Vince Cable Pensioners should go back to work

Always thought Vince Cable was a t**t. This confirms it. Let's all work until we drop and let the younger generations stay in paid education until they're 40.

Family/spouse carers save the government millions

I had intended to work till I was 65 but ended up retiring at 60 to look after my grandson. After 10 years of looking after grandsons I moved on to five years as my husband's carer. I think the economy will probably have found this more valuable than me making coffees five days a week

I believe his opinion is just to get a rise from people, he knows it would be unpopular and would get him noticed, hence he now has a thread about it. He will simply get to retirement age and agree he was talking a load of nonsense and agree after working for 50 odd years while paying tax he's entitled to enjoy his retirement, as we are. I take no notice of people who talk absolute rubbish about things they know nothing about.

Calistemon

^I don't know what kind of work you did, but there are probably opportunities somewhere for you to contribute the knowledge and skills you acquired in a limited capacity, without having to go out to work every day.^

There may be but the point I was trying to make is that, if someone wants to retire at retirement age, their skills will be much welcomed in other voluntary areas, they may want to further their knowledge by joining or running groups such as U3A etc.

Or providing childcare so that their children can work, pay their bills, build their careers.

Some may still want to work for various reasons but no-on should feel lazy for retiring at the State Pension age, should they? Particularly if they have worked in a physically demanding or stressful job.

They are not being lazy! which is what was being claimed by these two.

Their skills and expertise are not being wasted and they shouldn't have to feel at all guilty.

This is how I see it too. It's not a knee-jerk reaction, it is a sensible response to the idea that people who do choose to retire are somehow 'lazy'. That is the word I objected to - both the word and its connotations.

FWIW, I left full-time work at 57 for a number of reasons. I have done a sort of consultancy on a piecemeal basis ever since - basically I work part-time every summer (well, May to October) at a time when my employer is busy. What I do takes some of the strain off the full-time staff, is good for my self-esteem and brings in a bit of extra money, but I don't do it to avoid laziness, or out of any sense of obligation.

He's a twerp, but he does have a point. Younger people pay far more in National Insurance Contributions, which is just another form of taxation, than anybody of the older generation ever did.
As has been said on this very thread, many of 'the older generation' still pay NI, and have done so all our lives, so I'm not sure how that works.

I agree that there should be opportunities for older people to work doing what they are good at, but not that they should feel obliged to do anything they don't want to, or that (and I know that neither VC nor MRP said this) they should be expected to do unskilled work at minimum wage.

I think that there will be more opportunities for those who want them as the world of work changes and more people work from home. Someone of any age could continue in their own line of work (or diversify into another) by working at home with no commute or rigid hours, and with a lot of contract work there would be the ability to do it when it suits them.

If my boss hadn’t retired I would probably have carried on working even longer. As it was , I worked a couple of years over my retirement age because, in a long working life, she was the best boss I ever had and the only one with any sense, empathy or humour. Back to work.... NAH !

I agree with Vince Cable. I retired three years ago at 75 and miss the excitement and camaraderie of working enormously. I have recently talked to friends who agree that we should start a Job Centre locally for those 65 and over as there are massive numbers of vacant jobs. My idea would be for two people to job share a full time job. This would then enable care giving to continue. There are huge numbers of older people without grandchildren etc. Who would love to have a job, I have discovered during my enquiries.

Growstuff I’m certainly with you on the state support for the elderly, and within reason, for childcare.
We can’t help getting old. We can avoid having more children than we can afford. The problem is that even with only 2 children, if you need to work to live and don’t have convenient family care, a lot of what you earn goes on child care.

Mummer

Childcare??? Really? We had........oh ya mum/neighbours/mate/2 mornings at playschool we had to pay for . I actually had only the playschool from aged 2 AND they were only accepted if they were fully potty trained. No special parking spaces.no changing/feeding facilities. .........stingey family allowance for first 2 only........no dropped bus steps. No pushchair priority in buses etc. Steps and hazards everywhere..good heavens im suprised we have any surviving kids at all!! Problem? Everyone is focussed on what they can get and not enough on what they can contribute. I was really stuggling with finances when I had my little family, so I got sterilised as I could not afford any more than 2 children, I didn't just assume that the rest of the working population would pay for any more I carelessly had! The elderly have paid over and over and should be first I queue for any assistance. After all they don't have 30-50 more years to recover from hardship like the younger gens have

Everyone is focussed on what they can get and not enough on what they can contribute.

Does that include some elderly people?

Calistemon

"^But what I’m saying is there’s a lot of pressure on young people like me to foot the bill for the expanding health care services that the elderly require, there’s a higher dependency.^”
Said Parsons

But he misses the point that many retired people do pay tax.

He's a twerp, but he does have a point. Younger people pay far more in National Insurance Contributions, which is just another form of taxation, than anybody of the older generation ever did.

