Pensioners’ paradise!

I am heartened by the positivity and awareness displayed in many of these posts which point out that most of us appreciate the wonderful country in which we live and the benefits we all derive from our taxation system. The comparison with other parts of the world where people are treated so very badly are apt too.

I contrast this with a ‘Nextdoor’ thread I just read where men rant in angry, unappreciative, ungrateful rage at every area of public life. I hope this only reflects how the moaners are the ones who wish to impose their negativity on others and not that all men are like this!

But I am very glad that we are ( mainly) glad for the blessings we enjoy.

You can argue with OP about the bedroom tax but i bet everything else is correct.

Bedroom tax was charged to people who have a room each i.e.they made me pay it for my sons as the council had deemed they did not need a room each as both are male they could share,despite both having differing disabilities/ medical problems and waking each other up.I thought after 16 it wasnt charged now, but my daughter (in a different council to me) says shes still paying it as her family is 2 daughters (12 & a Adult ) and an older son plus her& husband and they've a four bedroom house.

Stop moaning for goodness sake.

This person does not represent pensioners WithNobsOnIt
She's a psychic so should have foreseen all this before she retired.

Why the Xxx?

Dreadwitch

Nobody who owns their home, pensionwr or otherwise pays the bedroom tax. The only people affected by it are people who get benefits to pay the rent. It never has and never will affect people who own their homes.

No, and no pensioner pays it anyway. As I said upthread, it only applies to benefit claimants of working age in social housing. It' s a horrible tax, but it does not affect pensioners.

People who cry 'ageism' every time they disagree with something do none of us any favours, as it minimises the impact of actual ageism.

If you earn over the threshold you pay tax. It’s not as if you stop using the services because you retire. Eye tests are free over 60. It can be useful to move to a smaller house when you retire to avoid large heating bills - if we choose not to, our bills will be higher. We are very fortunate to have institutions that our taxes have built up for us to use such as the NHS - our fight should be to keep these institutions from going private. Looking at institutions that were privatised - Gas, Water, the Post Office etc - we can see privatisation is not the answer.

The Scots are privileged in some respects: free NHS prescriptions for all, dentist checks, university fees and some social care. But their schools have been impoverished for many years and students entering university from the maintained sector are noticeably disadvantaged compared with English students going to Scottish universities.

I am cross that I can't access my pension until I am 67 but that is mainly because I don't think it is very fair to change the terms and conditions of the pension I entered into. I can't think of any other pension you pay into who would be allowed to do this. I understood the criteria for raising it to 65 because we fought for equality and you can't have to good side without taking your share of bad.
I am cross that my mother pays about 40% more for her care to pay for people who can't pay. If she was paying say £10 a week, I wouldn't mind her paying £4 a week more than someone else but when you are paying £10,500 per month, I feel she is being cheated out of everything she worked for. She should get CHC but every time she passes the criteria in the first round, they fight like hell to downgrade it again.
On the other hand, I feel lucky that we get our eye tests and prescriptions from 60; I wouldn't mind paying till pension age. There are so many things I feel we are lucky for. When I look at how many of my ancestors died very young from things that we can get treatment for today, I feel very blessed.

Nobody who owns their home, pensionwr or otherwise pays the bedroom tax. The only people affected by it are people who get benefits to pay the rent. It never has and never will affect people who own their homes.

I agree with Rosies' reply. We are so much better off than our parents, and especially, better off than our grandparents. We shpuld try to enjoy the life remaining. Afterall, we don't live in a war zone (as increasing numbers of unfortunate people do), and we have shops that are full of food, houses that are weather proof, and access to healthcare.

Mollygo

*Carole Bromley*
Welcome to Retirement… the So-Called “Pensioners’ Paradise.”

Paradise… Apparently Meaning Higher Taxes, Higher Bills, and the Heating Turned Off.
Imagine paying taxes for 50 years… and still being asked for more.
Work your entire life.
Pay income tax, National Insurance, council tax, VAT, fuel duty, tax on savings, tax on your home, and a whole list of other taxes that appear every time someone in Whitehall needs the books balancing.
Basically… tax on life.
For decades those taxes propped up the system.
They built the roads.
Funded the NHS.
Paid for schools.
Kept public services running.
Generation after generation worked hard, paid in, and believed one simple thing:
That when they finally reached retirement, the system they had supported all their lives would support them too.

