Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11243976

An interesting idea that might support the idea of raising the retirement age..

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I see evidence that work age is slipping from 16 to 65 to something more like 20 to 69. Same number of years, but a later start due to poor employment prospects for teenagers.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Yes, very!

Personally I think people should be allowed to work as long as they wish (provided they are capable). The idea of forcing someone to stop working simply because of their age is ridiculous.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Then you have to get into arguments about whether they are capable or not. If you have a definite fixed upper age limit then there can be no arguments. Lower age limits are fixed for the same reason.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I want to retire on my retirement day which is already 7 months over the age of 65 due to govenment rules as I want to enjoy retirement and not have to worry about keeping a job until I die which is what they want to happen as they are loath to pay pensions.

I do think that the should be an age limit after which you can no longer work as otherwise where are the jobs going to come from for the younger people if the workforce continues to age.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I thought the issue was that we need people to work longer, as we don't have the supply of younger people, and the cost of pensions is getting more expensive.

Alas, I will need to work until over 65...if i still have a job. Next 10 years, if you see an old guy flipping burgers in mcdonald's..and you aren't seeing a reflection..it might be me :D

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I would retire at 60 given the chance as I want to enjoy freedom from drudgery and no longer having to work and my mortgage will be a distant memory at 60 as well.:)

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I wanted to be able to retire at 60..unfortunately because of the levelling up of the retirement age from 60 for women I have to go until I'm nearly 63.In fact it means my husband will retire before me..no fair.:(

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Good attitude.

My retirement age will totally determined by finances. It may when I'm 70 or it may be on Monday if those lottery numbers have rolled properly.;)

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

In an ideal world retired people would be users of goods & services, which would help provide employment for those providing said amenities.

Unfortunately that relies on the premise that people retiring will have sufficient disposable income to make such a situation sustainable.

With hindsight it can be seen that this level of income after retirement may only be possible for people who have made provision over & above the requirements that qualify for a 'state pension'.

In the worst case people might find that 'compulsory' retirement would plunge them into a scenario where they are still paying off a mortgage/car loan/credit card - which their pension entitlement won't cover. These people will, probably, want to carry on working, rather than deal with the consequences of their remaining debts.

Interest rates currently are such that private or occupational pension schemes are suffering badly. The number of schemes being moved from a 'final salary' basis is a consequence of this - too many schemes are in deficit - and, in fact are having an effect on employment, the Royal Mail being a case in point, their pension deficit being a major factor in the decision to float the business.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I should also say..if I win the lottery, it won't be me in the burger joint, unless it was only three numbers :)

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

The NHS funding is already variable as to what part of the country you are in so tihs is no surprise.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

That, and the current low interest rates are what will hit me hard. The original plan was to liquidate my property investments and take an income from capital invested. Now, there's no interest available so I'd have to be living off my capital. Also the value of an annuity from my private pension scheme has dropped dramatically recently.

All in all, it looks like I'll be working for a year or two yet..

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I still can't see where the jobs will be available for anyone over 65?Are we all going to be in retail selling to each other..I can't see me teaching at 70..and I know that it's against the law these days to discriminate on the grounds of age but how likely is it that they won't just make the elderly workers redundant in the present climate so when the economy improves they can get in younger workers.:(

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Que?

My contribution to my pension scheme is quite prodigious precisely to ensure I can retire at some point before I'm too old to actually do anything with that retirement.

Quick check suggests I'd have the equivalent of £1320 / month at current prices if I maintain current contributions. Main concern is paying for my housing, I need to purchase and pay for a home before then which is looking rather difficult with the housing market as screwed as it is here.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

We'll all be doddering about in B&Q shouting at the customers.

---------- Post added at 11:37 ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 ----------

My recent comparisons show my property investment to have done rather better than my PP scheme.
With hindsight I would have been better off forgetting about a private pension and instead buying another house or two.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Which is precisely the reason my own home is unaffordable for me :)

Dear Gordon's fault for removing the higher rate tax relief - people invest in property, property goes up in value making it yet more attactive, more people invest, etc, etc. Causes minor issues for people like me who would traditionally be able to purchase a home though. Anyway slightly off topic.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Yup - only way to ensure a (reasonably) comfortable retirement is to save (be it in a Pension Fund or property - btw, pension funds are cyclical, so as long as we take a medium-to-long term view of savings, we should be OK); problem I have, like a lot of people in IT, is that I changed jobs roughly every four or five years, and whilst you can transfer your contributions, you lose the companies contributions and pay transfer fees. I tried to mitigate this in the early 90's by taking out a personal pension, and convincing the companies I worked at to contribute to it; that worked until I joined BT Cellnet, who weren't as flexible (ho-hum).

