Not my fault I was born in the early 50's .

For some years - out of concern about house prices getting out of control - I have visited a forum largely concerned with just that.
In the opinion of many posters there, all boomers are greedy and selfish, if not actually evil, endlessly boasting about how much their houses are worth, spending loads of money on cruises, flash cars etc., while sticking two fingers up at priced-out young people and saying it's all their own fault, if they wouldn't insist on having Smartphones, etc....

On the other hand, should any boomer fail to conform to their stereotype - say someone like me (30+ year old kitchen, 14 year old car) and choose to give spare cash to children to help them buy a property, we are equally the spawn of Satan for helping to prop up high house prices!

You can't win.

Indeed they do, and not for the benefit of the ordinary Joe or Joanna. I had 41 years NI contributions to age 60, and some SERPS payments. My forecast on the new scheme is £25 a week less than on the old one. Fortunately there's a transitional arrangement that applies to me, so when I get to 66 I'll get my "old rate".

Even the current "old" pension is contribution-dependent. I missed out on some payments early in life, and although I made up in voluntary contributions all I could, I still don't qualify for the full amount, which required 40 years' contributions for people my age (born Jan 1948). My husband was three months younger (same school cohort etc) but as he was born in April, he only required 30 years' contributions, although this was only changed a few years ago. It really is a bit of a lottery, and they keep changing the rules.

My DH should have qualified for the new flat rate but he was told that he contracted out of SERPS way back (he had no idea) and they/we are unable to trace the provider via his old employer (who has now gone bust) We have spoken to the pensions regulator, the DWP, Pension tracing services etc. and everyone else we can think of and no one can offer any advice. All the DoWP say is that they are aware he contracted out and have reduced his pension payment accordingly. Great eh?

Oh, grannyticktock, don't get me started! The new scheme's already in, and I haven't met anyone yet who'll get the full "flat rate" amount. Any years when we opted out, as we were all advised to do, don't count towards it at all (even if those little pension plans are worth sweet FA now, and the SERPS payments that we made don't count either, as I understand it. Anyone looking forward to their new improved pension really needs to ask the DWP for a pension forecast.

*grannyticktock" even the flatrate pension wont give all new pensioners the same amount,it will depend on contributions ,you'll need a minimum number of years before you get ANYTHING at all and if you dont have the full number of required contributions you wont get the full amount .Check it out .There are supposed to be no top ups to it ,hence a falt rate ..so people already in receipt of a pemsion will likely be better off .

I agree about luck playing a part Morgana I do count myself as lucky in many ways, like meeting my DH when I was a twice married, widowed mother of 2. Like having a loving family and 3 fabulous grandchildren, like having a roof over my head.....

but just as unlucky in many others.

I think these responses show that retired people's circumstances vary hugely. Even an "average" household income of £29,0000 (I consider myself comfortably off, but I don't get that much) is probably skewed by a small number of extremely rich households, balanced by large numbers who are "just about managing".

The next thing that will annoy us is when the new, flat-rate, higher Sate pension comes in, and everyone conveniently forgets that the millions of existing pensioners are not getting nearly so much.

We have all worked hard and often in difficult circumstances. But I think luck plays a big part too. I was lucky to have an education and parents who pushed me to do well. Lucky to have made the decision to buy a house, lucky to have made the move into teaching after being made redundant from previous job. Friends have not been so lucky and through no fault of their own find themselves struggling on a small pension.

It was exactly the same for me Rosina and I was born in the early 60's.

Except I am the generation who won't be able to retire or get a bus pass or whatever until I'm at least 67.5

I can remember no child benefit for the first child, high interest rates on mortgages, no free child care, trying to travel on decidedly 'non mother friendly' busses with two small children, large bag and a fold up buggy, no holiday for literally years and years, no car, twin tub washing machine, unhelpful in laws who ignored children...I could go on. As a Baby Boomer I have worked hard, always, inherited nothing, and now have a reasonable pension but do not have thousands stashed away, and most of my contemporaries are in the same position. Whoever these lucky people are who are constantly holidaying , buying new cars and downsizing in order to to pocket millions - I have never met one! Like all the supposed filthy rich bankers etc. I don't doubt they exist - but probably as a tiny percentage of the retired population.

That wasn't meant as a dig at you Goldenage I just wanted to say that many of us have had it quite hard.

Goldenage do you not think younger people have gone through/continue to go through similar?

When I was diagnosed with MS (in 1989-90 aged 28) I was advised to give up work. I was advised to go onto permanent sick. I was written off and due to being in and out of hospital for many months I lost my job (the one that was keeping me and my 2 children). My upbringing taught me that you get nothing for nothing and that work equalled self respect. By sheer chance at a hospital appointment I ran into the then secretary of the MS society who did a lot of work with Remploy and Outreach. I cannot begin to thank him for what he did for me and my family. Helping me to regain my self respect and helping me get back into proper full time work.

Until last year I looked after my 99 year old grandma and my disabled sick mum. I now have my elderly father to look after and still look after my 3 grandchildren 2-3 days a week whilst working 30+ hours a week.

You see. Circumstances can and do happen to every generation. Because you were born after the war or prior to central heating doesn't make anyone any more deserving than anyone else.

