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Let’s not forget that more immigrants is just a Ponzi scheme. It requires more infrastructure and stresses finite resources (e.g. space).
The problem with this debate is it becomes incredibly tribal and selfish, with everyone pushing their own agenda.
Those on here crying about their 30-40 years NI contributions have absolutely no idea the pain of being in your early 30’s and never ever having lived in a time of economic growth. Most of you own your own houses. Really have no sympathy at all for you.
We spend a huge amount of money on social care. I'm sure this could be reduced by a significant amount.
The Rwanda madness. Be cheaper to pay them foreign jobbys to stay here , on the books and work in care homes , social care , hospitals etc .
We pay millions to keep people in hotels as there is a lack of social housing. which is solvable but needs long term investment.
People in general need to accept that the government pension is not going to be able to pay for a way of life for the millennials caught in the poverty trap , but they need to look at their own expenses.
Spending 4 figures on a phone, just because it's the shiniest one but is 5x the price of another functional phone for example.
Spending more each month on their car , car insurance , credit cards than their pension. Even owning a car worth more than their pension which must be the case for number of people, as it's all about looking good to others rather than driving a Daewoo matiz .
All the brexshiteers need to remember , in 20 years when they need some one to wipe their arse in the car home there won't be anyone to do it., as they successfully levered them out the country.
Oh, an ever raising state retirement age isn’t even the toughest bit of this… changing the tax system to hit high wealth pensioners more is going to be the real hard but essential political sell of the next 15 years. The backlash from the “I’ve paid in all my working life” brigade is going to be huge… but with a smaller proportion of the population working, it will have to happen to pay for the less well off pensioners.
It's a depressing outlook for our younger generation. They've been badly let down.
Getting them into affordable rented housing or even the first footsteps into their own home is becoming unreachable now and don't start on Uni costs. The state of this country is shambolic. I've got 2 young adult kids and it's a hard outlook.
I agree on the comments regarding the state pension, it'll be gone to some degree. Means tested so those with sufficient funds will not qualify. And to be fair, that's how it should be. Why are we also giving out free bus travel and winter heating payments to a section of our society who clearly don't really need it financially? Those payments again should be means tested and redirected to resources within our society that desperately need it more.
Working till 71? What? Increase the older workforce into the labour market potentially taking jobs that could be occupied by the young who may need them more. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel when an individual who is transitioning into working life start to comprehend that they have potentially 50+ years of employment to get through. The thought of being able to ease back and say, 'hang in there it's not long now' when the goalposts are constantly moved will feel alien, then only to retire into poor health cos you've burnt yourself out to provide.
Bring on the GE and use your vote. It may or not change things, but what alternative is there?
It requires more infrastructure and stresses finite resources (e.g. space).
There are couples in 5 bed homes with three cars on the drive. The UK has plenty of space, and we could have the infrastructure if our politicians didn’t keep delaying, cancelling and failing to deliver it (partly to appease that elderly couple with the 5 bed home who doesn’t like the idea of new train lines, homes, onshore windfarms, or capital expenditure on new anything).
Spending 4 figures on a phone, just because it’s the shiniest one but is 5x the price of another functional phone for example.
I used to think like this, but I've come to realise that home ownership, retirement, etc. are *so* far out of a lot of people's reach, that why *wouldn't* you spend on the things that are actually possible.
I'm not saying that all the financial decisions are wise, but I do have some sympathy for the place from which they're made.
At 60 i was physically and mentally done. There is no way i could have worked another decade or more.
Retrain you say? To what. Cant spend time on my feet.
People in my position will just end up on disability benefits.
More wrong headed reporting on economics, tax, and state expenditure.
Oh my god! That young person owns a phone! That’s where all the wealth is being horded! What next… young families with a… gosh… flat screen tv! Never had avocados in my day…
Those on here crying about their 30-40 years NI contributions have absolutely no idea the pain of being in your early 30’s and never ever having lived in a time of economic growth. Most of you own your own houses. Really have no sympathy at all for you.
Massive generalisation.
I can't help but remember a film/ book...
Lil' Rish and mates can have bets on the outcome.
As for AI replacing people, so far it’s magical thinking IMO.
