State pension in britain

We have probably the lowest state pension rates by far, in the western world. Twas ever thus, and those of us who retired before 2016 get even less. That is why ( in my ever so humble) the triple lock must be kept so we dont drift back to those hard times in the 70/80s when pensions were even lower.
Nipsmum, enjoy your 40 p. A packet of crisps maybe? Eat slowly.

Oh and happy birthday too

Personally, I think 40p is an insult and it must cost a fortune to notify everybody that they are going to get such a drop in the ocean. My Mother's notification came with reams of paper. I think we should drop the pretence that we care about the elderly when it comes to this age related insult.

I live in Ireland and do receive some of their benefits. €17.50 per month allowance on electricity charges, and €105 towards a pair of specs. We do pay €1 for each item on a prescription up to a maximum of €15 reach month and we also pay for blood tests, ear syringing and €60 for the dr to sign off for disabled parking pass. I think food prices have remained fairly stable since the pandemic but quality was rotten initially post Brexit but has improved now. Oh yes - all over 70s get free tv licences

I do receive UK pension having lived and worked all my life there

Sadly the country cannot afford to give more unless taxation rises or pririties change . I had great aunts who thought it was just wonderful that the government gave them , what they thought , was a lot of money every week in their eyes for free . We have friends who somehow manage on their state pensions and no other income but I am sure it is hard . I would agree to have the TV license and Winter Fuel payments means tested and scrap the Christmas bonus .

N, consider yourself lucky. I received 25p. Must check if it's gone up. Thanks. Now I'm really excited!

When I turned 80 I was a few of days short of receiving £300 heating allowance---aside from the usual £200. How's that for tuff luck ? Anyone born beyond 25th of September doesn't qualify.

Sadly the country cannot afford to give more unless taxation rises or pririties change.

I would love to see figures that back that up.

What this country can't afford to give more in pensions, what a load of rot. The government seems to be able to find the money to give themselves a huge rise when needed, they find the money to subside their meals and drinks and other expenses. Then we could start on the waste with the track and trace, and so it goes on. The truth is the government isn't interested.

EV, I was two weeks late. Rubbish , eh?!

I agree with you Doodle and Barmey. In the 70s my German aunts were getting twice as much pension as my mum in the Uk. She had worked til she was 73 too. Aunts were horrified, mum was mortified, and nothing has changed.

SueD, and free travel on buses, trains and trams.

In Spain, the state pension is around €900 a month. They now are eligible at 65y 10mths. But they get this too!

What is Imserso?

Imserso is the holiday scheme for pensioners sponsored by the Spanish Government. During the off-peak season, from October to June, cheaper holidays are made available to resident pensioners in Spain, whatever their nationality.

There are many different destinations available from mainland Spain to the Balearics, Canary Islands and Portugal. Your holiday can be from 8, 10 or 15 days long and includes full board at three and four star hotels. There are also 5 day cultural tours and rural tourism holidays available.

Who is eligible?

The programme is open to anyone who is a resident of Spain and:

over the age of 65
aged 55 or over and receiving a widow's pension
aged 60 or over and receiving a government invalidity pension or early retirement pension
You can take a companion too - they don't have to be a pensioner.

What does each holiday include?

Transport to and from the capital city of the province where you live (for example, Alicante) to the hotel
Full board in a double or single room (with supplement)
Group Travel Insurance
National Health medical attention in the hotel*
Entertainment programme*
Three or four star hotels that comply with government standards
* except for the cultural and scenic tours

How much will it cost?

Here are some examples of holidays offered in 2012/2013:

8 daysAndalucía198€ per person
8 daysPortugal208€ per person
10 daysCanary Islands379€ per person
15 daysAndalucía358€ per person
5 daysCultural tour235€ per person
An Imserso holiday is often cheaper than staying at home!

How can I apply?

All you have to do is complete an application form which includes the following information about you and your companion:

NIE number
Type of pension and monthly income
Preferred destinations
You will then receive an acceptance letter to say that you're eligible and giving you your key number. With this you can go to a participating travel agent and book your holiday or you can book on line.