Lets not forget how incompetent us pensioners are god forbid we should reach 70. We will be expected to pay for a compulsory eye test to allow us to continue driving-another tax for us to keep hold of our licence.

Fast forward to today.
Apparently pensioners are now the country’s emergency cash machine.
Need money?
Just squeeze the people who have already spent half a century paying for everything.
And just in case pensioners thought retirement might finally bring a little breathing space…

The retirement age keeps creeping up.
Because after 40 or 50 years of work, the solution apparently isn’t relief — it’s simply work longer.

Another few years working.
Another few years paying tax.
Another few more miles on the body.

You could almost call it another tax on the body itself.
And just in case pensioners thought their homes were finally their sanctuary after decades of mortgage payments…
Along came things like the bedroom tax.

Yes, apparently after a lifetime of working and there was a time paying, if you dare to have a spare room pensioner or not it woukd be taxed!
look at perhaps the room your children grew up in, or somewhere the grandchildren might stay — the system might decide you’re living in too much space and should pay for the privilege.
Because clearly the greatest threat to the nation’s finances is a pensioner with an empty bedroom. Of course that will resolve the housing problem we Brits face. But at what and who's cost?

Meanwhile, those at the top never seem shy about helping themselves.

Taxpayers cover:
• Expenses
• Housing
• Office refurbishments
• Car allowances
• Travel perks
• Food allowances
• Private healthcare
• Clothing
• Glasses
• Entertainment
• Even second homes — when many people can’t afford one

Funny how there always seems to be plenty of money for that.
But for pensioners?
Many are choosing between heating or eating.

Care homes now cost more than many people’s entire pensions, meaning families often watch everything their parents worked for disappear just to cover the bills.

And if that isn’t enough…
You even have to pay a licence just to watch the television.
For many elderly people living alone, the TV isn’t a luxury.
It’s their company.
It’s the voices they hear each day.
It’s the small connection to the outside world when the house is quiet.
Yet even that comes with a bill.

And heaven forbid you end up in hospital.
You might finally recover… but when it’s time to go home there’s often little or no aftercare waiting for you.

Sometimes you’re discharged with barely enough support.
Other times people end up stuck in hospital beds because the help they need at home simply isn’t there.

Either way, the system pensioners spent decades funding suddenly feels very thin on support when they need it most.

And just when you think the tax story might finally end…
Along comes inheritance tax, making sure that even after a lifetime of paying into the system, the taxman still gets one final bite when you’re gone.

For decades pensioners propped up the system with their taxes.

But now when they need that system to prop them up… there’s nobody there.
And after a lifetime of doing the right thing, paying their dues, and trusting the system they helped build…

It can feel as though the very system they supported has simply reached in and ripped the heart out of them by demanding even more.

England - the land of hope and glory, or better known as Land of Strain and Struggle.
👇
Do you think pensioners have already paid enough tax in their lifetime?

#PensionersDeserveBetter
#RespectOurElders
#HeatingOrEating
#CostOfLivingCrisis
#FairnessForPensioners
#DignityInRetirement
#TaxedEnough
#SupportOurPensioners
#UKPolitics
#TimeForChange
#waspiwomen

I don't think.you can judge all.Pensioners as being in the same boat.

There are quite a lot pensioners who had very cushy lives with a Private and State Pension. Who have their mortgages paid off and plenty of money for travel etc

A lot of older pensioners had nice cushy usually public sector jobs where they retired early and got final salary pensions etc as well.

Yes, older pensioners paid more income tax but also had things like MIRAS. Mortgage Interest Relief at Source. Which was a big subsidy when buying a house.

House prices were also a pittance years ago compared to now.

They also didn't have many types of welfare benefits thrown at them and their children. Unlike now

But Pensioners do benefit from the triple lock.

Which is just a way to get their votes used by successive governments.

By the way l am a Pensioner age 71 and a proper WASPI born in Feb 1955 who had to wait 6 extra years to get a State Pension.

Not one the so called WASPI's who was born after the 5th of April 1955 who ruined the campaign by jumping on the bandwagon.

Nowadays, trying to stay as healthy and happy l can is my priority.

Stop moaning for goodness sake.
😻
Xxx

I can't believe what a moan and groan shop this site has become today.