Hmmm, the chatbot on my banking app is AI, if you look carefully at a lot of the online articles of the newspapers you'll notice a subtle lines about assisted with an AI Tool(or some odd comment), I'd say they have a certain feel as they make some odd random comments about things that are unimportant/odd observations to the story.
I've noticed this on UK and Spanish sites.
Its happening in front of your eyes 🙂
At 60 i was physically and mentally done. There is no way i could have worked another decade or more.
Retrain you say? To what. Cant spend time on my feet.
People in my position will just end up on disability benefits.
Me too at 54. Worked until 2 years ago when body and mind have just said no more after struggling a good while. Knackered wrists and knees mean no 'easy' delivery/shelf stacking/check-out jobs. Combine that with fried head with stress over the years and brain fog and exhaustion from CFS.
I'd love to get back to work for the social side as much as the money, but with the body only getting worse it's not at all likely. Luckily my wife has a good and secure job and is very supportive and understanding.
Oh, and we don't own a house,neve mind a big or paid off one.
Those on here crying about their 30-40 years NI contributions have absolutely no idea the pain of being in your early 30’s and never ever having lived in a time of economic growth. Most of you own your own houses. Really have no sympathy at all for you.
Massive generalisation.
Yep, not all of us oldies are happy with the younger generation getting screwed over.
Those on here crying about their 30-40 years NI contributions have absolutely no idea the pain of being in your early 30’s and never ever having lived in a time of economic growth. Most of you own your own houses. Really have no sympathy at all for you.
I think it's a little ironic to complain about a group being unable to sympathise with you whilst simultaneously being unable to sympathise with them.
I guess I'm somewhere in-between those two groups. I think both sides have a point. Screw the baby boomers, though.
Yep, not all of us oldies are happy with the younger generation getting screwed over.
Particularly because many of us have kids. Mind there is some I may not have sympathy for.
There’s the dichotomy… we need more young people to balance out the older people… but the older people don’t want us to have more young people (be it more fresh faced immigrants or a tax and benefit system or the housing provision that supports larger family units) and they have all the political power because of their numbers and where they can afford to live MP constituency wise.
We don't need more young people. We need to get rid of the older people. It's not politically (or morally) acceptable but would fix all of our current problems. It'd free up housing, more than half the benefits bill, fix the NHS, and stop councils from going bankrupt.
We need to get rid of the older people.
I've been arguing for years that all old people should be killed at birth.
We don’t need more young people. We need to get rid of the older people.<br /><br />
I think thats the plan! Work them to death.
We don’t need more young people. We need to get rid of the older people. It’s not politically (or morally) acceptable but would fix all of our current problems. It’d free up housing, more than half the benefits bill, fix the NHS, and stop councils from going bankrupt.
In fairness, the current government is giving that a good go.
I think the original solution was to put you on a spinny anti gravitiy thing when you reached 30 so you floated up and got lasered.
masterdabber
Free Member
It’s really great being old on here and reading all this. I think I’ll go away and top myself and make a few of you happy.
If we all did that the forum would be empty! 😉
We should just make it fair. Anybody that likes their job and wants to carry on working can do so for as long as they wish. Those utter cockwombles who proudly state they’ve never had a day off sick are forced to work until they drop down dead at work, no complaining. Same for those who say they would keep on working if they won the lottery or would be bored if they retired. The remaining normal people get to retire and at least enjoy a small sliver of life at the end.
Not sure how useful these sort of news stories are.
My initial response is; “that’s a bit shit and if they are increasing the state retirement age, they better be bloody reducing tax to make up for the loss in benefit from paying NI for decades.”
That then mellows in to “Guess I need to up my SIPP pension contributions to make up the shortfall then”
Net result is next month I’ll likely pay even less tax than last month, further exacerbating the issue to HMRC.
That then mellows in to “Guess I need to up my SIPP pension contributions to make up the shortfall then”
You say that... But then I recall that when I started in the job market early retirement could be taken at age 50.
That rose to 55 and will be 57 next year.
So with 20 years to go before I can take a pension from my personal pension.... Do I see me getting there before it's raised again. Unlikely. So throwing more and more at a sipp seems like a fools folly.