So, at the moment, I have about five little pensions which should return about £500 a month, I am in a final salary pension which (if I can hang on for 12 more years, and into which I pay 14% of my gross salary) will give me a quarter of my salary, and the mortgage gets paid off late next year (meeting one of my goals, which was paying off the mortgage before I was 55 (just)); (then I will probably have to pay for my daughter's wedding a few years after that, which should manage to take most of our savings....:dozey:).

However, as I said at the beginning, I don't think the state pension will pay for much more than the basics, so it is up to us all to put something away to make our retirement, whenever it happens, a bit more enjoyable.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Took early retirement last year, paid enough into my pension to allow me to retire at 57.

Problem is I got bored after about 6 months so now setting up a small business to keep me occupied. Converting a hobby into a businees so I will doing something I enjoy.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Well done! Stories like yours give me strength on difficult days at work.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

At 40 years of age I was pretty much on target to retire at 55.

At 51, I'm pretty much crossing my fingers that I'll have some retirement years before I'll croak. :(

During my 40s I did manage to squeeze in 1 divorce, remarried and had 2 kids.:D

I reckon I'm getting more enjoyment bringing my kids up just now than I would have tearing lumps out of golf course when I'm 55.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

im 21, during my life time i will pay many fold more tax than the current load of pensioners and i will not have a state pension at all, work 'til i drop

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

At your age you seriously need to consider your options and start paying into a pension ASAP.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Wanna bet? ;)

at the moment, I pay around £3k a month Income Tax and NI, and have done so (sometimes a lot more, sometimes a little less) for the last 10 years.

Sweeping generalisations - not a proposition's best friend....:D

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I'd love to be in the position that I had to pay £3k tax per month.:D

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

You wouldn't want the bills that come with that kind of income believe me ;)

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Proportionately the amount of tax you pay won't be much different to 'the current load of pensioners' - I'm not sure what point you are trying to make with that statement?

Can you quote any links to support your assertion that you won't receive a state pension?

In any case I thought you were looking to enrol in the Armed Forces - in which case you would benefit from their pension scheme.

from

http://www.army.mod.uk/join/terms/1141.aspx

I would, personally, always recommend an occupational pension as the most desirable option - especially as you can (currently) start taking it before the state retirement age.

The statement above implies a person joining the Army at age 21 could 'retire' on half pensionable pay at age 56 - that hardly amounts to a 'work 'til I drop' scenario?

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

I've got the bills for that level of income.... just not got the matching level of income.;)

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

No you won't - prior to Gordon's hiking up of the tax burden to pay for his vision of Britain taxes have been relatively low and remain so compared with the levels of taxation paid in the past.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

But would you want the sleepless nights, the stomach ulcers, the stress and depression, the never knowing if you were going to be summarily dismissed on a whim - that's what the people who work for me have to endure......


(j/k ;))

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

:D:D Have you no compassion.

It's the likes of you that are keeping those bolshey national health nurses in employment. :D

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

It should be remembered that there are currently many OAPs who living costs are pitiful through no fault of their own and have been the victims of the unforeseen machinations of others.The Maxwell pension fund fiasco comes to mind.:(

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

That is true & should be taken into account, as you say.

However, even so, the concept that people should be responsible for making their own arrangements for their retirement should, in my opinion, be more prevalent.

Do supply teachers qualify for benefits under the teachers pension scheme, Maggy?

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Thought I'd done that - then the State and the people that own them ate it all up.

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

i am not familiar with that ?

and i am not having a dig at them (the current oap's) at all just stating that somebody of my age i honestly think would be stupid to expect a state pension

---------- Post added at 17:37 ---------- Previous post was at 17:35 ----------

yeah i agree with you however for the amount of tax we ALL pay through our lifetime it is only fair the state provide is with a few years of rest before we croak it

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

Robert Maxwell

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1249739.stm

Avoid the repeated part and move to the bottom to get the meat of the tale..;)

Re: Cost of ageing population 'needs re-calculating'
 

bloody hell, dodgy man