State Pension Age

I'll sign a petition for free alcohol - somebody else can have my cigarettes- and at least I might die with a smile on my face

When they brought in pensions people did not live very long after they drew them- paticulaly men but now with every one living so much longer the pension burden on the taxpayer is quite something. my feeling is free cigarettes and alcohol to the over 60s to kill us off early

My heart goes out to all those people who have been caught in this trap. I have been so lucky - I am now 63 and took my state pension at 60.

We live frugally but happily on small pensions, with a little freelance work now and again.

I really do not feel well or strong enough to work full time and I am concerned for those of my age who will be forced to do so in the future.

My guess is that there will be a lot of sick leave going on!

It is NOT fair!

I do know people who completely lost their private pensions a few years ago before they were made safer, so things could be worse, I guess. My daughter can't believe she is expected to teach until she is in her late 60's. Surely we should be the generation with expendable income; if we can't afford to buy things or have holidays how will the country ever get out of recession? Maybe we should set up a holiday house swop scheme so's gransnetters could at least stay in different parts of the country sometimes; a change being as good as a rest and all that!

Joy I am also 57 so will have to wait till I am 66 to get my pension, but I have had to give up work because of health problems so I know that I could not have carried on working till the age of 66.
We have to be very careful how we live now as DH was made redundant 3 years ago and as he will not get his state pension till May we have had to live off our savings which we were putting aside for our old age !
As there is not much of that left now we know that holidays are off limits for us now.
This is not the way we were "promised" by goverment (s) that our "twilight years" would be. Save , save ,save we were told and for what ?. We can look forward to living on DH state pension and perhaps the odd hand out from goverment if we grovel hard enough
I won't even get a free bus pass in this neck of the woods till I am 66 at the moment its 62.
Rant over
Off to sign the petition now

crimson you deserve these. Some lucky people I I know with generous pensions always seem to be away on holiday and I would love to do so too, but our circumstances are also quite drastically reduced so even apart from DH's health, I persuade myself that I prefer to spend most of our time at home. I worked until I was 62 as I didn't feel ready to retire, but I know I literally could not have gone on at that level and cannot face the alternative of supply teaching to boost the budget. Just biting the bullet with the thought that there are many people out htere much worse off than we are - at least we have a roof over our heads and if I am honest (?) I have enough clothes to "see me out" !!

Not quite in the same position, but do understand how you feel. I turned 60 recently, and [hopefully] get my state pension when I'm 61 3/4. I get free prescriptions, my B&Q 10% off and cheap cinema tickets. Since I turned 60 I've felt pretty down; feel as if I'm getting old with all of the downsides, but not getting anything to make it better...more time to do the things I'd like to..read more, walk more, have a couple of holidays a year. I have a small pension from a divorce settlement and my house isn't suitable for downsizing. Work part time and look after the grandchildren a couple of days a week. I think if they pushed the goalposts further from me now, I'd give up. Keep bumping into contemporaries who I haven't seen for a while who are now happily retired, and find it difficult to keep the smile going as they tell me what a great time they're having. Trying very hard to cut back my living costs so I can reduce my working hours when I do get my state pension. Feel very tired these days; was always a night owl, but now have to be in bed early if I'm working the next day. It's so dispiriting [is that a proper word?]. I thought it was bad enough having to wait two extra years, but don't know what I'd do if I suddenly had to wait a few years more. As a poster on my wall says: GOVERNMENT NOTICE; Due to current financial restraints, the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off until FURTHER NOTICE. Says it all, really ...

