Another lock down?

Absolutely agree with you 100% Doodledog, just because we don’t work now doesn’t mean we didn’t do so ( and damned hard!) all throughout our lives, often starting work at 16 , not the 20+ of those leaving university these days .

If the State pension is cut in real terms, then those of use who are having to wait an extra six or seven years to get ours are going to lose out again.

I know that a lot of people think that all 'pensioners' have had life handed to them on a plate, but for people of my generation, it wasn't quite like that. House prices shot up in the 80s (when we bought our first house at the top of the market), interest rates were sky high, as was unemployment in many parts of the country.

Since then, house prices have risen, so that those who live in the SE and London have made a lot of money (as have those who bought council houses), but in the rest of the country those gains are a lot more patchy. People have often been trapped in areas of high poverty and unemployment, as they couldn't afford to relocate.

Add to that the fact that women were victims of legal discrimination at the start of our careers, in many cases have never caught up, and are now having to wait longer for our pensions (and bus passes etc) than previous generations, and the picture is not so rosy. Yet there are still calls for pensions to be reduced, and cries of 'intergenerational unfairness'. My own children and their friends (in their 20s) had a far easier start in life than most people of my generation. Yes, they had loans to pay for university, but many will not pay them back, and at least most young people have the chance to go. This was not the case back in the day, when there were no fees, but many young people were expected to contribute to the family finances, and there was no money to pay for rent and food for students.

I understand that the furlough scheme has to be paid for, and that everyone should take a share, but I also think that we are an easy target, and am sick of being viewed as a 'taker' rather than a 'giver' to society, having paid tax and NI all of my working life (and still paying now that I am semi-retired).

I'm glad you mentioned that £10 because it has mystified me every year since I started getting it! I just looked it up and it says it's a Christmas bonus paid to people who get certain benefits in the qualifying week. It was started in the 1970s but has never been increased. Apparently £10 in 1972 would have been about £140 in today's money which would make more sense, but as it has stayed at the 1972 rate it seems rather pointless.

I doubt the triple lock will be tampered with this side of Christmas. When the true cost of the virus is known then we may all have to share a bedsheet.
We can't be complacent as it will affect us all in some way. ??

I agree. £10 nowadays wouldn't buy a stocking-filler Xmas present in some households.
I know someone who bought a £499 Kitchen Aid mixer for an 8 yr old as 1 (*one*) of their birthday presents.

You can still get it if you live in Switzerland if you have worked here or have family here. Weird.

Also the £10 wherever that came from and whatever it's supposed to be for---it seems a waste to me.

Do away with the winter payment altogether and as I said, leave the state pension as it is.

I don’t think folk of our age can really complain.

Although it was a struggle to start with, most of us were able to get on the housing ladder when we got married, even if it was just a little flat.

Yes like now we had to save the deposit for our first home before we got married, but most of us bought rather then rented.

House prices of course have increased so much over the years that those who either bought additional property as an investment or who have now downsized are quite comfortably off.

I dread to think how much all this government spending is going to cost in the long term.

Doing away with the triple lock increase on the state pension is just a drop in the ocean isn’t it?

That’s why it’s essential to get as many people back to work as soon as possible.

£200 per household where a couple lives. Each receives £100.

We get £100 each and one of us is over 80

But if a single person is over 80, they also get £300.

Yes. Except if one is over 80 then it's £300

Oh right, so it is £200 the same as a single person.

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Winter 2020/21

I always thought that couples got more in case one of them slept in a different bedroom and they used more rooms you know, one in the kitchen one in the sitting room etc as people often do unless they live alone.

Sorry. I'm wrong. Just checked online and each individual and couple is paid according to age and circumstances.

Ilovecheese, that'll cover the fraud that goes on.

Well there's £100 over the odds for a start if it's £300 for couples.

It's not £200 for couples, it's £300

I think pensioners get a jolly good deal especially if they get other help such as credit, free housing and council tax, free bus pass and reduced eye tests and glasses and winter payments and reduced electricity bills.
I feel lucky and privileged to get a free bus pass and Londeners get more. Think they get reduced fares on other London transport.

What about all the money they have saved by not having to pay the pensions for the people that have died.

Yes, £200 for a couple.

Okay thanks, Fevertree. I wasn't sure.
If it had been the case then half of it could have been relinquished.

So it's £200 per household across the board ?

It's £200 for couples.