Just like you - born Apr 54 and made redundant at 60. After working 45yr and never claiming before, I got 6months unemployment @ £73/wk and that is it until I am nearly 66! I haven't been able to get another job because of covert ageism. I am now reliant on DH pension and have already started on my small private pension to eke this out. I wasn't able to join a pension fund until comparatively recently as I worked reduced hours because of child care - then money was tight but I contributed what I could afford. 1950s women have been abandoned by the Government and robbed of their independence and I am sick being labelled a "rich boomer" and of efforts to set generations against each other.

As a 67 year old in receipt of a state pension and my vocational pension, I feel no guilt whatsoever in being part of the triple lock. I was born after the Second World War into a one-parent family, lived with my mother in one rented room for several years, took on a paper round aged 12 as my mother struggled with her job in a laundry to keep us afloat, worked hard at school (to which I won a scholarship), and made my way to become an academic. I have taught in universities all my life until sickness forced early retirement. I love young people and want to secure their future which is why I voted not to leave the EU. However, I do not love them unconditionally - and too often I see a lack of any savings mentality among the young. Sure it was easier for us to buy property, but it was much harder to forge our way in life - no abortions on demand to allow women to continue to work when they wanted to, no maternity leave of any worth, and certainly far fewer women's rights in the workplace. Nowadays, life is very different for young people, and they have to make choices which many don't want to do. I live in London, and even with a state and a vocational pension, I need my travel pass otherwise I could not afford to travel. I own my small modest house, I look after my 90+ mother with dementia (she lives with me) and I can't afford nights out socialising. This theme of the old being pillagers of the young is a real nonsense. Indeed, many of us 'oldies' are doing unpaid work taking care of our parents and other loved ones, thereby not making calls on the NHS and social services which many in the media seem to accuse us of. This whole generational thing is a political football - if taxes were properly used and we had a correctly funded social infrastructure, and a society where huge corporations were not allowed to capitalise even further by not paying taxes, there would be sufficient money in the kitty to dispel any ridiculous separatist claims that the old are a scourge on the young.

I agree with Lucky girl wholeheartedly. You have to remember that our generation worked to ensure state pensions were available for our parents, and equally our children work to ensure our state pensions are there for us. Its not a luxury for most pensioners I know. The problem is that that quite a number of young people have no job prospects these days, hence less going into the treasury and more coming out. Its not our fault! its just bad planning by past and previous governments.

I'd like to see an MP living on £400 a month - actually just about anyone come to think of it.

When it comes to home buying, I do feel very sorry for young people from poorer backgrounds, without financial support from their families. We still live in the modest terraced house we brought our children up in - we never upsized, so have not had to downsize. ? When we moved in every single house was owner-occupied, by young families or couples. It's noticeable that as each house comes up for sale it's now snapped up for buy-to-let, and over half the 30 houses are now rented out to young people. One of our neighbours has just taken a stand and accepted a lower offer so that a young couple could buy their house to live in, and I hope my family do the same when ours is available. New houses are popping up all round us, and hundreds more planned in what used to be our village. None of them are affordable, in fact the cheapest so far are at least double the price of our local average. All on small "desirable" estates, so no affordable housing has to be included. The young working class has been shafted. And no, I don't feel any generational guilt about this, seeing as some of the buy-to-letters adding to their portfolios are half my age.

I too am so completely fed up with being browbeaten for being born in the 50s (1951 in my case). We're not all flush with cash, and we don't all have great pensions and big houses. There are just as many of us in the same position as the younger generations, but we are seen as the cause of their problems.

I went through crisis after crisis, losing my house because of impossible mortgage rates and consequent negative equity. I fought my way back each time, but the difference to the younger ones - as I see it - is that we knew about cutting our coats according to our cloth. I love my DD to bits, but she does seem to think, along with many of her peers, that if she wants something, she should be able to have it.

I remember all the making-do and cast-offs in our first house, and we saved when we could towards buying new things. I think credit has been the downfall of so many people.

I would like to know who can live on the full state pension. My husband and I have worked for over a hundred years during our life time, so far and we still work and pays taxes. Plus we feed all our children money all the time. I don't know what more our generation can do. I think we have done enough, quite frankly. I feel really sorry for women whose pension has been put back because if they haven't already got a job, they will find it hard to find one.

Well said, Hm.

When the state pension system was set up, the age chosen was just before people died naturally.
My husband died six months after he started receiving his.
Not all people in our generation live to benefit for years from the state pension, gillybob.

There is a lot of 'fake news' believed here. All this talk of bribes, blame, resentment.
We are the 6th largest economy in the world, our state pensions are low compared with Europe. Facts. So other economies look after their elderly better than we do. Opinion.
I belive a lot of this division is stoked up by the popular press who seem to love stirring.

....and where would all this money come from GGmk2? Surely there would be more people taking out than putting in.

I listened to a debate on the radio the other day and someone suggested that retirement should be scrapped all together and we should all work until we feel we can't do so any longer. Well my generation and those younger will be doing just that, working ourselves into an early grave.

Maggiemaybe how I echo your thoughts! if I could just have my bus pass it would be a great bonus..having no car and relying on bus or my little scooter (which I cant do a reasonable shop with) if I go into town/work9when I dont feel like walking) it costs me £2.10 one way (£3.60 return) for around a mile trip (taxi around 3.50) No doubt by the time we reach our target the bus passes will be long gone