So throwing more and more at a sipp seems like a fools folly.
Sure, but paying less into a sipp means paying more tax today that, going by that article, I will see no benefit from. That’s lost money.
Paying more into pension now then worst case it compounds for an extra few years.
I think the pattern will be in general a shift to part time and lower stress working in later life. People will not retire all at once but will cut hours or reduce responsibilities after 55 or 60. clever employers will facilitate this with recognised pathways
Pensions all in all are a utter mess in the uk and a lot of wealth is hoarded by the relatively wealthy elderly. The housing market works as a mechanism to transfer wealth to the older and the already wealthy
We need a much better basic state pension even if that means taxing other pensions strongly or a better taxation elsewhere or tie it all in with universal basic income
joe, you will find that your post ^^^ means that those for whom you have '...no sympathy' will have no sympathy for you and will see your post as little more than a whinge.
Do let us know if you have any constructive comment to make.
Are you in your early 30s as you've used that as a reference point?
My three children are in their 30s; all have their own houses - 2 of them in UK, 1 in US; help was available from their parents but they all bought without that support.
It's not easy but is doable.
Paying more into pension now then worst case it compounds for an extra few years.
Well that depends on your family history doesn't it.
Assuming you have the choice of firing more into your sipp -suggests your probably not the intended victim of this policy mind.
My three children are in their 30s; all have their own houses – 2 of them in UK, 1 in US; help was available from their parents but they all bought without that support.
It’s not easy but is doable.
How doable it is depends massively on where you live. In Brighton, for example, you need to be on a 6-figure salary to buy the average terraced house. The average salary in Brighton is less than one third of that.
How doable it is depends massively on where you live.
There's a lot of parental advantage in play too, even if it's not in the form of help with a deposit.
Newsthump sums it up nicely
Planning your funeral now a more realistic priority than planning your retirement
Being able to afford to die is a whole other thread. Mrs F will be fly tipping my corpse if I go first!
My three children are in their 30s; all have their own houses – 2 of them in UK, 1 in US; help was available from their parents but they all bought without that support.
It’s not easy but is doable
I’m assuming you supported your kids in other ways and were generally a good parent? Encouraged them to do well at school? Provided a loving and stable environment? Again, not a luxury that everyone has. I take it back if you were a neglectful bastard with no concern for his kids futures 😃
I think the original solution was to put you on a spinny anti gravitiy thing when you reached 30 so you floated up and got lasered.
> checks palm of hand <
"I think the pattern will be in general a shift to part time and lower stress working in later life."
Worked for me. High stress full time (and more) work until 49. Low stress part time work since. Though it's all relative. One of my part time jobs included dealing hands on with cons so there was the odd stressful moment but few and far between.
I am in the lucky position that my part time job 22hrs a week is on an irregular shift pattern. Sometimes I work 6 days out of seven. Other times I'm off for 7 days in a row. So most hobby related stuff I can do without taking holidays.
I'm 4 years from state pension age and I'm not actuially sure I'll chuck the job at that point. I may just see if I can reduce hours a bit more by cutting out the nightshifts I do.
Why is this country so uniquely shit amongst similar nations in Europe
Assume this question was rhetorical.
The initial issue isn’t one of politics but mathematics - we have a declining number of people working a declining number of years having to be taxed an increasing amount to pay for a greater number of economically inactive people living for an increasing number of years which are usually increasingly expensive as their health and social care needs escalate. The political issue is that many of that cohort of ageing people are sitting on healthy amounts of assets thanks to the boom in house prices over the years which they expect to pass down the generations - that could help provide for the retirement aspirations of their offspring or we could tax it more heavily (after all they are accidentally better off) to help us all. It’s part of a Big Conversation which none of the political classes are willing to indulge in - not with an election looming at least.
Being able to afford to die is a whole other thread. Mrs F will be fly tipping my corpse if I go first!
Yeah.. Plan my funeral? WTF for I'll be dead.
I’m assuming you supported your kids in other ways and were generally a good parent? Encouraged them to do well at school? Provided a loving and stable environment? Again, not a luxury that everyone has. I take it back if you were a neglectful bastard with no concern for his kids futures 😃
None of which guarantee financial security. I probably could have scraped a reasonable pension, but I would have needed to have lived like a Buddhist monk (pretending my income would have remained unchanged had I done so.)
