Britain's pensioners are the poorest in Europe.

[ivanahoe]

Millions of elderly people in Britain are having to choose between eating and heating their homes because the UK's State pension is so low, and what's more the media are sweeping this issue under the carpet.

The basic state pension for single pensioners is just £97. 25 a week, and this is following a 30, 40, and 50 year working life contributing to the system both taxes and NI contribution which were mandatory

The State pension used to increase with British male average earnings, or inflation whichever the higher to protect its value prior to 1979, but when Thatcher took office in 1979, she broke to state pensions link with male average earnings, and the state pension has decreased in value ever since, being linked to inflation, and New Labour have continued Thatcher's pension policy.

Because we British are not generally politically motivated until things happen to ourselves, I wonder how many on this site know about the very serious plight of pensioners in this country ?

what does everyone think about extending the retirement age? or should i ask that via another thread? personnally i think i've worked long and hard enough end deserve a rest. it would solve a lot of problems ivanhoe is raising if people worked till they did though!

sorry meant to say worked till the died

retirement age should be at least 70 imo

but I'm hardcore

Actually most people I know HATE being retired

Companies should just let people work part-time hours for as long as they want

I'm with you, MP.

People are going to have to get over this idea that a person can 'retire' and not work for 30 odd years whilst developing more and more expensive to treat health problems.

There's no society that's ever going to be able to support a greater and greater percentage of the population doing this.

Retirement was never meant to last very long. It was supposed to be for about 5 years before you dropped dead.

'It's a harsh truth, but that mostly the way of things, even in the best of times.'

'personnally i think i've worked long and hard enough end deserve a rest.'

sadly, this sense of entitlement has no basis in reality for the vast majority of people save the very well-off.

and i include myself in that vast majority.

if you are of the belief that you 'deserve a rest' the reality is that you are going to have to find a way to fund that rest yourself.

the state simply will not be able to support people who just want a rest.

Yes the PT thing IMOis the key

My Dad has gone PT,FIL would dearly lovetobut knows he would just get a bye bye then. He ahd a heart oprecently, took a week off as holiday then went back,becuase he'd have been called for an interview re retirenment (that'snot somuch an argument for high pensions as for not running off with a younger woman and starting again with mortgage etc at 60!).

I'dadvocate giving people the same right to flexi working that aprents have after 65, and a retirement age of 70.

Of course,teh very best thing we can alldo is eat cake,take no exercise and dropdead one day after our 65th birthday

dammit

I'dadvocate giving people the same right to flexi working that aprents have after 65, and a retirement age of 70.

Yes I agree

And make everyone take up smoking as soon as they retire

Actually I have a cake aswell. So- well yum (carrot pineapple and coconut muffin)

fecking middle classes

Are you accusing me of being MC? Becuase thats discrimination that is you know.

I pay £217 per month for national insurance which is going to cover me not only for a pension but for maternity pay and any jobseekers allowance i should require.

In comparison i pay £250 per month to a private pension which was calculated on needing about 1/3 of my current income to live on as a pensioner (so not exactly living the high life!)

If a state pension was going to give me enough to live comfortably on it's own then my NI contributions now would have to increase dramatically. Not something i can afford right now.

I can't see how we can increase the basic state pension to a decent standard of living without ending up paying lots of very rich people a lot of money they don't need and taking so much NI from less well off people that working becomes uneconimical.

No plate, is that OK?

DH made me pay for my own treat and everything as well, meanie. Amthinking I shopuld post an AIBU thread in order to elicit 78leave the bastard replies,and one about how I should be grateful I have a man at my weight

We have heating on but only 2 working radiators in wholehouse so difference is between bearable and frozen rather than warm IYSWIM(no double glazing,landlords last attempt to fix door left a 1cm gap round it.... basically we are effectively sat outside)

I know some pensioners who are on a final salary pension (£40K) and live in houses that are worth nearly a million pounds, which they paid peanuts for. Oh, and let's not forget that they retired at roughly the age off 55 - not because they were doing back breaking work but because they were bored.

Do you seriously think they should have a state pension of £250 per week? Of course it should be means tested.

Nobody has paid enough NI to warrant possibly 30-40yrs pension.

The country is practically bankrupt. Did you miss the news about the credit crunch?

IMO retirement age should raise to 70.

It all ties into the line of thinking, 'I put something in, I deserve something back out' and not the idea that NI contributions of as a safety net fund or taxes as a means by which a peaceful society with good infrastructure, which allows you to work and earn relatively unhindered, is maintained.

I already get something back from my taxes: I don't have to worry about living in conditions like Haiti, I have clean water to drink and good roads and a NHS.

But the expectation that it should also provide me and everyone else with a level of income that will leave one comfortable for 30+ years isn't really based in reality.

If you really think Britain's pensioners are the poorest in Europe, you should come to Greece...

My Greek FIL has a basic state pension and certainly can't afford foreign holidays. He has given up his car because he can't afford it any more, and spends a lot of the day round at his daughter's house (my SIL) because he can't afford to heat his own house.

Britain's pensioners may not necessarily be well off, but neither are a lot of other pensioners.

well said, expat. Comparing our living conditions with Haiti pus it all into perspective.