Stop blaming Pensioners

SueDoku, yes, you’re right. Rather than address the issues that younger people are experiencing, get them to blame other sections of the population, in this case specifically the older generation, who did indeed benefit from a more benign political climate.

I worked, and paid tax and NI, throughout most of the time our children were growing up. No free childcare places in those days, so we paid for child care too, with a little assistance from grandparents if the system collapsed! If Rishi Sunak wants to give us extra money, in the belief that it will persuade us to vote his government back into power, I’m happy to take it, with no guilt at all! Pensions are not benefits, but money we’ve been forced to save with the Government, towards our eventual pay out of they’ve looked after it properly!

I was wondering that too eddiecat along with free child care and other forms of financial assistance.

I think Chardy is right, it's right wing media political attitudes looking to get people in different demographic groups to feel indignant and blame the 'other'. It's probably been made worse by the way state pensions have been rebranded as 'benefits' and often added to the total sum paid out in disability and other benefits when politicians want to imply there are huge numbers of non-working scroungers on benefits who don't really deserve them.

I totally agree with you, and I'm 8 years off retirement!

Just wondering if Mumsnet ever mention the pensioners who give their children and grandchildren substantial amounts of money to help with house purchases?

Nothing much more to add, but I do think that young people expect a higher standard of living than we had.
I went to London University in 1964, lived in hall in a shared room with one other girl, bathroom shared among 5 other girls.
Later I shared a flat with 2 other girls, all 3 of us in one bedroom. My then boyfriend (late DH) also shared a flat with 2 other young men, one bedroom. Not a lot of privacy!
Our first flat comprised bedsit and kitchen, plus shared bathroom with another couple who lived downstairs. Would young professionals expect to live like that now?
Our children, now in their early 50s, had better accommodation during and post-university.
Times change again, and elder GS is now at university, managing with help from the banks of Mum and Dad plus GPs.
But I think he'll have a tougher time when he graduates and is working in his first job than we had. Expectations are different now.

NI contributions aside, how much tax - direct and indirect - have our generation paid & continue to pay throughout our l-o-n-g lifetimes?

From purchase tax introduced in 1940 to VAT in 1973, huge, huge amounts paid in by us. Maybe the critics should take that into account when their skewed calculations of our "greed", worth & entitlement are in the balance.

Iam64

Well said wheniwasyourage and Chardy.
Divide and rule is alive and well.

Couldn't agree more..!! The whole aim of this shambles of a 'government' is to turn various sections of society against each other; age, class, ethnic origin, sex - all are grist to the mill of their aim to retain their grip on power, and their snouts in the trough..! 😠

shillyshally

Someone posted on Mumsnet recently about how better off Pensioners should not get the £600 winter fuel payment and how it was costing the country millions etc etc;
I was born in 1949, I left school at 15 and started work, and apart from time off raising three children I have worked all my life, finally retiring at 68. My Husband retired aged 74. We are fortunate that we have few health problems so we don't see ourselves as burdens on the NHS, yet younger people seem to blame OAPs for many of the Countrys problems. As young parents we did not get Family Tax or Working Tax and other benefits families receive today, or the amount of Child Benefit or free Child care. If you had Children you accepted the responsibility to bring them up and went to work to provide for them and not expect someone else to foot the bill. So I shall accept my winter fuel payment gratefully without guilt as I and my husband along with millions of others of our age have worked hard all of our lives and deserve to be able to enjoy our retirement in relative comfort.

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

It seems to be the millennial that have the most resentment. I can sort of sympathise with them. It is difficult at the moment with mortgage rates going up. However most of them have bought houses far bigger than they actually needed at the time. Children rarely share bedrooms anymore so 3 children they need four or more bedrooms. Can't expect them to go backwards.

I think they have a point. Many of my friends benefitted from free university education leading to a good job and a good pension. Others benefitted from the right to buy and are rent / mortgage free.
If pensioners need the money they should absolutely get help but many pocket the money and don’t need it. Target those in need.

At times with all the "add ons", the exceptions applied by companies eg broadband, energy, to services for those who are receipt of a benefit I feel for those who work but have an income just over the level to receive any assistance. Like many others I worked for 40 years, paid into a pension scheme when I eventually found employment that had one and still pay tax on the pensions I have. I will willingly take the winter allowance and treat myself to turning the heating on for a bit longer in December.