I feel very depressed by it all... worse than watching the news even!

butterandjam

BoggledMind

OldFrill

"Lets not forget how incompetent us pensioners are god forbid we should reach 70. We will be expected to pay for a compulsory eye test to allow us to continue driving-another tax for us to keep hold of our licence"

Eye tests are free for over 60s.

Is this written by Carole Bromley the psychic, "anything for attention - truth or not".

There may be some truth in the driving licence comment.

Eye tests are indeed free for over 60s but that's limited to one eye test every two years (the recommended time for tests). If a licence renewal is due within two years of a free eye test, then the licence renewal test will have to be paid for.

I speak from experience here. I had a free eye test a couple of years ago. I went to book an eye test two years later but was told it would cost me as the free one wasn't due for another month. I went back a month later and had a free one.

In Scotland, NHS-funded eye examinations are free for all residents, usually recommended every two years (or annually for children/over-60s).

DH (79) gets a free NHS Scotland annual eye test every year at his regular optician who supplies his glasses.

In ADDITION to his annual test, the |DVLA requires an technical- designated eye test every three years. The specific DVLA eye exam must be done at a DVLA designated branch of Specsavers because they don't accept any other .

He's not charged for DVLA eye exams, possibly because of his eye condition (glaucoma).

"^Eye tests are indeed free for over 60s but that's limited to one eye test every two years (the recommended time for tests). If a licence renewal is due within two years of a free eye test, then the licence renewal test will have to be paid for^"

For licence renewal at 70 an actual eyesight test is not required. If you are having the regular free checkups and your sight complies to DVLC requirements you're covered.

I don't understand how anyone could think that it is OK to drive with bad eyesight. Some older people develop problems with their sight and continue driving when they shouldn't. They may not realise how dangerous they are as the problem can occur gradually.
The over 70s are most likely to have poor eyesight and the tests are free so what's the problem?
Everyone should have regular tests anyway. I found out that the cells in my corneas were dying rapidly and had semi-transplants in both corneas. My eyesight is now better than it has ever been.

If it wasn’t for the tax payers ( of which Im still one ) I wouldn’t be here but for the NHS. I don’t mind too much paying tax when it makes life easier for is all. We all love the odd grumble but please Ms Bromley get your facts right.

One is encouraged to work hard during school years to achieve one’s goal which seems now the only reason is so the government can get a higher tax from one. Paying for those who just rely on the state, for example;
I know of a lad who has refused to attend school during his last years and now refuses to attend college. No doubt when he is older we will have to pay for his kids

BoggledMind - Free eye tests are available once a year in England from age 70 (at least they are at our optician’s).

I can't say I "pay tax either pride" because so much is wasted.
Our generation is far better off than our parents were AND far better off than our children's generation, GC I am expecting to really struggle.

I feel very fortunate to have reached 75 and am still relatively healthy. I have benefited from free education so did my teacher training courtesy of a grant! I have always been employed from the age of 14 doing some grotty jobs on Saturday and in the holidays until I retired after 36 years of teaching aged 58. So I repaid society in full .
I have never been homeless, hungry or unemployed. I have never experienced war. I have worked hard, saved hard, gone without so my daughter got her university degree ( her dad had no money) I have worn second hand clothes proudly. I still pay tax with pride as I contribute to what I receive in terms of free prescriptions, free eye care, free bus travel. I recognise there are others less fortunate than me and mine so my taxes enable them to receive benefits I don’t need and hope I never will have to access . I am a lucky, contented old lady 👵

The OP is, indeed an inaccurate diatribe, full of nonsense and so many untruths.

Sorry Mollygo but what a long miserable post - we are lucky enough to have reached pensionable age , I expect we all have many friends and family that didn’t get that privilege , of course there are always taxes/ tv licence and everything else - they are part of life- none of us are thrilled with them - but we are here, we are still breathing - make the most of it and cherish every moment 🩷🩷

It’s this kind of whinging that gives old people a bad name.

I couldn’t DISAGREE more. Enough said

I think the OP post could do with fact-checking!

Such an awful post from this person full of nonsense and typical Mail/Express crap. You can drive a coach and horses through it to find everything that’s inaccurate in it. Stuff like this just winds people up and makes them depressed. And as for income tax I remember my dad explaining my first payslip to me and wisely saying everyone should pay income tax, it’s our duty. Some 60 years later I am still doing it and it’s what I do.