Pensions

[Birdman1811]

That generation repeatedly voted for political parties that lead to this. They are the generation that have pulled ladders up behind them, then dared to slag off the younger generation for being lazy, work shy etc. 

I come from a comfortable, not wealthy background. But everyone I know over 60 is pretty much set for retirement now. I guess there is a different story in areas of long term poverty as you describe.

I have had to retrain in my life, including taking the massive risk of uni in my 30's to get where I am, I never assumed what I learned at 18 would carry through for the rest of my life, due to my industry, I'm having to learn constantly, what I learnt at uni is already starting to go out of date, I know I'll need to do this until the day I finally retire, whenever the fuck that'll be, I'd have certainly worked longer than 50 years to get there.

It's the previous generations that have built this world, my sympathy is rather low because of that. Living in Cornwall until recently, watching so many coming up to retirement age buy up all the homes, and barely live in them also skews my perception somewhat, most of my generation can't afford one house. Ones after me can't even afford to rent it seems! Yet it's these getting hit for the pensions they'll probably never receive themselves.

You are right, the old vs young argument is a red herring in some ways, too many don't pay what would be considered a fair share due to our broken tax system. 

It's very hard to have sympathy for a generation that broke the game for us, then constantly judges us for not being able to play the game like they did. " could afford a house if you didn't have takeaways" "in my day we bought a house in our 20's before having kids or getting married." "In my day we stayed in one company for years and only the husband worked." All sound familiar, it's what the younger generations hear and get told constantly by a generation now wanting us to pay more for them to retire.

That was a much longer rant than I intended, and maybe not all too relevant, but that's an idea as to the anger at this many have.

Cornwall is not quite that black and white. Approximately  one quarter of the South West’s economy is based on tourism. One third of its workforce is reliant on the tourist industry. (Directly or indirectly.)


You appear to be suggesting that all the housing is being bought up by retirees from all over. I would suggest that is ridiculous. I believe that, if a retiree buys a house in the South West, it is to move there, not as a second home. Second homes, generally are bought by those still working. A good many of those ‘second’ homes are rented out as holiday lets. Remember, that industry that is currently so important to the area.  If my experience, over the last 40 years is anything to go by, many of those holiday lets are owned by locals themselves.

It is an area I neve hear mentioned in the ‘Levelling Up’ debate but the government should be encouraging industry and therefore, better paid jobs, there

I don’t know at what age you started work but you say you took time out to go to uni. I and my three siblings all started work at 15. (Not the 18 or 21 (22 with the, almost obligatory, gap year nowadays) I obtained my degrees whilst working full time. My wife also started work at 15 and other than 3 years with our little un, worked until she was 69.

I know very few of my age where “only the man worked” In fact my studies prove that very, very few working class women were full time housewives.  When we had our child, women were entitled to take 18 weeks, partly paid, and 3 months unpaid maternity leave, not a full year, all remunerated (to a degree), as now and only about half new working mothers qualified for that due to ‘Length of Service’ rules. Until 1975 pregnant women could be dismissed from their jobs. I fail to see the relevance of the “Stayed in one company” remark and again, I know very many of my age group who moved jobs to obtain the best terms and conditions they could, whenever they could.        Similarly, re. the retraining comment but I can assure you, those born in the 50s and 60s have gone through a far greater learning curve.   
 
So no, none of it “sounds familiar” to me.

My mother never had any assets. What, very little, savings she had and virtually all her pension income is now taken off her to help pay for her social care. The “old vs young argument” is not so much a  “red herring” as a vastly inaccurate sweeping generalisation.

Where are these hordes of pensioners with two, 6 bedroomed, homes, driving around in his and hers Mercs and jetting off for the winter to Saint-Tropez?
Yes, working class people of retiring age today really had it easy. 

All my landlords in Cornwall were out of county people using it to fund their retirement, amd all were close to it. Many friends have the same experience.

Sadly these are all comments the younger generations get given whenever we say the game is now broken amd there is little chance for us. Maybe you don't say these things, fair play to you, like my parents, they realise the shit their generations have left for us to sort. And now we have to pay more for you to retire.

I started working at 14, for my Dad, got my first job outside family at 16 at weekends, moving to any day I wasn't at college. Started full time at 19. I worked 30 hours at nights while studying at uni and being the main parent for our son while the wife worked 60 hours a week. Even with all that, still struggled to pay bills in Cornwall. My health was shattered doing that, understandably and it will mean I will die earlier. That was to give me at least a chance I'm taking now.

Yes I do have sympathy for those that never had the chance to save for their retirement, and are now reliant on the state providing them one, and there is little there to provide it. And tbh, the 1.5% doesn't really hurt me, but friends of mine on min wage, it's a killer for them, meaning they can't save as much for their retirement, so just kicks the can down the road.

Make the likes of Amazon pay their share, not let Vodafone off a 4 billion tax bill, and never, ever vote Tory or Labour again.