My three children are in their 30s; all have their own houses – 2 of them in UK, 1 in US; help was available from their parents but they all bought without that support.<br />It’s not easy but is doable.<br /><br />
University Grads? Did they pay for it all themselves? Lawyers? Doctors? Finance? Did you help them get settled when they first moved out and got their first jobs?
Early help in any form has the same compounding effect as any other early investment. Those that don’t/can’t get that help fall farther and farther behind. <br /><br />
My friends and I all graduated at the same time, all with similar qualifications, but many had accommodation paid for, stipends given and loans/fees paid off. For those that didn’t you had to service that debt. <br /><br />
Location also matters. Graduates in the same company earn the same salary in the north west as in the south west, but housing is almost 3x the price.
A person with uni debt will be £800/m worse off in the SW than in the NW. That’s a lot of pension AND house deposit money to save that another person with different circumstances doesn’t have, so let’s avoid sweeping generalisations based on anecdotal evidence, shall we?
5lab - yes, location is a factor; find a lower cost area and...move, subject of course to being able to find suitable employment.
Staying renting in the same area if house prices are already unaffordable seems, to me, to be pointless - and, yes, I know that's simplistic but an online forum calls for brevity.
Aidy - can you elaborate?
Yay! My private pension pot might have enough in it by the time I'm 71 to buy a coffee and a cake at Costa.
I try not to let it sicken me too much seeing relatives retire in their 50's. I'd do the same if I could.
Was chatting to one of the dads at my son's football training, and he mentioned that he's now only got 10 years until retirement, he's not much older than me. 😢
People will not retire all at once but will cut hours or reduce responsibilities after 55 or 60
Yeah, non manual but sometimes stressful job here, worked full time till 59, now on 4 days a week & plan to work till 70 coz I've not got a great pension - actually works out about same time worked as if I stayed full time & retired at 67..
Daffy - one grad and he's in the US.
One served his time as a plumber who then focussed on commercial, high end resi and bms; building on that, his employer moved him onto mechanical services project management on a new studio development for Netflix.
Daughter is a beautician.
Work ethic is a much undervalued attribute; for clarity, I'm not implying that it's lacking in you.
Aidy – can you elaborate?
I mean, it's a big topic.
But the short of it is that parents affect how successful their children will be. Even if it's not directly financial, even a stable home is a luxury that a very significant number of people will not have. Some educational opportunities are just not available to others.
I'm glad that your children are doing well, but I don't think it's the case that other people's children could do equally well by just pulling their socks up and working a bit harder.
Aidy - I didn't refer to 'pulling up their socks' as it's a pointless and meaningless expression.
As for working harder/work ethic - different people have different interpretations of 'working hard'.
How about (always) striving to do their best.
It's clear we don't agree; I'm ok with that.
No-one ever said life was fair - it isn't.
A '...very significant number' of people don't have a stable home is an interesting statement which depends on how you define 'significant number'.
Some? Yes.
Too many? One is too many.
40% of the children in this town live in poverty.60% in my adjoining council ward!Try thinking about that Frank. I think you will find many examples of this across the country.
I'm very well aware that poverty is a significant societal problem - and have seen the impact close-up through voluntary work - but thanks for your suggestion that I should '...think about it'.
That voluntary work is intended to provide help and support to those in need - homeless, specifically - so I know I'm 'doing my bit' and have been for c20years.
Would you, monkey, describe your area - generally - as deprived?
Where in the country are you?
There are multiple examples of wards within a council area being described as deprived with residents in poverty and other wards in the same council area clearly and visibly demonstrating conspicuous wealth.
What do you think causes the poverty and deprivation?
What do you think should be done to alleviate the problem?
What are you doing to help alleviate the problem? That could be as simple - and easy - as lobbying your local/county council and MP through emails and supporting local initiatives. You could consider becoming actively involved.
Anyone and everyone can comment about the problem.
Words are cheap.
What matters is action.