I am 58 yrs of age, born on 29/12/53 so I was expecting to retire and receive my state pension November 2017, just before my 54th birthday - which in its self is bad enough from thinking I would get it at 60 back in 1970 when I started work. I have just received a letter from D.W.P informing me that women born after December 1953 will now not receive their pension until they are nearly 66, so I will receive mine in May 2019.
What other body could keep changing these dates and messing with women's lives other than the government. Surely there must be some hot barrister out there willing to take this matter to the European Court on our behalf

I'm an occupational therapist working with a mainly older age group. I'll be interested to see how I'll cope when I'm on a zimmer myself! ;)

I think you're right that most of us have no quarrel with equalising the state pension age for men and women, just the speed with which it is happening. George Osborne seems to think that a bull-at-the-gate approach to managing the country's finances and debts is the only way and, to mix metaphors, is as stubborn as a mule. I am unaffected by these changes but will happily demonstrate solidarity with younger grannies by signing the petition, although I don't hold out much hope that it will alter the wretched man's excuse for a mind.

I do not live in the UK but took early retirement (at 63 rather than 64 with a 3.9% reduction in my pension) as permanent jobs were hard to find/keep after the age of 60. I remember being taken on more than once after which a colleague was fired for some feeble reason which I hated and I was given their workload as well as my own. I was in the public eye so I had to dress well and look smart which added extra expense to my tight budget.

During my last few years of work, I had swollen ankles, chronic lumbar pain and chronic conjunctivitis (computer screen for up to 8 hours a day with hardly a break) and felt exhausted much of the time. I was outside my home for at least 11 hours a day including travel. Since my retirement, my ankles are never swollen, my back rarely hurts and my eyes are mostly fine. Therefore, I know those unpleasant symptoms were due to trying to hold down a full time job under difficult conditions when I no longer had the energy. I can't imagine being able to carry on like that until the age of 66 or 67 and fortunately for me I will not have to.

I have often thought that by the age of say 58, we should be able to apply officially to decrease our hours (and our salaries of course!). This could mean people being able to continue working for longer without the feeling of being totally worn out. Of course, it will be said that this solution will not help the pensions situation but the idea of being literally worked to death is unacceptable in a civilised society.

Thank you very much ladies for your support particularly as you are not affected. The government are showing no signs of changing their plans but there are still organisations protesting over this and it ain't over til the fat lady sings. I am going to be one very tired granny by 66!

I'll sign it as well. I just made it to retire at 60 last year on 24/3/10, my birthday.The change was to come in on 5/4/10. Although by this time I worked in the 'training' of care staff, it wasn't just that. There were so many more aspects to the job, that were very stressful, especially when dealing with health and social care. My body was really ready to stop working - I just can't imagine how retiring at a later age will work for people in manual occupations (eg men labouring on building sites, etc)

I stopped work when I was 58 because I was really exhausted and struggling and my DH had just retired at 65. He got approx. £50 a week added to his pension for me as his dependant until I qualified for my own pension at 60. I have just reached 65 this week and that has caused me to ponder how I would have coped if forced to work on to 66. The answer is that I could not have carried on, certainly not in that job (and what chance of finding a less stressful new job at 58?) and would have finished my working life 'on the sick'. I am sure there are many more with the same story to tell which will lead to huge numbers of people becoming benefit claimants in their 60s, negating any savings made by pushing the retirement age back.

I could, perhaps, have carried on working if I had been a Manager (or an MP!) with staff to cover for me and do the donkey work while I read some papers, attended a meeting, went home early, but as the general factotum with responsibility for everything (from salaries, accounts, all record keeping, arranging meetings, correspondence, etc. supervising trainees and volunteers, opening and closing the premises (including setting alarms and turning out in the night if the alarm went off), health and safety, cleaning, etc. etc. etc), it was too much. Once I developed RLS the hardest thing was being in to open the office for 9.00am having only had perhaps 2 hours sleep.

Sorry - this is turning into a personal rant. All I meant to say is that those who decide these things in an arbitrary way, have no idea what a working day involves for the low paid, the manual workers, outdoor workers, those with downright dangerous jobs. I am all in favour of legislation which allows people to work past retirement age IF THEY WANT (and are able)TO, but believe it is grossly unfair to break the contract we entered into as we paid our NI contributions for 50 years.

Will sign the petition now.

This does not affect me Joy but I will certainly sign the petition it is a disgrace.