and then not getting your pension.

"So what are we going to do not just about today's elderly, but about tomorrow's elderly?" The only thing we can do to preserve or reconfigure any sort of provision is form groups to debate & to formulate srategies.

Kerstina, I felt the same & some years ago joined the SWP plus a couple of campaigning groups in my area such as, currently, an anti cuts group & Stop the War. It is very satisfying to feel you're doing your best to keep the possibility of a positive future alive(how patronising am I!) .. we have plenty of SWP members locally in their 60s and 70s and they are more active than ever, & I can imagine myself in later life being glad I stayed involved. My county now has a ....shire Socialists group whose members have made our own constitution, manifesto & campaigns, & it's growing fast. We're comprised of Labour, SWP, Respect members & members of none - the SWP site has details of these local groups, only a few atm

You can & will reevaluate your position throught your time in whichever group/s you work with ,so don't feel too strait- jacketed by each of the parties' declared policies until you've spent a year or so debating and reading round your chosen party's approach to current to the issues you're interested in. I'd suggest you read the morning Star and Socialist Worker Online,the blog Socialist Unity,the sites of the major unions,online Green Party & Labour Party material, obviously and join your local anti- cuts group, where you'll meet members of each. Obviously I'd recommend you visit your nearest SWP branch meeting & seeing whether the weekly meeting which features a member's talk on an issue & lots of debate about it, interests you. Your local Labour branch will probably be easiest to relate to, with a more "typical" and "realistic" membership...you'll decide for yourself.

Clearly the Greens adress urgent issues y but I haven't felt personally that they present any coherent method of changing the world , nor am I by their methods of grass roots organisation, and I hope I'm proven wrong about them in time.
Sorry to sound so irritating, & I hope you find good people to work with.

///////If we are paying into the state pension, then why should we not get it? Whatever our circumstances, otherwise the Government are stealing our money aren't they?///////

Yes, and like everything else, we are letting them.

There are dozens of internet forums where Ivanhoe has posted the same topic under different names. And whenever anyone disagrees with him he simply resorts to abuse. Saga had to ban him for being abusive to other posters.

My dad (about to turn 65) can remember from childhood public information films telling people (in very clear and graphic terms) that unless they save for themselves they will have a miserable retirement as the state pension is only very basic. Now if that was in his childhood then all of his generation has had a whole lifetime and the one above him has had much of their working life to act.

There will of course be people older than that (aged 90+) and people who have always been too poor to save but they are a small minority. They do need to be taken care of but a blanket putting up of pension is not targeted enough.

PMSL @ getting banned from Saga.

LOL at Ivanhoe being banned by SAGA! Please...I've not noticed ANY postings that MNs couldn't handle!

MUMSINBED. Agree with you that a 'blanket' of putting up pensions is not targeted enough, their needs to be an inquiry into why 9 old people die a day, apparently from the cold. It's a disgrace, that needs serious consideration from the Government.

Hmm, free university education and several hundred percent house price appreciation.

Things are looking pretty good to me from the elderly perspective.

Thanks very much Cityhobgoblin for responding to what I posted your advice is very useful.

//////ninedragons Wed 26-Jan-11 10:40:20
Hmm, free university education and several hundred percent house price appreciation.

Things are looking pretty good to me from the elderly perspective./////

Then you have the wrong perspective.

The 'grey pound'... the spend accounted for by the 11m+ people of retirement age in the UK, is now worth £100bn apparently. And spend on consumer goods by people in the 65 - 74 age range is expected to increase by 40% this year. Health prospects in retirement are better and life-expectancy is increasing.

That's another perspective