As someone that lives in the NW, spoiler alert, housing is still not cheap. And theres plenty of areas such as brighton that are unobtainable for working folk. Transport is far worse as the towns and cities have bery poor connections. 2 trains an hour on the lines between manchester and liverpool. Generally speaking there is much less wealth accumulated by people in these areas, and i might be wrong but surely the property bubble concentrated a lot of wealth in the South East.
But aside from housing which is a separate shitshow- surely the elephant in the room is that the tax system is goosed. The wealthiest corporations in history pay no tax in the uk (many contribute to harm and target kids too), and we allow it. No appetite to close loopholes so the poorest pay proprtionally by far the highest burden. And by poor folk I include the squeezed middle. Let's be fair, we started down this path when we decided to transition to a services economy and practically invented the tax haven to attract buisness. It is a frustration thag we have to 'attract foreign investment' for infrastructure, because all of the capital ge erated here is locked away in shell companies offshore.
its good to see this debate on here. Thats lacking in general in the UK. Ive no idea why we also tollerate extremely wealthy media moguls shaping public oppinion to suit themselfs, with no scrutiny. This is intrinsically linked to politics being dominated by extremely wealthy folk who have one eye on their own investments.
I'd be more inclined to play a fair game for longer.
As for working harder/work ethic – different people have different interpretations of ‘working hard’.
How about (always) striving to do their best.
This in no way guarantees being paid well. I know plenty of people, myself included, who have done/do this in jobs that pay very little.
Nonsense isn't it.The subpostmasters were striving to do there best.I wonder how that worked out.
It keeps me going at work that I will step down to a less stressful role at some point. No way I could do this into late 50’s early 60’s, my head would explode.
I push as much into pensions as possible for this reason. However, it does make me nervous the government can tell me when I can access it. I am starting to consider more into ISA. Yes, I’m fortunate to be able to have this choice but as mentioned previously, planning for the last 20 years has allowed me to do this.
But we don’t vote anyway in substantial numbers so it’s even less of a vote loser.
At 31 your age cohort is circa 50% voting, but do note that age 34 and below are the only cohorts increasing their voting turnout - so I think the message is getting across.
Based on the current state of folk, and even in my older generation (late 50's) the lack of private pension provision by far too many folk (too many lattes? 🙂 ) I think people need to ignore the State Pension Age and accept a very high percentage will be on other benefits already. The cost will still be there, just in a different line on the budget.
How many folk reading this will be reliant on whatever benefits they can get, whether it's the State Pension (because it is a benefit) or another rather than their private pensions, savings and/or assets?
One in six over-55s have no pension savings yet (unbiased.co.uk)
I've got an idea. We swap state pensioners for young Rwandans. The pensioners costs less in Rwanda because exchange rate and the young rwandans are economically productive in the UK.
I’ve got an idea. We swap state pensioners for young Rwandans. The pensioners costs less in Rwanda because exchange rate and the young rwandans are economically productive in the UK.
Could you imagine? New rule to be brought in; if you’re economically inactive for 5 years and over 25 years old? On the aeroplane to Rwanda with you. 😀
It keeps me going at work that I will step down to a less stressful role at some point. No way I could do this into late 50’s early 60’s, my head would explode.<br /><br />
Welcome to my world, and I would have said the same except… Having recently been demoted from Sales Director to salesperson (same salary), I’m mixed with thoughts of being let down by my company, yet less responsibility and more commissions potential which can go straight into the savings pot (plus a decent pension match). But of course it’s not proving to be less stressful, so the inclination now is to maintain this as long as possible (now age 52) to fund retirement. I suspect I’ve reached the pinnacle of my career so need to maximise it as much as possible until I “break” and need to step down in salary to lower the day to day stress to maintain my health. <br /><br />
This will be the thoughts of many “how can I keep this going for as long as possible” knowing they will not be supported by the state in this formative years. In my simple head this will lead to burnout, mental and physical health issues beyond which we have today vs a continual decline in the NHS. <br /><br />
To me this is a continual “**** you” from this government. Reducing post employment care across all factions and increasing taxation and cost of living continues to squeeze the life out of the hardworking taxpayer. This country has really become a soulless gray, unenjoyable piece of land about as far from the aspiration the verses of Jerusalem would hint as you can get.
