[Tinkerbell 1]

Originally Posted by DisneyWannabe

I suppose the issue really is that when State Pension was introduced it really was just another form of taxation - this hasn't changed. The NI contributions paid by workers today fund the pensioners of today - it isn't a pension pot, there is no pot of money sitting in government pay pensions.

The age was decided BECAUSE a majority of the population wouldn't make it to those ages, but now that has changed and we are all living longer and are generally healthier longer.

Much as I am peeved about my state retirement age being raised to 67 and probably much older in the coming years, I know its not going to change so we all need to be looking at our private pension schemes and look to pay as much as possible to ensure we can retire when we wish. Of course we also now have the opportunity to draw the funds from our pensions after 55 so we *could* invest them elsewhere to enable us to retire earlier than the statutory age.

DH and I have already had a reduction in our previous employers pension when the recession hit and many companies changed our retirement age and how much would be paid out so this too will affect our planned retirement, so we have sought advice and have come up with an alternative plan.

Sadly the fact is (no matter who is in government) there just isn't enough money to do all things that society has come to (or wants to) expect. Things need to change.

I am however pleased that the retirement age for all is now the same, this seems fair to me.

See more...

Exactly this, retirement is now more like 30 years instead of 10 and the numbers just don’t stack up.

People really need to focus on their private provision, I’m in my early forties and I have no expectation of a state pension, anything I get will be a bonus.

I should probably grab my tin hat right now but I don’t think anyone on this site can moan about having to work in to their 70s if they’ve prioritised Florida holidays over their pension provision.