raising pension age

I was lucky enough to retire at 60. I am now 75 and, whilst I do keep busy, I don’t think I could cope with working full-time now.

The problem is, as has already been stated, that the earth is now overpopulated. Obviously, the more people there are, the more expensive it becomes to provide health care, education, pensions etc.

Don’t ask me for an answer. The only ones I can think of hark back to Hitler! It would take a better brain than mine to come up with an answer that does not impinge on personal freedom.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GracesGran, My guess is that this is an appeal to younger voters, some of whom resent having to work longer to receive less, whilst propping up pensioners, many of whom were lucky enough to experience better pension rights and the opportunity to make loads of money from property. (Could be wrong - it could just be thoughtlessness by IDS - wouldn't be the first time.)

Some people aren't aware of a double whammy introduced by the Conservatives with changes to Universal Credit.

It used to be the case that anybody over 60 (male or female) could claim Working Tax Credit if they worked at least 16 hours a week. This mean that 60 year olds could have a part-time job and possibly claim a top-up.

However, changes introduced by the Conservatives now mean that 60+ year olds have to meet the same conditions as others of working age, ie work 30 hours a week.

Anybody who has ever done the maths with Universal Credit knows that somebody earning the "Living" wage for 30 hours a week will not be eligible for Universal Credit, because they earn too much. The self-employed are particularly badly affected.

The outcome is that anybody (male or female) reaching 60 and feeling that they want to wind down, maybe for health reasons, won't receive any state help, as they have done in the past. It was never a huge amount, but it eased the financial issues a little. Another little perk, free bus passes, has also been delayed to state pension age.

If the government is serious about providing any kind of transition, so that people can choose when to retire, it needs to consider the above.

I have some sympathy with what Whitewave is saying. Just how many of us do the Tory government have to bring to destitution before conservative voters stop believing they are a safe pair of hands? The are basically in the hands of wreckers but some seem to be prepared to look the other way until it is their lives that are wrecked.

I struggled a lot with exhaustion, stress and various health conditions for my last couple of years at work. Not many people can do a full time demanding job much past mid 60s. Raising the pension age to 70 or 75 will just mean far more people on JSA or ESA or other working age benefits which are much lower than the pension. Even if you are fit enough to work, how many employers will give a job to over 60s?
We are no longer talking about women retiring earlier as we have caught up with men who also no longer retire at 65.

I can’t see a Tory government making another raid on pensions, given the demographic of their voters. It’s a canny bit of scaremongering to distract from their Brexit disaster.

My high-achieving professional career couldn't be called manual or physical, but due to stress it caused I got ill-health retirement at 56. I'm 70 now, and the thought of still doing that job is nearly enough to cause a relapse, let alone doing it to 75

Yes saw this in the paper this morning. Your supposed to retire in your sixties like my husband and I did not in your seventies when your too knackered to be able to enjoy your retirement.
Rediculous nutty man.

Exactly what paddyann said up thread .

I’m 57 and have another 10 years and 4 months to go for a pension , by which time my DH ( who will be 78) will have probably worked himself to death . No private pensions here .

People do actually have to do that now...it wasn’t a suggestion. If you are married and need nursing home care....the amount will be taken from your estate when the other partner dies. If you are alone and go into a home....then your home is sold to pay for your care. Your kids will only get your home if you both drop dead and didn’t need care...or you have plenty of savings. My husband and I, a nurse and doctor, fully intend to buy an open top care, enjoy a final fling....and drive off a cliff edge in Italy....or health not permitting, Beachy Head!

Hetty pensioners here in the West Midlands also have free bus and rail travel including the tram.

crystaltipps, good point!

The UK is a rich country, whichever way you measure it:

fullfact.org/economy/uk-worlds-5th-or-9th-largest-economy/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgKeA_ryM5AIVyYTVCh0DJw9BEAAYASAAEgKaD_D_BwE

There is enough money to go round - it’s just the richest 10% own 90% of it.

mcem ? not all but a large enough percentage for the Tories to feel complacent.

mcem, true, I'm a pensioner and I'm proud to say that I've never voted Tory in my life.

Anyone living in a London borough can get a 60+ Oyster card (for £20), once 60 years old and have free travel. It should be extended to the entire country, I believe.

It annoys me that I can’t retire until I’m 67 (first age to have to work till then).
My nhs pension scheme also takes nearly 10% of my salary off me as superannuation and I will get a pension based on what I put in.
Fair enough, but had I been a few years older I would have got a pension based on final salary, made less contributions and be able to retire earlier! I would also have received my state pension at 60 as well! I’m not over the moon about all of this but, unfortunately, there just isn’t enough money to go round, so just have to accept that we are having to support all those who did retire at 60!

However, how many of those females who think they should be able to retire 5 years younger than men, fought for gender equality? If you want equality you can’t pick and choose which parts we want to be equal in and it’s unfair to expect men to work longer to support us having a longer retirement!

Thanks mcem, I agree. Never voted Tory in my life and never will ... the state to which they have brought us is enough to assure me that my life-long choice has been correct. Plus every time I hear a news presenter saying something about the Prime Minister and I see a picture of BoJo I think, "Surely he's not our PM, he's a joke (and a very bad one at that!)".

WW please don't attach the Tory voter label to all pensioners. You know that's not the case!

The idea is that ordinary folks will work until they drop and no pension will need to be paid as they'll be pushing up the daisies! Rest assured though they will still take a massive pension and more pay rises. It's time for change.

Has Ian Duncan Smith ever done or suggested anything that hasn't been appalling?

For some reason they keep being voted back in.

Of course something has to pay for the staggering amount of money Johnson is prepared to throw at his vanity project.

It might just as well be the pensioners as they will faithfully troop into vote Tory regardless.

I think the whole issue of government and elected mps should be reformed I was always told mps represented their constituents like in business we should have the right to fire mps who don't act in our best interests.
Successive governments have got us into the mess we are in and we are paying the price for their failures I really despair for the future and I am a young 63!

Urmstongran 'He facilitated the changes by bringing them forward by a good few years - in the name of austerity.

Snake.'

well yes, he did. But we are NOW and Clegg is NOT RESPONSIBLE. It is those YOU support NOW who are responsible for what is happening NOW - including this. Snakes and serpents for sure.

OH retired at 62 from his GP practice- I am absolutely sure he would be dead had he continued to 70. And as a secondary school teacher teaching languages in a large Comprehensive school- there is absolutely NO WAY I could have continued to teach beyond 60. I retired without pay just before - and got my pension at 65- on of the few from 1951 who managed to so so.