state pension

They also managed to sneak through another change that will affect many of us, and not in a good way (of course!) - "opted out" years don't count towards the "universal" pension. People think they will at least have the benefit of a higher pension when we eventually get there, but it's not going to be the case for most of us.

When I was working you needed 40 years of NI contributions to get a full SP. I had something like 37 when I retired and so did not get the full SP. They then gave everyone who had stayed home to look after children some bonus time so I had almost the 40. As I had paid Graduated pensions and Earnings related pension I do get a bit more added to the payment - but that part of the pension never goes up and neither do any SERPS payments - bit of a con there too.

Good lord jusnoneed, I hope you drive & don't have to rely on those buses!
Despite what the government say, I don't recall being informed about SP age rises in the 90s either! By 2011 I'd left my teaching career to go self employed, knowing that I'd done my 30 years to qualify for my SP which I was still expecting at 60. Result is that even when I reach 66 I will not get full pension as they've also increased the number of qualifying years you have to pay NI. Talk about ripping us off!

My original State Pension was changed to March 2017 way back in the 90's, (was not informed of this). I was then 63 1/2.

When I eventually found this out, I then realised that in 2011 the Coalition had raised it by another year to March this year! I would then be 64 1/2 Only 6 years to go and it was raised again!

So my SP age has been moved twice, without notification. Hence I have joined WASPI and have followed all the template letters of complaint. It remains to be seen how effective this may be?

Four pounds fifty for 15 miles return trip, bargain carol58. Return to/from town here is about two miles, to the next town return would be 12 miles and eight pounds.

gillybob

I seriously think you should ask DWP to double-check your forecast. Even the latest proposals I can find regarding raising the pension age to 68 say it should not affect anyone born before 1970! Everything I have found on their websites suggests that you will be able to retire at 67 (I even ran a birthdate of 31/12/62 through their online calculator and it gave a retirement age of 67). That's bad enough, I know, but still better than 68.

Please check it out, as they do make mistakes!

My return fare to town is 4.50 for a total distance of 15 miles. If the council pay only 1.38 subsidy to cover a free pass return is it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure why the fares are so expensive! No wonder it's only free pass holders who use the buses....

The council does pay them some money, but now they are no longer getting so much funding. According to the bus company they received 69p for each use of a pass. Not enough to cover costs. I always thought this would happen, I don't know why they couldn't do a reduced charge. To go into town from here costs over three pounds return, if you wanted to carry on to next town it's about eight. So if the bus contains lots of pensioners (some here go daily) that's a big hit to the company.

If you received your pension at 60 with all the related perks then you are very lucky. My birthday is early fifties and I had to wait for my pension. The changes were brought in too quickly and with little notification. Many people have been wrong footed in their retirement plans as they had no time to rethink and plan their finances.

I think many councils would like to see the end of free bus passes. But no-one has the guts to upset the "old people" (sorry, don't mean to be offensive but in our town it's true). Surely a subsidised pass would be fairer. Our LA is poor with very high council taxes for pathetic services and not enough people paying. My council tax is set to rise another 6% this year. It really can't go on.

Pension pay day is determined by your national insurance number and you no longer miss out on the first part week. My pension date is a Tuesday and my pay day a Thursday so the first week I will get 3 days worth on Thursday (I'm being paid weekly)

If the council do subsidize it Niobe then I still wouldn't be surprised if it gets scrapped since there's supposedly no money in budgets for anything these days! But we're digressing here. OP will be cross we've hijacked her post to talk about bus passes !

I agree with Niobe. The bus pass cost is the councils not the bus companies. There must be routes where the use of bus passes has kept the bus service going.

Someone was wondering exactly when a State Pension is paid, whenever you cross the magical moving(?) date. From my experience working for DWP and been in receipt of my pension for 10 years, it is not payable (or wasn't then) until the first Monday after the day of first entitlement. So very much luck of the draw. I lost a few days. It could gave been worse I suppose. But imagine how much this rule is worth to the government!

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the goalposts
change yet again. My expected retirement at 60 has increased by over 8 years so half expected to change again, if indeed I even get to 68.

I thought that it isn't the bus company who pays for our free bus travel but the council. I thought the bus company gets money for every journey taken using a concession pass.

Didn't realise about the NI Maggiemaybe . Just something else to rip us off with eh? My local bus has the same problem jusnoneed. Because it's already infrequent & pretty useless for anyone commuting to work the only people who use it regularly are retired bus pass holders. I can see a day when it will be scrapped too. Probably before I get my bus pass!

I'm just wondering if it will change again before I hit the 66 year bit! Wouldn't be at all surprised.

A note re the free bus pass, we are about to lose our bus service, went around the town/doctors surgery/school and onto the next big town, because so many free bus passes were used it became non viable. The bus company said if they had received one pound for each journey they would of been able to keep going. Food for thought. It's happening a lot around the county.

Ah well, we can but try, carol! I'm adding my own little extras into number 3 - the lack of the bus pass will be one, and the fact that the DWP told me in a letter a few years back that I wouldn't have to pay any NI contributions once I got to 60 - another thing that's changed with the latest SPA hike.

Maggiemaybe You're not on your own struggling for time to write the complaint letters but I promise to forego my research project this week and get on with it. Although I still doubt it will get us anywhere.....

Have you all done your formal letters of complaint, following the templates on the Waspi website?

I must admit I’ve been sitting on the third one for a few weeks - 1 and 2 were a doddle, but this one needs more work on my part. Must crack on with it tomorrow- the holidays are over!

So agree carol 58!

Well I wasn't expecting so many of you to agree with me about the pension age rise being unfair! Yes I've signed the petition etc. but very much doubt we'll get anywhere . I also have friends only a little older who've had their pension, bus pass etc. for several years and have freedom to travel taking their DGC all over the place for only the child's fare. I've got to wait til66 for my bus pass as well as my pension, so a double whammy there. You ladies who got your pension & bus pass at 60 are so very lucky to have it at all, whether it's weekly, 4 weekly or monthly!

Another here whose plans were scuppered. DH's 65th birthday and my 60th fell in the same week, so we'd always "known" we'd retire together. Well, he got his pension that week, but I'm now 63 with 3 years still to wait.

And now the rapidly rising life expectancy rate that was used to justify the steep hike in state pension age has ground to a halt.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40608256

Yes our age gap of four years wasn't going to be a problem, I was going to retire at 60, then dh 65 I would have had just one year on my own waiting for him to retire.Now Dh retires next month and I have another five years to work, so unfair.

I am unlucky fifties birthdate so went from promise of pension st 60 to 66 not sure how I will cope if dh goes before me as I have no income he is 10 years older would have sell up I think.
We may try do this when I fully recover from major spinal op last August.

It's very unfair a friend 2 years older has her pension, bus pass, and concessions at local pool.