Childcare??? Really? We had........oh ya mum/neighbours/mate/2 mornings at playschool we had to pay for . I actually had only the playschool from aged 2 AND they were only accepted if they were fully potty trained. No special parking spaces.no changing/feeding facilities. .........stingey family allowance for first 2 only........no dropped bus steps. No pushchair priority in buses etc. Steps and hazards everywhere..good heavens im suprised we have any surviving kids at all!! Problem? Everyone is focussed on what they can get and not enough on what they can contribute. I was really stuggling with finances when I had my little family, so I got sterilised as I could not afford any more than 2 children, I didn't just assume that the rest of the working population would pay for any more I carelessly had! The elderly have paid over and over and should be first I queue for any assistance. After all they don't have 30-50 more years to recover from hardship like the younger gens have

"^But what I’m saying is there’s a lot of pressure on young people like me to foot the bill for the expanding health care services that the elderly require, there’s a higher dependency.^”
Said Parsons

But he misses the point that many retired people do pay tax.

Remember how he betrayed stdents after thy voted LibDem. He has no right to interfere in the lives of pensioners.

Shows how good the idiot from apprentice is if he has to go onto a TV reality show in order to try and get a job!! What's wrong with him? It must be bad.......as for Vince cab!e, I think he needs a face lift a hair transplant, a flabby belly tuck, his disgusting teeth sorting oh ya and do you think he's had a charisma bypass at some time in his 20s? .....if it's open season on insults, buckle up guys-ive got loads!!!!

Calistemon

Mollygo

LauraNorderr

I do agree with you all, honestly, but just to play devils advocate...
when we supply free elderly care to our parents and free child care for our adult children are we depriving another person of a paid job?

LauraNorderr it’s a good point, and in addition, there are those who look at older members of any workforce and point out that they are taking a job younger folk are entitled to have.

That could be argued but not everyone earns enough to pay childcare fees and some elderly people require more care than could be provided within their budget.

Maybe there should be more state support for child and elderly care.

maddyone

Whether Vince Cable believes older people are lazy or not, I would like to know why he thinks older people should go back to work. That’s it really, just why?

Did he use the word "should"?

Mollygo

LauraNorderr

I do agree with you all, honestly, but just to play devils advocate...
when we supply free elderly care to our parents and free child care for our adult children are we depriving another person of a paid job?

LauraNorderr it’s a good point, and in addition, there are those who look at older members of any workforce and point out that they are taking a job younger folk are entitled to have.

That could be argued but not everyone earns enough to pay childcare fees and some elderly people require more care than could be provided within their budget.

I am 69 years old. I started to work in my mam’s cafe when I was 13 years old - doing the washing up. Then I helped out at term times and after school. I was paid a small amount which I saved. Then when I was 15 years old I served petrol at a garage, worked on a saturday morning at a hairdressers - washing hair, sweeping up the cutting. 2 years secretarial college with working alongside it. Full time work for a lot of years while bringing up 3 children. I retired from my job early with stress at the age of 65 when I could have retired at 62. Nobody is going to ever call me lazy. Stupid sods!

LauraNorderr

I do agree with you all, honestly, but just to play devils advocate...
when we supply free elderly care to our parents and free child care for our adult children are we depriving another person of a paid job?

LauraNorderr it’s a good point, and in addition, there are those who look at older members of any workforce and point out that they are taking a job younger folk are entitled to have.

Chocolatelovinggran

I'm with you Calistemon, I think that's exactly the right job for me in retirement.I understand the pay is good, too, with benefits ( subsidised meals, etc)
Happy to do it as a jobshare - anyone join me?

There's a subsidised bar - and Christmas parties too!

maddyone

Whether Vince Cable believes older people are lazy or not, I would like to know why he thinks older people should go back to work. That’s it really, just why?

Yes, why?

Mind you, if I got paid well for going on a TV programme and spouting rubbish I might do it!
But it's not work in any meaningful sense, is it.

I'm with you Calistemon, I think that's exactly the right job for me in retirement.I understand the pay is good, too, with benefits ( subsidised meals, etc)
Happy to do it as a jobshare - anyone join me?

Whether Vince Cable believes older people are lazy or not, I would like to know why he thinks older people should go back to work. That’s it really, just why?

growstuff

Calistemon Did Vince Cable claim that people are lazy?

No.

I'm being lazy at the moment, as I'm lounging around, peeking at GN.
But I have just been for my booster.

I don't know the current figures for the UK, but here, as in most other countries in the Western world, we have a significant number of 30+ people who have finished university or college training and who cannot get a job of any kind.

We also have a large number of people who are forced to live and bring up families on social security, or unemployment benefit. Most of them are like the graduates desperate to find work.

Surely, it would make more sense to get everyone in the 30-70 age group in permanent work before encouraging the 70+ group to go back to work.

We have worked, paid taxes, are still paying taxes and contribute quite significantly to society in one way or another,

Anyone calling us lazy does not know what he or she is talking about, and is probably just looking for a section of society to turn into scapegoats who can be blamed for everything that is wrong or difficult.