raising pension age

It seems a strange time to promote this when so many of us are worried about the effects of no-deal Brexit and the financial uncertainty that wafts around us like the unwanted stench of a bad toilet.

My own thoughts are unrepeatable on a polite website, but I'm guessing this is - at best - a diversionary tactic from the omnishambolic Brexit and - - at worst - sneaking in a genuine proposal while we are all suffering crisis fatigue and our politicians are off on their jollies and preparing for the conference season instead of recalling Parliament.

Thoughts, anyone?

70 or 75 is not practical if working in a manual/physical job.

I am still fuming at being a “waspi”

Theresa lost her majority at the last election when the Tories suggested people sold their homes to pay for in home care (keeping £100,000) so they would be really stupid to talk about raising the state age to this extent.
Resources are being stretched in this country because there are too many people living here ( and too many people on the planet, in general) and that is what needs to be tackled.

On the bright side, Meghan and Harry only intend to have two children so there will fewer Royal spongers going down their line!!!!

I had a post on my FB page , a letter from DWP ,it stated that the NI fund had been in credit(I cant rememeber the exact figure) something like 24Billion pounds which was being sent to help pay the national debt.I'll see if I can find it and post it here.

Aren't we all delighted that we've paid for all those years so we can help out an incompetent government!!? Not me I'm afraid I was 65 in March and STILL no pension .I've been working for 50 years .Yet they can find money to give the royals for house refurbs and extra millions ofr Lizzie ...makes me sick .I have a friend who is really struggling because of the delay in her pension .What a bloody country!

It is the same think tank that created UC with IDS as its spokesperson.

We know how well that is going don’t we?

Successfully caused misery for the poorest “undeserving”

Now considering giving misery to the “unproductive”

Life can only get worse under the Hard right.

I'm convinced that the government is slowly, but surely, fading outstate retirement pensions and is hoping that we will all die whilst working and never actually reach their ever moving goal posts. Interestingly, there were lost on Mumsnet her recently about this subject and the vast majority of posts there felt that anyone under the age of 50 now would never live to receive a state pension.

I'm in the exact same position as Paddyann, 65 and still no pension.

lost should read "post on Mumsnet".

I feel clapped out now with the weight of responsibility put on me by childcare, working, keeping up with all that needs doing.

I won't make it to 75 in any fit shape, if at all!

Totally agree with chewbacca I’m also convinced the government is raising the retirement age hoping that a good load of us never reach the moving of goal posts we’ll im a long way off my retirement age makes me really cross I was looking forward to getting my bus pass but no they’ve moved it pfft

This is knowing that a good few will have died by then thus no need for extra spending on a pension.

We who live well beyond such an age must be viewed with contempt particularly when at 80 the winter fuel allowance increases.

What an abominable way to treat 11 million of our citizens !

I’m 65y next week.

Only another 11 months and I can have my state pension.

Bluddy disgrace.

Thanks Clegg. You managed to alienate the young ‘uns because of uni fees and your wheeze to promote austerity and delight your coalition partners has annoyed us oldies too!

?

These. people like Ian Duncan smith live in a different world it's time we stopped paying out money to Royal family for upgrades to homes they have enough of our money as it is ,same goes to the Lords who do nothing but go and sit in the House and get paid for the privilege . I was lucky I only had to work an extra 2 years before getting my state pension I really feel for you what have to work more it's disgusting . Rant over

I am 74 and still working but I am in a sedentary "brain job" and work from home. It appalls me to think of this as a overal age limit, as if everyone were as fortunate as me. As another Gransnetter said above, it is simply not feasible for workers in manual jobs, without whom the country would soon collapse. And what about people with progressive illnesses and Alzheimers and other conditions affecting the ability to work? I honestly despair at the cruelty and selfishness of this government.

I'm lucky that I only had to wait an extra 9 months for my pension but I have many friends who have had to wait a darn sight longer!!
My younger sister had to wait much longer and didn't have time 'enjoy' it before she died. Same goes for a dear friend who died this week aged 63
Bl**dy shameful

70 or 75 is not practical if working in a manual/physical job.

I agree totally.

I worked till I was 64 in an office job, part time for the final two years, and still felt knackered. I know I was one of the lucky ones at that.

Surely what's needed is the approach taken in some countries in Europe, where you can wind down to retirement, gradually decreasing your hours.

I'm unsure if/how this would be supported perhaps by the State Pension coming in in stages during the final working years.

A radical rethink is needed, not just whacking up the pension age willy nilly.

70 is definitely not practicable if working in a manual job, or even if teaching primary school.

It is however the "new" pension age for most people all over Europe now. Our generation can still retire earlier - I could at 67, my husband will be able to at the same age, but our children will have to work until they are 70.

The politicians go on and on about the fact that we live longer and that there are fewer working age people to support us. They totally ignore the fact that we have contributed to our OAP ourselves and that there are millions of young people between 20 and 30 who don't have a hope of getting a job.

It would make sense to let more people retire early and get the young in work, but by now we have all stopped looking for sense from politicians, haven't we?

I think most people are capable of working full-time until they are sixty-five, I and both my parents did, but to continue to seventy, and even seventy -five, is unrealistic in many jobs even though health in old age improves.

The same MP's who manage to retire early. Also - they work just 13 years to get a pension it would take you 62 years to get (see article).

tinyurl.com/yyo3no77

Its always the case of one rule for us and another for them. We need a change.

I'm sure you're aware that the way student fees are paid back means that those paying the "new" fees actually pay back less over their life.

It's a huge shame the LibDems didn't put more effort into explaining how it works rather than letting others set the agenda and destroying the LibDem vote. The LibDems were responsible for the introduction of free school meals for younger children and the pupil premium, which is worth £2 billion. Clegg's argument was that money should be used to support children at a younger age rather than supporting the (mainly) middle classes when they'd already got through the school system successfully.

Clegg resisted scrapping the means tested student grant, which was one of the first steps taken by the Conservative government when it won the 2015 election. This is costing poorer students much more than raising the fees did. Strange that the Conservative media didn't make a big fuss about that! Hmmm!

In any case, it has no direct relevance to raising the state pension age.

I agree with you, eazybee. Men have always had to work to 65, but 70 or 75 is unrealistic and unfair.

Urmstongran, how on earth can you NOW put this on Clegg?!?

Misadventure - I am afraid, sadly and tragically- that that is their aim

It’s just ridiculous - I’m a teacher, I could not do this at 70. And it wouldn’t be fair on the kids if I did. It’s disgraceful.

There is also a report which has come out showing that post Brexit they are wanting to increase the hours in the working week, lessen the amount of minimum paid holiday leave, cut back on paid time off for training, lay off workers with little or no notice, exempt them from having to go to tribunal and generally cut back on the rights of workers, reverting back to something akin to the Dickensian era. All while MPS get paid huge sums for sitting asleep in Parliament (many of us have seen the pictures of this.....). Yes it's time all the scroungers had their allowances cut, and I'm not talking about families on the poverty line ......

It's easy for Ian Duncan Smith to suggest this as he married into a wealthy family and has been sponging off them ever since.
It's pretty much what you'd expect from the more right-wing branch of his party who are passionate about Brexit because they can afford to be.
If people are too ill to work before 70 or there are no jobs left the Government will have to help them anyway.