Are old people bleeding the country dry?

[Harleyman]

I made a lot of money in my working years and placed it into various accounts which returned a good yield of interest. That has paid off very nicely now

I still get US Social Security benefits now I'm retired but if I had to survive on what they pay like many old folk do it would be a bit of a tough life.

 

Old folks who have no money other than the monthly social security check dont have it easy at all in this country

[MrCHANG]

I say round up all the able bodied work shy idlers and put them into military penal battalions like the Jerries and the Russians had back in WW2.

 

They could finally be found something useful to do like clearing land mines in Afghanistan

 

How will that help pay the the trillions we owe?

[Bassman62]

I have to agree th U.K is bankrupt and so is the USA

 

we may be saved by being forced to join the euro, but only after the country has been ravaged.

Well maybe you should tune into the news and see how much has been pledged at the G20 summit by these bankrupt countries.

[Tipex]

No there isn't but I need to find a job, keep looking but it is so hard when you don't even get an interview .

 

2 jobs I know of at clintons in meadowhall :/ is it only me who knows how many jobs are goin or an excuse by people not to get one?

[Joanl]

Of all the elderly people in the country I don't know one that can't afford to go to Bingo to gamble.

 

Well here's one who wouldn't WANT to.....more to do with MY time than that.

[Cyclone]

The fact of the matter is young people are struggling because of the lavish lifestyle OAP's are entitled to, not that OAP's shouldn't be able to enjoy their retirement, but some OAP's need to realise that they have got it prety darn good becuase they've been favored over other groups which need help, like young people and immigrants.

 

It's lavish now is it, the old age pension. Any more hyperbole you'd like to engage in before you come back to reality?

[Lucifer]

Of course we are bleeding the country dry like the generation before us. We payed our NH contributions and taxes so that our parents who had a bloody hard life, can have decent life in old age.( I'm in my 70's ).

It is important to support the people who supported and provided for the younger generation year on year. The problem is that family life means less than it used to be, I don't envy the younger generation, who will oook after them ?.

They will probably whinge and think that they should be looked after irrespective.

[Lucifer]

Get yourself a private pension, with your attiude you will need to pay people to help you in your old age and people like you will not want to know about oldies like you. Have a good old age.

[Afilsdesigne]

Just to take a step back from this. The Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 was introduced by a Liberal government under the leadership of David Lloyd George to give a modest income (1s to 5s (5p to 25p)) to those over 70 who could not earn a living anymore and had an income less than 12s (60p). It was designed to approximate half the average national income (around £225 p/w in todays terms). In the decades since, a myriad of changes have taken place to build the benefits and pensions systems up to the size they currently are. BUT, the key factor is that whatever government is in power, knows exactly what their pension liabilities will be and should plan the budget to service these liabilities (or change the rules). What you don't do is spend all the NI contributions on wars, overseas aid and the EU gravy train! No, you service the liabilities first and THEN, if there is any money left, spend it on whatever. Decades of financial mis-management by governments of all colours have led us to the parlarous state we are now in. Indeed, it is hard to see how we can get out of this mess without a total financial collapse and that will be tough on all of us. You certainly cannot borrow your way out of this as that justs makes a bad situation worse. So are elderly people bleeding the system dry? Absolutely not as most, like myself, will have paid a fortune over the years in NI and TAX, not to mention tax on tax and tax! We were fully funded, just that people like dear old Gordon spent the lot and then borrowed some more and spent that too.

[Ms Macbeth]

I made a lot of money in my working years and placed it into various accounts which returned a good yield of interest. That has paid off very nicely now

I still get US Social Security benefits now I'm retired but if I had to survive on what they pay like many old folk do it would be a bit of a tough life.

 

Old folks who have no money other than the monthly social security check dont have it easy at all in this country

 

We didn't make a lot of money during our working years, but we still made some provision for our old age and because of the way that pensions are paid in the UK, we are of course penalised for being thrifty. We don't have huge amounts in the bank, and we don't have large personal pensions. We just have enough to ensure we don't qualify for the size of pension that others, who might have earned more but also spent more, now get.

 

I completely support anyone getting help from the state who has been unable to help themselves. However, that is very different from being unwilling to help themselves or look to the future.