Re: Pensioner Poverty

I am not mathematician twink but I doubt £1 a week for my husband or £1 every three weeks for most of our working lives would have made that much difference. Might have meant we ate less or didn't put 50p in the meter at times.

Even these high paid times it would be £2 for my husband and less than a £1 a week for me. Would that really have given us the hundreds of pounds we'd need to survive ?

I doubt it especially prior to 1999 when my husband stopped paying in the 10 % of his wage he was required to by his employer and is now worth so little I can't see £600 a year getting us very far.

Re: Pensioner Poverty

Pensions are usually invested in the stock market government bonds and property which have grown over the last 40 years .

Unfortunately not everyone knew this and hence did not save .

Financial education is something that should IMO be taught in schools

Re: Pensioner Poverty

Yes and some have gone down or been stolen muddy.

Re: Pensioner Poverty

Not many and contributions to a pension get tax relief hence it's some 'free money '.

I wish someone had explained it to me when I was working .

Re: Pensioner Poverty

I don't think you really understand how pensions work Julie! You need to pay money in for a long time, to get a good income from them.
It seems your personal circumstances may have caused a lower income, but both the boys are now grown up and earning and I understand that Gracie is now being educated at a better school, owing to her health problems.
With your health problems and Gracie's you should be both getting free prescriptions ( I do, even though I earn a reasonable pension), yet I recall you saying that you buy your own Vit D tablets to save the NHS money. First let me say that your doctor should have prescribed something more useful if your levels were down to 7, as you said they were, and the money you saved on buying vitamin D could have helped with your finances.

Your idea that we should all be forced to pay into the state pension but, those who work hard and earn money to provide a better standard of living for themselves, should get less or none of their state pension is very unfair.
If that ever became a law in this country there would be riots in this country, because the government needs to be seen as being fair to all, it they want to remain in power.
You socialist views demonstrate that all poor people should be provided for by the tax payers. If that were the case, why would anybody choose to go to work to provide a better standard of living for themselves..... and where would the tax come from to look after the poor, if fewer people were paying it? Please don't say they would have to go to work, because there are thousands of spongers doing it already, and therefore stealing money from those who are genuinely in need!

Re: Pensioner Poverty

I don't think Galty was bragging Julie when he talked about his retirement income. Just being factual. If there is to be a discussion on pension, personal finance etc. there are going to be examples. One example is that the average retirement for 2018 is now approximately £19,000 - therefore, Galty is hardly living in luxury on his £700per month - IMO there is no need for petty retorts (which sound like jealousy to me) and sniping comments about bragging and nastiness. All I see is honesty and a willingness to share experiences.

Re: Pensioner Poverty

As I said to Julie UJ, £700 per month is hardly riches when the national average pension income is £19000 p.a.

Re: Pensioner Poverty

Free prescriptions are only available to people on certain benefits, yes we get them for grace she is a child. While steven was off work I still worked so our benefits didn't entitle us to free prescriptions. Many people claim them thinking they are entitled but get fined when they realise they aren't. It's always a good idea to check first from one of the benefit sites.

When people say they worked hard for their pension I do wonder what they think rest of us have been doing. I even worked all but a month through my cancer treatment.

I see people as all worth the same no one better than another, therefore when they retire they should all get enough to live on. Not it become some poverty trap. If you want really unfair look at people who never work, they get their stamp paid and get a full pension. Those of us work but struggle get no such thing and get no pension at all.

Anyone working should get a pension IMO

Re: Pensioner Poverty

Gosh I'd love £19,000 a year. Even working we don't get near that.

Re: Pensioner Poverty

Spot on Muddy.

I was self employed and took out a private pension in the 70s

At £20 a month with tax relief.

Estimated return as I was 30 at the time was a pension of the working wage which when I retired was about £30 a week

This increased over the years with inflation.

In the early 90s was given a projected of my annuity which was about £120k(understand the term annuity)

Brown stole £32billion of the pensions in the late 90s and my annuity was in 2007 was when cashed £40K which I recieved a 11% yearly return.

I started putting my money in an tax free ISA after Brown.

PS still have £40K in savings over the years so cannot claim a thing.

This is my point of my life and not to be sneered at or told bully for you.

PS think the level of my savings if it drops below 16K I can claim benefits.