I think it’s simply middle aged ennui, and it’s been happening since employment began. Count yourself lucky, some people get a job upon leaving education and are still doing the same thing decades later whether they like it or not.
My point was that as much as most would love to ramp down in their 50’s the reality is that in the majority we are under pressure to continue working until we can’t to fund a mediocre outcome at best, and not the dream we all hoped for.
Im aware that this has always been the case, but we strive for improvement dont we? And as much as I’m doing better than my parents and I hope my kids will fare better then us, the changing goalposts mean we all continue to change an elusive dream.
Maybe we should all just give up any hope of a bright future in a sudden blaze of realism and trudge along the dreary grey and unpleasant lands in quiet acceptance.
The issue is one of inherretance. If wealth inherretance were capped - not taxed, CAPPED and all additional inherretance went to the state instead of to individuals, the wealth gap would not continually increase, there'd be more money for public finances, infrastructure and research and the coutry as a whole might start to grow rather than just displacing wealth to the few.
Yep, inheritance just ensures inequality is maintained through the generations.
As per a few above, I'm in a sedentary job and there is no way I'm making 71.
I'm 43 currently and if I can make it through another 5 years of it I'll consider that a win. Work is ridiculously stressful, has all sorts of negative impacts across other areas of my life, interferes with my rheumatoid arthritis, and I'm right now in a hospital bed I've been in for the last 12 nights where I've just burnt myself out and ended up fairly ill. I view it like climbing Everest, and for the last few years I've gone above 8000 ft and into the death zone, I can cling on for a while while slowly deteriorating but not indefinitely. Hopefully I can squirrel away enough money while I'm here to allow me to do something else after 45.
The other option as someone said above would be disability. My brother has the same or a very very similar RA condition to the one I have, and while my aim has always been to make the treatments work and to struggle through and get back to work he has taken a slightly different route and gets paid a fair 'wage' as disability allowance now which if I threw in a tactical downsize could probably sustain me.
The only thing that could possibly keep me going longer would be the opportunity to help my kids with a leg up so they have any sort of chance to make a life for themselves.
The issue is one of inherretance. If wealth inherretance were capped – not taxed, CAPPED and all additional inherretance went to the state instead of to individuals, the wealth gap would not continually increase, there’d be more money for public finances, infrastructure and research and the country as a whole might start to grow rather than just displacing wealth to the few.
Great idea but in practice quite hard to achieve, there are just so many ways that money & privilege can flow down the generations it would be near impossible to stem it, although I agree with the sentiment.
Dare to mention the problems of inherited wealth and people with barely a pot to piss in will froth at the mouth about how their children deserve to get their china teacup.
Dare to mention the problems of inherited wealth and people with barely a pot to piss in will froth at the mouth about how their children deserve to get their china teacup.
With good reason though, all the Tabloids stir it up as a moral outrage just to ensure the millionaire paper owners don't have to pay too much when they pop their clogs...
I’m 31, pretty much everyone my age and 5 years up expects to get no state pension anyway. I don’t even think it would be a political suicide by this point most of us have mentally checked out of expecting that.
But we don’t vote anyway in substantial numbers so it’s even less of a vote loser.
Your generation might start voting more if there was a political difference on attitudes to this!! The smart political move would be (for at least those who have not started earning) to give them the option to not get state pension at whatever age, in return for some advantage - like better private pension arrangements now (most early career people will only be getting 20% tax relief compared to 40% for high earners!). BUT the whole point of a state pension is to ensure everyone has the bare minimum to survive, giving people an option to gamble that may not be wise.
I’m 50. I’ve thought for a while now that I’m unlikely to be retiring at 68, because the numbers just don’t add up.
I've you good news for you - if you are 50 you are due to retire a 67 not 68!
I think that any form of retirement if you’re still able to do productive work is likely to have to be entirely self funded.
I've got better news for you - if I've interpreted your other posts correctly and you are a Dr - you will have a far better pension arrangement than most and be able to retire whenever you want - of course whether that buys the lifestyle you want is a different question but no Dr can honestly say they have to keep working to 67 because they would be destitute otherwise.
