Do you want to retire ?

Originally Posted by Masque

The changes in retirement law were you can now work into your dotage with no cut off point at 65 plus womens retirement ages going up from 60 as well what other evidence do you need to see that they want you to die without taking a pension.

Also this has no political point to prove as all parties want the same.

What 'other' evidence? You haven't even provided starters. Let's get that sorted first, eh?

You can't quote a fact and then simply assert that it proves whatever point you want to make. That's not how evidence works.

The facts - for there are many - are that the retirement age is going up, and the average life expectancy is going up, and there are increasing numbers of people who have expressed a desire not to be compelled to stop working at the current age. Women, in particular, have always lived statistically longer than men so it is a long-standing oddity that their retirement age has been lower.

This country faces a massive social care bill for the elderly because the system is being asked to pay out on a scale it was never designed for. As Hugh states, this is basically because it was built on the assumption that it was caring for a relatively modest number of people, as a proportion of the population, who in the case of men were on average claiming from the system for 8 years before dying.

Now, however, we have a proportionally much larger chunk of the population claiming on (male) average for 14 years before dying. Raising the retirement age to 67 or even to 70 doesn't come anywhere near your somewhat hysterical claim that "they" want you to die before you have a chance to claim your pension. In fact, a single male/female retirement age of 70 still gives those being born today an average 9 years of retirement, against the 8 years average when the State pension was set up.

So you see, the evidence says you're talking out of your hat.

I go to work to earn money to pay the bills. If I could get them to pay me without having to turn up, I would jump at it. So yes, when I can afford it, I will retire.

[slowcoach]

You can draw your State Pension and carry on working when you hit retirement age or you can defer drawing your pension and get a higher pension later. Those that choose to take the money and keep working will get a higher tax code to allow for the pension amount, also NI payments stop as you are deemed to have paid your subs.

Life is good....

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Chris

What 'other' evidence? You haven't even provided starters. Let's get that sorted first, eh?

You can't quote a fact and then simply assert that it proves whatever point you want to make. That's not how evidence works.

The facts - for there are many - are that the retirement age is going up, and the average life expectancy is going up, and there are increasing numbers of people who have expressed a desire not to be compelled to stop working at the current age. Women, in particular, have always lived statistically longer than men so it is a long-standing oddity that their retirement age has been lower.

This country faces a massive social care bill for the elderly because the system is being asked to pay out on a scale it was never designed for. As Hugh states, this is basically because it was built on the assumption that it was caring for a relatively modest number of people, as a proportion of the population, who in the case of men were on average claiming from the system for 8 years before dying.

Now, however, we have a proportionally much larger chunk of the population claiming on (male) average for 14 years before dying. Raising the retirement age to 67 or even to 70 doesn't come anywhere near your somewhat hysterical claim that "they" want you to die before you have a chance to claim your pension. In fact, a single male/female retirement age of 70 still gives those being born today an average 9 years of retirement, against the 8 years average when the State pension was set up.

So you see, the evidence says you're talking out of your hat.

I am being hysterical am I when the facts speak for themselves that our retirement age is going up whether we like it or not just to cover the shortfall in monies to pay for pensions, I have no need to provide any facts because that speaks for itself as our parents all were able to officially retire at 60 and 65 respectively.

Cost is the real factor here and if you are to blinkered to see that then so be it and this falls at no polical parties feet, as they have all realised that as a nation we are living longer and they know the money is not available to fund the future pension bill for everyone.

Masque, our parents retired at 60 and 65, but died at (roughly) 72 - we will be getting pensions at 68, but dying (roughly) at 80.

So, we will still have (if you are male) five more years of pension.

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Masque, our parents retired at 60 and 65, but died at (roughly) 72 - we will be getting pensions at 68, but dying (roughly) at 80.

So, we will still have (if you are male) five more years of pension.

We still should not have the goalposts moved every couple of years or so, as I for one do not want to work until I am 70 plus because I want to enjoy life and I am looking forward to that time.

Have you saved for a pension to support that aspiration?

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Have you saved for a pension to support that aspiration?

I have 4 company pensions plus anything else I may or may not get of the state.

Originally Posted by Masque

I have 4 company pensions plus anything else I may or may not get of the state.

I am in the same boat.

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Hugh

I am in the same boat.

At least I only have a little over a year before the mortgage is paid which is a plus point.

Originally Posted by Halcyon

I'd like to retire but not stop work completely. You need something to keep you going and make your brain work and going to work gets you thinking.

I can find plenty to do..

Originally Posted by Masque

We still should not have the goalposts moved every couple of years or so, as I for one do not want to work until I am 70 plus because I want to enjoy life and I am looking forward to that time.

Tough. Someone has to pay for your retirement. That would be me and my children. Why should we pay to keep you for 15 years when my parents only paid to keep the generation before them for 8-10 years?

Your generation has gone right through life expecting this handout, that handout and the other from the State. You've mortgaged all our futures, so forgive me if I'm unsympathetic at the thought of you sharing the pain for your generation's failure to build all of us a robust, sustainable economy.

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by Chris

Tough. Someone has to pay for your retirement. That would be me and my children. Why should we pay to keep you for 15 years when my parents only paid to keep the generation before them for 8-10 years?

Your generation has gone right through life expecting this handout, that handout and the other from the State. You've mortgaged all our futures, so forgive me if I'm unsympathetic at the thought of you sharing the pain for your generation's failure to build all of us a robust, sustainable economy.

I am older than you Chris so wrong generation.

I take it you noticed that I have 4 pension funds as well.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by mertle

Thats beautiful point possibly what everybody does.

A huge point THE GOVERNMENT fail to understand Nobody wants to work to point that there body cant enjoy there retirement.

To FORCE people to work this late and be lifetime workers is plainfully wrong.

What firms going to do with those they cant retire on grounds agesm basically no longer capable doing the work and forced to keep them in meanual jobs.

Its like the government want the companies to be the pension of the government.

People could always sacrifice a little and save for their own retirement rather than assuming the government will pay.

Odd concept for many I know.

---------- Post added at 21:47 ---------- Previous post was at 21:43 ----------

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

I read an interested article in todays Daily Mirror in the letters column, with Ian Duncan Smith saying that most people don't want to retire (probably to save the government paying out the pension to early).

I feel strongly that people who have work hard all there lives, should retire if they feel it.

I was born in 1951 and have worked in all sorts of places, done some really hard jobs and l have another 5 years to go till my official retirement age of 65.

So when l reach that golden age, l certainly will seriously consider it, especially if the wife wants to also, l have three great kids and three lovelly granchildren to look after.

What does anyone think.

I'm aiming to retire at 55, 60 at the latest and am contributing to pension funds accordingly to make it a reality. In addition I have other savings and will continue to accumulate them.

I'm cutting back on expenditure to permit saving to buy a home and then pay that mortgage off in 20 years, and to ensure a reasonable quality of life, I'm assuming that the government will give me nothing.

Originally Posted by Masque

I am older than you Chris so wrong generation.

I take it you noticed that I have 4 pension funds as well.

Er no, that was exactly my point. You are older than me. You will retire before me. My taxes and possibly those of my kids will fund your retirement. And I see no reason why my taxes should fund a 15-year retirement for you, when my parents' taxes funded only an 8-10 year retirement for those that went before them - especially as it was you baby boomers that urinated so much of this country's natural wealth up the wall.

Congratulations on having 4 pension funds though, it's nice that you have lived through an age when there was enough spare cash about for that sort of thing.