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Recently turned 80 years old. My State Pension amount received went up 25p per week. The Guaranteed Pension Credit I recieve went down 25p per week!!!!

They have the holiday programme in France as well Urmstongran when we did B&B we had a couple who stayed with us on this scheme so they could visit family in the area. This was a few years ago now so don't know if it's still available.

French and Spanish state pensions are more complicated than ours, and depend on the amount contributed.
Apologies for old EU data
January 2018
Spain£155-£535a week.
French pension is £130-£340 a week.

nipsmum, please do not blame the BBC with regard to having to pay for the Licence. The waiving of this Licence Fee to all pensioners was around for some years. It was a Tory Government that decided to stop it a few years back. At that time, the BBC was so disgusted that they offered to take this on and continue this.

However, over the last few years they have suffered so many cuts of their own from the government that they can no longer manage to continue this practice, which is why it has now been discontinued.

If our UK State Pension was in line with other similar countries, there would be no need to have these little ;'extras'. like WFA, etc. etc. The State Pension should be in line with Basic Wage and then no extras would be required.
B ut....Please put the blame regarding the loss of free TV licence firmly at the doors of those responsible - our Conservative Governments.

40p per week? That doesn't even buy a cup of tea a day.

Should the state pension be classed as benefit?
If so would we get more?

Fennel

Should the state pension be classed as benefit?
If so would we get more?

If is classed as a benefit, despite the fact that most of us have paid for it for decades (and yes, I know that the actual money we paid was used to fund others' pensions, but others are now paying the NI that should be used to pay ours).

The danger with that is that should an unscrupulous and uncaring government choose to do so they could means test it, so that anyone who has also paid into an occupational pension would not qualify, whereas it would be paid to those who contributed to neither.

Kim19

N, consider yourself lucky. I received 25p. Must check if it's gone up. Thanks. Now I'm really excited!

I'm sure DH only got 25p per week increase.
Should we complain?

It is classed as a benefit, Fennel, I complained about that many years ago and received a long explanation from the then Pensions Minister.

The bonuses and heating allowances are not incorporated into the pension so that they can take them away again if they wish, as they did with the TV licence.

In some countries the state pension is means tested.

The reason for the 25p upon reaching age 80, is because in around 1948, either at the same time or about the same time that the NHS was introduced, Old Age Pension as it was then called had an additional 5 shillings per week (decimalised as 25p in 1971) paid upon reaching the age of 80.

At that time, that 5 shillings a week extra was a substantial boost to the pension, bearing in mind that £4 a week was a good wage, but although the pension has been increased over the years, the 5 shillings extra at 80 was not, it has stayed at the same level. Now that the £4 a week good wage is now around £400 a week due to wage rises including inflation, that 25p really should be about £25 a week, which would be a good addition.

Also, many more people reach the age of 80 now than did then, less smog, better food, the NHS, better medicines and surgery and so on.

I think it is correct that the until recently male state pension age of 65 was set at 65 because around 1905 or so when that age was chosen, it was copied from what Bismarck had used in Germany when he had started state pensions there. However, I think that Bismarck chose 65 because very few men survived to that age, it was a matter of providing a pension to the few that did.

I remember reading a letter in a magazine some years ago from a woman who wrote that successive governments had kept the pension scheme going and she wrote - and it has worked! I think she was 72 and enjoyed going out to ballroom styled tea dances in the afternoons.

It seems to me that the big problem with pension financing is that when they set out the benefits just after the war they based the age that people would live on data of people passing away at that time, but many of those people had lived in different conditions than people born many years later. And conditions have improved enormously since the late 1940s. Though alas not for everybody as there is great poverty for some people in this country.

Fennel

Should the state pension be classed as benefit?
If so would we get more?

No, it is not a benefit, we paid for it in National Insurance contributions (or got credits if sick, out of work, or, in some circumstances, a carer).

I am wary that if it is called a benefit, the next thing is the benefit is means tested.

If it were called a benefit if anything we would probably get less gradually, so cash value would not go down but, like the 25p at 80, would not increase or would increase very very slowly.