I read in The Times yesterday that this year, there are now more millennials buying property rather than renting.

Smileless2012

Best to ignore it. One day they'll be pensioners and may well find themselves being criticised by the younger generation, just as they're criticising us now.

I agree. The young can be very shortsighted.
When pensioners are critised because we are getting increases to the state pension by the young they don't seem to see that whatever we get will be the basis of their state pension when their time comes along

I don’t read the posts because I don’t respect their opinions I’m not quite a pensioner yet but have worked like a dog all of my life and have little to show for it. I am polite and civil to people and have never used family commitments and being busy to behave like a selfish, self entitled (inset favourite word). I find they have time when they need money though.

A dear friend died a few years back and I “adopted” her adult daughter. She now has two under fives and is one of the loveliest people of her generation. I could call her anytime for a chat and she would be there. She was brought up with great values Many of the younger generation are great but too many have a sense of entitlement, instant gratification and selfishness which is heartbreaking to watch.

This morning I was on a bus. A young mum in front was playing Candy Crush on her phone. When the doors opened, her small child got caught in the straps of a backpack and was accidentally led off of the bus. The doors closed. An elderly man saw what happened and shouted to the driver to stop. The crying was returned to her. Without comforting her, mum just said stay near me and continued her game. The elderly man muttered something about the child being scared and needing a cuddle. Mum started shouting and said he had no right to parent shame her. This was in busy London.

When I had my first child in 1975 I was amongst the first to receive Maternity pay, the princely sum of £7.50 a week as I remember which did not compare well with what I was normally earning, even in those days.
Today I think most people get 90% at the start, reducing over time and some employers pay for a year. There are also many benefits to top-up working parents' pay, housing benefit, childcare allowances - all sorts of benefits that we never received, though many of us worked for much of our lives.
£600 less tax certainly doesn't compare well with the additional payments many people receive whilst working today.

Maybe the young people who complain would like to take in, and care, for aged grandparents? I was born in 1930 and worked the required length of time. If I need ta Care Home the average cost here is £4000 a month ; £6000 if nursing care is needed.

Its a sad state of affairs that people can be so nasty. I have recently stopped working due to bullying (I have been ill and had to remain working from home which was not what my Company eventually wanted) and I can claim my state pension next March. My job role supported people to claim benefits etc and in some cases they were better off than I was on a full time wage. I also worked from 16 to 65 and even when my children were babies I had a job at weekends and also worked from home. All I had from the Government was Child benefit. Nothing else was available and there was certainly no help with mortgage payments etc. When I split from my husband I did get a small amount of Tax Credits which topped up my wages so for that I was grateful. I am told I am lucky that I do not have to work. Am I lucky that I had a serious illness which could have taken my life away? Am I lucky that my Mum died and left me a small amount of money which I am using til I get my pension? I suppose I could be as I am still here. It is hurtful no matter how it is said and yes these young people will be older one day and they may get the same comments directed at them. It would be so refreshing for people to stop 'having a go' and start being nicer,
Rant over.

I hadn't come across "OK, Boomer", but I have been on MumsNet often enough to see Boomer regularly used there and almost exclusively as an insult, as part of a nasty, ageist and ignorant rant against 'old' people who they blame for every single thing in their life that isnt how they would like it to be.

In fact, it was so bad that it is a large part of the reason why I totally stopped using MumsNet.
The other reason was an equally unpleasant attitude to mothers-in-law. Half are berated for wanting to sometimes visit or help with their grandchildren, the other half for not doing those exact same things, though most appear to be despised just for existing. Maybe because many of them are boomers too?

Totally agree . We worked all our lives with no handouts and still paying tax in our 70s.

I've always understood that it can be more expensive to administer a means tested benefit than to pay it to everybody. If pensioners are better off the Fuel Payment will be taxed in any case, at their highest tax rate.

Probably the same could be said about child benefit for the better off younger generation! The majority of us have done our 'bit', maternity benefit was only for 6 weeks and we didn't have any help with child care. I didn't retire until I was 70 having worked full time all my working life. Swings and round-abouts really.

Perfectly said! Not retired yet (65) due to the change in pension age from.60 to 66 of which I was not informed!! Lots of health issues..maybe its because when I was a single parent (husband left and no maintain) I worked 3 jobs a week averaging 70 hours a week in order to ensure my children didn't suffer. Absolutely zero from gvt re childcare etc

B9Exchange totally agree with your comments...