Case in point… me. I’ve put between 20 and 35% of my wage into a pension for 30+ years – rather than spaffed it away on booze / fags / prostitutes. On the basis of a defined retirement age. It’s called PLANNING. Pity the morons running the country can’t plan too. Because ever since I was born, it was predictable when I’d reach 65.
You'll still be able to retire at 65 (or earlier). You won't be quite as well off for the first X years because you won't get state pension, but I wish people would stop describing it as retirement age - there would probably be much more interest in retirement planning / pension provision if people realised its about being able to pick when you retire. If they try to stop me accessing my pension at the age I was entitled to when I paid into it - that might see me get emotional. I am unhappy that they've slipped the age my NI contributions come to fruition - but 2 years at 9k pa is not a massive sum for me to invest to cover over what a 30 year period?
Plenty of people here will have done nicely on the property market and inheritance by the time retirement comes - don't suppose many of them will be keen for more sensible taxation of those either! Boomers seem to have done particularly well on those (and a lot of other things), it may well be that the only way people can afford to comfortably retire is for their parents to die off.
Brevity would be helpful ^^^
TL:DR
Anyway you can retire any age you wish if you have been financially astute. 52 for me.
Replace "astute" with "lucky".
It might have been a lucky bet, a lucky lottery win or more likely buying a house at the right time/place, an inheritance, going to the 'right' school that got you your first job etc etc.
Or maybe just not having kids - and that can be 'luck' too.
But the short of it is that parents affect how successful their children will be. Even if it’s not directly financial, even a stable home is a luxury that a very significant number of people will not have. Some educational opportunities are just not available to others.
This.
The kids knowing that there's always a 'safety net' or even just a warm meal & bed helps someone take 'risks' - our 3 had this (and still do even now with having families of their own), just like I and my OH had with our families.
TDLR?
You'd better earn / win / save / grow enough money to support yourself from your chosen retirement age becuase government help is getting further a further away, despite your NI contributions. And while you are doing that, Gov.uk will continually take more tax from said savings to try to not make that date get any further than it already is*
<br /><br />*whilst as in the current case, potentially splurging it to and not limited to friends of the party, badly managed government procurement, or fancy wallpaper.
This problem isn't exclusive to the UK.
Retirement age increased a while back in Germany and there was talk a while back about doing it again.
But, imo, retirement age isn't the main issue here. It's the current distribution of wealth.
A lack of hope amongst younger people, millennials like myself included (41) is also killing people's futures.
Despite having a bit of money behind me thanks to some good advice and some lucky investments (Fundsmith being one of them) the GF and I couldn't afford to buy a place in our around Munich. A pokey 2 room (not bed! Room!) flat costs around 500k and up.
Amongst my acquaintances only one of them has managed to get on the property ladder without the help of the bank of mum and dad, and he's earning over 280k a year (which in itself is sick).
There is so much property tied up with too few people. Elderly knocking about in properties that are way too big for their needs whilst their kids who are currently renting and paying more in rent than they would a mortgage are putting off having a family as they couldn't afford to house them.
Anyway you can retire any age you wish if you have been financially astute. 52 for me.
If everyone was 'financially astute' there would be no nurses, no care workers to look after your mum, no school dinner ladies and TAs to look after your kids, no delivery drivers to bring you your latest CRC purchase, and no cafe staff to supply you a post-ride cake and coffee.
All these roles (and more) are essential to society, and they should have as much opportunity to have a reasonable retirement as everyone else.
Location also matters. Graduates in the same company earn the same salary in the north west as in the south west, but housing is almost 3x the price.
Logically that all makes sense, but why then are employees not drifting north as quickly as possible? and their employers chasing them North too (where business premises etc are also cheaper).
A person with uni debt will be £800/m worse off in the SW than in the NW.
Can you explain your uni debt being £800/m worse of depending on region?
Because the (potential) employees can't find the jobs up there, and the (potential) employers can't find the workforce up there, and the businesses in the SE are also serving each others' needs. Both the businesses and the workers need to be situated where the opportunities exist. It's a chicken and egg situation, remote working should help to some extent but probably not enough to solve all the problems.