'Retired people could work for pensions'

Sounds more threatening than encouraging.
Doesn't he know the difference between a carrot and a stick?

Doesn't he realise we have already contributed over 40 years of working. What about people who are unable to do this through ill health. Has he ever been in a Nursing Home and seen what a physical job it can be. This man needs to get out in the real world for a while - I'd like to see him give up his Civil Service pension and all the other perks he gets and live on a state pension for a year!

Typical...let's cut benefits even more. After forty years of work why should anyone be obliged to do community work.

Those can, do, and do it well. Those who can't, won't be able to, despite good intentions, and those who perhaps should, should not be made to. Can you imagine anything worse than being at the receiving end of grudging and poorly carried out 'voluntary' work?

Another barmy idea from an unelected wealthy man.

I wonder how many pensioners are already doing this? Look at all the posts about looking after grandchildren and elderly relatives. When I look round the charity shops, the staff seem to be entirely composed of students and pensioners. Why? Because people of working age are mostly working! Duh!

Yes I think we need some hard data about how much is already contributed in childcare, voluntary work etc. I live abroad and my voluntary work is done for my community here in France (member of council, free English lessons, looking after older people in my village), does that count?
Of course if I were in the UK I would be giving a lot of time to supporting the Labour party to get rid of this Government. Would that be OK?

He looks like a barrel of laughs in his photo

I'm already responsible for two stroke victims and like others on here drop everything when help is needed with grandchildren.

Lay off my pension. I've slogged long and hard for it and life still feels like I'm trying to scale Mt. Everest in a pair of worn out plimsolls.

Oh strewth were does one start????
Am sick to death of these idiots who have no idea about 'real life'.
I used to run a pre-school were we had an official visit by a group of MPs doing some research into childcare options.
We were all trained and qualified, Police checked, Ofsted checked and monitered regularly by Social services.
I was talking about how proud I was about our excellent staff despite the usual problems of finding said staff, mentioning the pitiful wages that could be offered (we were a charity 'non-profit' group). "Oh you get paid do you, how lovely" said a highly patronising female MP!. I was lost for words.

As to retired people being made to volunteer!!! Being made to volunteer.......isnt that 'Community Service' and don't you have to mug old ladies to do that?
Volunteers volunteer because they want to, because they enjoy it and because they are lovely people..............you cant make people volunteer!

And to look at it from the other angle, what poor old soul in his/her eighties wants a resentful sixty odd year old grumpily doing their housework and garden?
I know I wouldn't.

Well, if you're still working you're not retired . Why not just be honest and say 'stuff the old age pension, just make the bu***rs work till they drop'....

I've spent a bit of time this morning reading some of the (now 2072) mainly very critical comments by us ordinary folk. How can 'voluntary' be equated with 'compulsory'. It's either one or the other. Is he suggesting unpaid employment? Makes my blood boil when the when the wealthy elite come up with such c***. I reckon if you have already worked for up to 50 years, including bringing up children, working full time etc. it's not unreasonable, in this day and age to expect some time to do your own thing. After all, the vast majority of people have paid into both state and maybe private pensions at the rate set by governments of the day, with no choice, to provide for a small income in retirement. How dare the governemnt criticise older folk for being a drain on Society.

...if we were animals [well we are but that's beside the point] the RSPCA would be fighting our corner.

Can anyone seriously think that this could be made to work? You would need:
List of all retired people, age, location, health, fitness to work, suitability.
List of all posts available, approved or not approved for people to continue to receive their pension.
Army of officials to oversee it all.

Cost effective? I think not.

He looks the fully paid-up, card-carrying pillock that he clearly is. I can't even be bothered to be angry.

I doubt if his vote-dependent colleagues in the Commons will be keen on this notion when they reflect on where their votes come from. This silly man is one more argument for abolishing the Lords altogether!

The 'work' Bichet is doing is as a member of the House of Lords, chairing committees and serving on government inquiries. I'm pretty good at that sort of thing, and if they would like to offer me a life peerage I would be happy to go on doing it until I fall off the twig. Especially if they send a driver and car to take me to the place where I would be using my many skills.

I think it just some toff sounding off with no possibility of ever becoming law. I won't waste any energy getting annoyed about it!

What does he think the "young" retired are doing anyway? - the majority are doing such community service, caring for elderly relatives and wee grandchildren and playing a pivotal role on their communities in many other ways.

Definitely a fully paid up pillock as absent so pithily points out.

I don't think we can dismiss him as just a silly man Anno..
Amongst other things, he chaired the Soham enquiry... is it not a worry that someone who has held such positions of responsibility should hold such simplistic views and be in a position to influence government policy?

Very nice day rate he gets for what he does, I am sure.
Who the flip does he think does a massive chunk of all the voluntary work and caring in this country?
Big brother is now going to get a big stick and impose the "big society"?

I shall treat the suggestion with the contempt it deserves.

Ah, I see Lord Bichard is a cross-bencher, so won't have colleagues in the Commons. The suggestion is that
"It is quite possible, for example, to envisage a world where civil society is making a greater contribution to the care of the very old, and older people who are not very old could be making a useful contribution to civil society in that respect, if they were given some incentive or some recognition for doing so."
So where does he draw the line between 'older people who are not so old' and the 'very old'?

For the record, we did work for pensions. That's why we have them. Some people didn't work for pensions and they don't have them. That may not have been a fair system, but that's how it was.

A very stupid man.
If they tried to bring it in, can you imagine the uproar? Forget the Poll Tax protests, they'd be nothing compared to how our generation would respond if they tried to introduce this proposal.

Well, he looks like a quite old man. I wonder how many really old people he looks after. That's properly looks after and not just arranges payment for someone else to do it. How many days a week does he do real voluntary work with no expenses.
Silly man.