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[STMO123]

I'm expecting my pension in five years, but I won't hold my breath.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

What seems to escape peoples attention, is that we who are 'well off' ha ha.....have,mainly like me, worked for 50years paying in all that is due. and to get where we are today, we went through hard times, scraping the breadline, being out of work...did I seek benefits, no. Pride would not let me. There were times when we had to go on bended knees to parents to borrow some money to pay the bills. To be frank, its not been pleasant at times getting through to today. We have been through 3 day weeks, strikes, etc etc.
So I think we are entitled to what we have, without being chastised by others, who have still got a lifetime of toil in front of them (should they wish to get off their backsides and do what we did) 

 

[albitz]

I think I may have been a tad misunderstood here.I am in no way promoting rewarding the workshy and penalising the hard working and frugal.
I believe that the countries top priority should be to build an economy which provides work for those who are willing and able to do so.
I believe that those who are not willing to work should be starved into work.
I also believe that there will always be some people who fall through the net and end up in hardship through no particular fault of their own.
Imo,those people should be given vouchers at taxpayers expense to keep a roof over their heads,food in the fridge,a reasonable amount of electricity/gas etc. and clothes from Tesco/ASDA etc.
Problem solved.Welfare state brought back to its originally intended purpose.Many billions of pounds per annum available to be left in the pay packets of the people who earned it.And reliance on the state almost eradicated in one move.
The state is far to big and shouldnt be involved in most of the areas of our lives and finances (including pensions)it involves itself in.To reduce it to a sensible level would involve turkeys voting for christmas unfortunately.

[omega3000]

The fat bloke on the bus rubbed it in a bit saying he spends his winter fuel allowance on a nice bottle of claret  And those people who dont want any benefits and try and give it back but cant  A lot of pensioners are helping out there own children struggling to pay the bills and eat 

[Rods2]

For once I disagree with you Rods,up to a point.If rich pensioners have paid 55% tax and then get some of it back in benefits its not a welfare state.Its marxoid redistribution of wealth by another name.They should have paid less in tax in the first place and not had some of it returned at the discretion of the state.
Imo all benefits should be means tested to find out who actually needs them.Thats the only way the bloated "welfare state" can be shrunk to a reasonable level and we can return to welfare being given to the genuinely needy.

If you read the rest of what I wrote, you would see we wouldn't be where we are, with the market system I suggest.

I agree with Kevin if you are going to have the stupid expensive system of taking money off people in tax, only to give it back again, then keep the administration cost as simple as possible. If I was a higher rate tax payer, but used an off-shore trust to keep me at a lower level, would this count or would you have to add yet another 1000 pages to Tolley's 17,000 page tax guide as of last year, to cover it. 

A good example of this is where on expensive houses this and the last Government increased stamp duty to the current 7%. Oversea's people got round this by buying in a limited company. To stop this there are now a whole raft of new regulations on price, BTL, as BTL what you can and can't do etc etc. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Anyway in a few years time when the UK has run out of people to borrow from, then the state pension will only be a nominal amount. All Ponzi schemes eventually collapse, where there are not enough new entrants to feed the existing members. Personally I expect this to happen anytime from 2014 to 2017.

Now if we each had our own personal funds like in Hong Kong, the Government running out of money would not be such a disaster.

[Olympia5776]

I watched it and thought a thoroughly misleading and imbalanced programme.
What a remarkable selection of people the three featured groups were, pious pontificating ex politicians , affluant ,fit and healthy Sudbury private club golfers and a group of black inner city yoofs.
FFS where were the normal pensioners who saved and played the game all their lives and now with some money in the bank and a mortgage free lifestyle they could be considered wealthy but take away their rightful entitlement and it would have an enormous impact on them.
How wealthy is wealthy ? If you look at the facts and figures displayed in the programme it told a different story to the thrust of the programme . The cost of withdrawing all the many benefits from the featured golfers and their ilk would far outway the savings made and definatly affect other more entitled pensioners.
It left me thinking that it was at best  mischievious even a mite sinister being shown on the week of the budget.