Osborne's Budget - looks like pensioners will lose out the most

KittyNannie I take my hat off to you! You are doing a wonderful job with your grandchildren.

We had a similar thing some years back when one of our GS came to live with us aged 15. He left school and went to college and could not get the education allowance of £30 a week which existed then (now stopped) because our income was over the limit. His (separated) parents had very low incomes but because he was living with us they only considered ours. We supported him entirely until he started working some years later.

Grandparents have no legal rights but are expected to pay up for grandchildren nevertheless.

I realise that Damian McBride and the Labour politicians mentioned here may not be everybody's Vodka Jelly, but this is a fascinating insight into how budgets get put together.
dpmcbride.tumblr.com/post/19717319716/at-half-time-in-last-nights-arsenal-game-i-was

"You can get Attendance Allowance even if no one is actually giving you the care you need - even if you live alone."

From the Direct Gov website.

When pensions were started in 1905, most folk died before they ever received a penny.... or they got their very small pension and then died after just a few years taking it easy!! Now my father in law has been retired nearly longer than he worked!! The country has not really grown richer to afford this kind of payment to millions of folk.
What can we do?? WORK LONGER, PAY MORE AS WE WORK, COMBINE BOTH IDEAS to increase our pension pot, or agree to have ourselves put to sleep when we are say 80!! My guess is that the last idea is a bit of a non starter.....so the GOVT is really making us think about the other two plans..... more savings, a private extra pension,buy to let, antiques!?
The other idea is to say make huge savings in other areas egstop being on the top table at world affairs...so....shut down masses of the armed forces. Stop overseas aid. Cut back long term welfare for fit healthy people,and make well established folk pay private medical insurance or use their savings for some health care.How about a real bonfire of red tape and jobsworths and real sell offs and a great efficiency drives.LABOUR willnot put these allowaces back..... in fact they will be pleased because Dave has made the hard decisions.... they never had the courage to do!

I am trying so very hard to keep faith with the Tories but they are making it harder and harder. They have already lost the vote of public sector workers, NHS workers, families losing child benefit and almost certainly many pensioners. In 2016, if we are still around !, we will be the second class pensioners when newcomers receive the £140 weekly. That is so unfair.
After so many years of conscientiously voting every time I fear I will be not be venturing out again.

Just catching up after a lovely afternoon out in the sunshine. No, neither of the people I have mentioned are eligible for DLA, Attendance Allowance, Mobility or anything else - we have gone down every avenue we can think of. These are the sort of pensioners who will continue to find life a struggle because they just don't have enough money and when they have met crises, a little loan has meant they have a debt, too.

jaskie well said. We older people often moan about being treated as if we are in our dotage when we are, generally, fit and healthy, certainly fitter and healthier than previous generations. Why not work longer - it keeps body and brain ticking over better? The whole country is in a mess - my daughter (an SEN teacher) could face redundancy at any time, her husband (who works in Local Government) has twice been faced with redundancy. Why should the older generation be exempt from the hardship. I should think that Labour heaved a sigh of relief when they lost the election because they didn't have a clue what to do next.

Who says our generation is exempt from hardship? Ask Phoenix who has just lost her job; and I was made redundant 13 years ago, just 18 months before I was due to retire. I got a retraining deal as part of the redundancy package, but try getting full time work at 60.

Hattiehelga I think faith is the right word: a belief system (same as religion) with dogmas - based on no scientific evidence.

I took retirement 18 months ao at nearly 62, earlier than planned, when 12 middle managers were needed to throw themselves on their swords. As soon as redundancy came into the equation I accepted it, reasoning that if I used every penny to get rid of my mortgage, I would be just able to manage. I have done voluntary work since, but not looking for work now - I manage by living as frugally as I can.

If I had stood my ground and stayed on, I would still have some decent savings. Ridding myself of every debt was a challenge, but I have done it.

Gillian the 5.2 % increase is laughable not generous. If inflation had been running at 2% in September then that's what the increase would have been. Dave C. is fooling no-one by saying it's the most generous pension increase ever. What he isn't saying is that it's at that rate only because inflation was running so high at the crucial time. Ergo - increase eroded by inflation. I maintain that there are pensioners whose financial survival is marginal - leading to loss of independence, self-esteem and confidence. However I think Carol's well-informed opinions are completely credible.

Yes soft targets, because we are 'invisible' as mostly we are no trouble they think they can get away with 'daylight robbery' under the guise of simplifying for us! Yes Gordon and his 10p tax treats us as if we are all stupid. As there are more women affected, as with the child allowance changes, this is sexist.

So for us who lived thro' the war and all it's austerities but still saved and went without, this is our reward towards the end of our lives a gradual eroding of our income. As we cannot supplement our income we are stuck. So it's not a lot but I find I have to constantly keep track and go careful with the prospect of added expense with each advancing year, aging bodies need more care. We have been insulted.

Are they going to get away with it? What can we do?

There is something you can do fieldwake. I have just signed an E petition to replace the age-related tax allowances. I accessed it via the Telegraph website.

fieldwake - "sexist" is men having to wait longer than women to get their pensions, especially bearing in mind that they tend to die sooner!

Thanks mumster I will sign that right now.

More signatures needed - it's up to 915 now - anyone else going to sign?

Done it - now up to 930.

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31778

In the first place we only get the £5 increase because the price index was high last Sept. [ September is chosen because historically it has the lowest price index and inflation] Next sept. may be nowhere as high. This is not an amount that the government has been kind enough to give us. It is our right because we paid our Nationla Insurance. Also we are taxed on it. So someone with another pension will pay more tax just because of the increase.

I think you mean "discriminatory" fieldwake in that is has an unfair impact on women. Like having height requirements for police was.
Write to Tory MPs, tell them you will change the habits of a lifetime and vote for someone else next time.

Just scanned the morning papers online and found this, referring to the online petition

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2119658/Enough-Pensioners-say-granny-tax-Petition-force-Commons-debate-Osbornes-Budget-raid.html

I signed it yesterday too!

I think people like my husband and me who have been retired a few years are not that hard done by - it's those who are about to retire that are the worst hit, with dreadful annuity rates their pension pots are not going to produce very much. We rely on our Serps which at least increases (unlike our annuity which has been the same for 10 years). Having said that we are now having to dip into our savings more than we thought we would - spending the kids' inheritance! Still - I have yet to inherit anything, my parents still being alive and kicking at 93 and 90!

The Government’s spin doctors went into overdrive on Thursday trying to justify the "Granny Tax".

It is clear that the misinformation has succeeded. I will be 65 in 2014 and will be around £300 a year worse off than I would have been before these changes took place.

Younger people should realise that they are not Peter Pan - these changes will adversely effect everyone eventually. Pensioners concessions should be protected today for every ones sake.

George Osborne stated yesterday that "Workers" are his priority. The Government forgets the pensioners of today and the pensioners of tomorrow at its peril. Do not order new curtains for number 11 George - you won’t be staying.

Support Pensioners concessions today, for the young of today are the Pensioners of tomorrow.

Charlie62

Charlie62 you are so right. I will be 65 in June 2013, so will also be around that amount lighter.

Good point, and welcome, Charlie62. I feel my hackles rising every time I hear about 'hard working families' - from all political parties. For one thing, ours were the hard working families in the past and we worked for our pensions, as well as for our children's future; for another thing, today's hard worker tomorrow may be at the Job Centre. The phrase is an insult to the retired (many of whom hold the 'big society' together by volunteering) and the redundant.