Lell
I think you must remember that we have paid into our state pension over the years. It isn't our fault that successive governments have not invested into a good pension plan for us. France, for instance has a much better pension than those in the UK.
I do think it is difficult for you g people today but many have very high expectations. We sat on boxes in our first property and had second hand carpets. When people are single they may find it difficult to manage, particularly if they are just above the pension credit system. Prices are rising everywhere and I think we will all find it more difficult in the future.
I agree with this. Governments blame pensioners for their own lack of planning, and persuade others that we are to blame, too, when in fact we did what was asked of us, in the expectation that we would be paid pensions without resentment in our turn. Many of today's female pensioners have had six (or more fewer) years of pension than their older sisters, who may also have benefited from grammar schools and other opportunities that we were denied, yet those older sisters are often the ones calling for cutbacks, from the perspective of having comfortable lifestyles based on better chances and better occupational pensions.
Wyllow, I disagree with you. I do think that need has to be taken into account, but also that (as with the ant and the grasshopper) people who didn't work, or paid less in can't morally expect to get the same pension as people who did. It's just not reasonable. The levels of pension are so low that it doesn't make sense to pay less to those who have contributed less (or nothing) so the only fair way is to increase the amount paid to those who have so there is a proper differential.
As things are, life in the UK feels unfair to many people. It may be that it's no more so than ever, (I don't know, as it's so hard to measure like against like as times change), but as the COL is so high, many hard working families are doing without basics, and they see others getting benefits or top-ups that bring in more money to their households than the working families are getting. This can feed resentment of immigrants and other groups (such as older people), which is magnified by Reform and similar parties.
As I said upthread, I think that too many people only see their own 'bubbles' where friends and family are better off, or who lived their working lives at times when there were more opportunities than now, and don't rub up against the increasingly grim reality for many people who work hard but won't get any pension until they are 68 (or older) and are now being told it might be means-tested, whilst others don't work but get benefits and will be looked after in older age. Those in work may well be paying out chunks of their salaries in student loans that they had to take out to get decent jobs that mean they pay the taxes and NI that some don't.
The UK has a democracy that works on consensus. That consensus is being eroded, as more and more groups are being pitched against one another. The alternative is authoritarianism, which, ironically, is likely to be less forgiving of those who don't pull their weight.
As regards pension, a system that rewards work with contributions proportionate to individual income by paying a flat rate at retirement, topped up by whatever other arrangements people want to (or can afford to) make is fair if it is transparent, and everyone can see that they will take out according to what they put in. Higher amounts paid by those with higher incomes will cover the lower contributions of the lower paid. Those who don't pay in should only get out if they were unable to work, and then only if their household (rather than individual) income is very low.
Obviously those with caring responsibilities (for babies and pre-school children, older or sick/disabled relatives etc), or who are too ill to work would have contributions made for them, but otherwise there should be no subsidies. In times of high unemployment, there should be contributions made for jobseekers who are looking for work and willing to take any job after, say, six months of trying to find work in their own field. That way, if there is a clear link between pension and contributions, there should be less resentment and a more cohesive society. Similar arrangements should work for top-up and other benefits, so that they are directly linked to hours, not income, with sensible arrangements made for childcare where appropriate. Maybe some imaginative thinking such as letting parents have ten tax free years (or similar) would work? I remember how expensive it was to pay childcare, commuting charges, and all the other expenses involved in going to work - that must be even worse on low wages. Perhaps we need to look at that side of things, too, and make it easier for young families to have a decent lifestyle.
