State pension

What do We think about the news of the changes in the state pension then?

It now means people who were born between 6th April 1970 to 5th April 1978 will have to work a year longer before they can claim state pension 67 to 68 this as been brought forward by seven years, I was born 23rd Jan 1970 so looks like I could have just made it but it affects my wife as she was born in 1975.

Looks like a lot of people will have to work into there 70's in years to come, I'm so glad I'm paying into a railway pension scheme and can take it at sixty

Where does this leave you then with regarding the changes?

Hopefully, we'll have taken a more sensible attitude to things by then and it won't be as much of an issue. New technology (AI and robotics/automation) is going to make a huge number of jobs redundant in the next decade or two and nobody in government/politics has given this a second thought as yet. We'll need to change our whole economic set up to cope with this and our ever-aging population.

Interesting times ahead:

https://www.theguardian.com/bu.....exit-report-predicts

My worry is Maringer those of us who have paid into a Private pension will be penalised in our later years, surely they will make the state pension means tested in years to come, what's your take on this?

I think a citizens income is really going to be the only way forward - a guaranteed income at a level which will enable everybody to feed, houses and clothe themselves comfortably. This would make the state pension pretty much redundant. I expec that those with private pensions would still get their additional income though I think the extremely generous tax relief currently available would have to go.

A long way to go before this becomes a possibility, however. The housing market is so horribly broken as it stands that we'll need a complete collapse (or two) before prices reach an affordable level for most and millions will be left out of pocket from this - not to mention the banks who will again need to be bailed out (or probably privatised). General taxation levels will have to go up a good deal as well to fund the citizens income and pay for care for the elderly which will quickly become unaffordable in the current way things are organised due to the aging population. Possibly large government-funded social housing developments for the elderly will be required? We'll need serious wealth taxes to reduce the ever-increasing inequality (Land Value Tax is my guess) and shut down the present move to a rentier economy which does nothing but fill the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of innovation and productivity.

My only hope is that the technology which will take away so many jobs on the one hand will enable us to do so much more on the other. Energy prices a massive issue at present - I'd favour massive roll-out of nuclear power to resolve this issue for good, but the Greens are hoping for massive roll-out of renewables to do the same job. Either way, all of it depends on future improvements in technology and if either route works out, we'll have a solid basis to work from if we're not reliant on spending so much on oil and gas from overseas. Plentiful energy would make all sorts of recycling technology more affordable which would reduce our need for other resources.

All in all, there are so many massively complex issues which will have to be dealt with that it makes my head hurt so I'm not thinking about it much!

Very sneaky, no mention of this in their manifesto,  released the news after PMQ's  on the day BBC pay announced as well, just before the summer break, its almost as if they are a little embarrassed if that is possible for this inept crew.  Work till you drop under the Tories

I'd recommend anyone to ask for a state pension forecast of what you are likely to get at retirement. The rule used to be that you couldnt increase your pension after you'd paid contributions for 30 years. Now you lose one years entitlement in pounds and pence per yera you don't work. I retired at 56 after 38 years in my job. My pension forecast shows a reduction from the max. figure of £155 to reflect the fact I'm unlikely to pay any further contributions until my retirement pension kicks in at 66. Was a bit of a shock. You can pay the extra as a lump sum but the cost is considerable if like me you aren't now in work.

What you're saying Maringer, in simple terms, is we need more socialism not less.

Lots more socialism. Naturally.  

No way that the current neo-lib capitalist system can deal with the aging population in pretty much every developed country. I think it likely that it will require the almost complete collapse of this system for an alternative to be proposed or accepted, however.

If scientists can develop a cure/treatment for many of the common types of dementia pretty sharpish, we may be able to kick the can down the road a little longer, but this seems unlikely. We're facing an utterly unprecedented situation never before seen in history where a huge chunk of the population will be geriatrics who are expensively dependent on an ever-dwindling proportion of younger workers/carers.

You'd think older Conservatives would consider this as they vote to support Tory policies of shafting the young for the benefit of old voters. At some point, they are going to be utterly reliant on these younger people who I don't think will forget how difficult they've had things in comparison to the couple of generations.

OK, it's not likely to be Logan's Run territory, but still...  

Yeah but CEO's in the city will be "earning" 9.5 million, so not all bad news.

Quoted from barralad

I'd recommend anyone to ask for a state pension forecast of what you are likely to get at retirement. The rule used to be that you couldnt increase your pension after you'd paid contributions for 30 years. Now you lose one years entitlement in pounds and pence per yera you don't work. I retired at 56 after 38 years in my job. My pension forecast shows a reduction from the max. figure of £155 to reflect the fact I'm unlikely to pay any further contributions until my retirement pension kicks in at 66. Was a bit of a shock. You can pay the extra as a lump sum but the cost is considerable if like me you aren't now in work.

Anyone who wants to check their state pension forecast can do so at GOV.UK and register, it's easy enough.