The worker now has to work until they are 66...

It hasn't been brought forward...

...the CONservatives propose to bring it forward. Sadly for them, they haven't be elected yet.

 

Precisely...

I'm sure that the elderly will be losing their fuel allowance and probably their TV licences as well. They'll probably create enough means testing red tape to put any unfortunate elderly citizen off even asking for any meagre benefits they invent to 'replace' them.

 

Yes of course that's the case. And as far as I'm concerned the Tories are currently shooting themselves repeadedly in the foot and could very well grasp defeat from the jaws of victory if they carry on pissing about with proposed policy decisions.

In all honesty, I don't think there is a lesser of two evils between either party, I do try to look at policy by policy announcements regardless of who's making them and try and see the value of them. I've had enough of Labour ruling the roost, just like I'd had enough of the Tories ruling the roost 12 years ago.

I think the longer a party stays in power, the more twisted it gets.

 

What is always overlooked about public sector pensions is

the fact that public sector employees make higher contributions to their pensions from day one. Ok the pension is better but the contributions have always been heftier. People seem to believe that these pensions are just gifted out - hardly. Look at pay deal of recent times - under a labour government no less - for public sector works - teachers, police, fire brigade, council works - you name it - have all had the shaft from the home secretary. Very easy to turn on the public sector and blame them isn't it?

 

This is boring

Has anybody got a picture of some lesbians. Maybe on a Barnsley FC bed spread if we want to keep it relevant.

 

Of course that doesn't happen now.

My dad is 75 years old, had a devastating stroke 4 years after he retired having worked every day of his life, it was also a couple of years after losing his wife. He's permanently paralysed from the chest down but has retained his independence by staying at home and living on his prison/forces pension and state pension, he cooks his own meals and potters about in his wheelchair. He has some disability allowance to pay for carers to come in once a day for about an hour, he's entitled to have them come in twice a day, but doesn't want to cause any trouble. When they discovered that sometimes the carers sit and have a coffee with him, they reduced his allowance and the time they could spend with him. They keep asking for bank statements every year to reassess, just in case he's managed to save any money and they can reduce his allowance again. They've reduced his allowance or time spent with him 4 times now.

And there's people scrounging incapacity benefit as a profession and people are up in arms about clamping down on it. It makes me feel physically sick when I contrast my Dad against these people.

Let's not pretend that Labour don't go for easy targets.

 

The employer contribution is normally much higher in the public sector then in the private sector.

 

Did I hear Cameron right?

Did he say that tory's would introduce pensions where they were more in line with your earnings i.e the more tax you pay the better the state pension you receive?

If so - he's got my vote on that alone. If he didnt then he can sack off cos he's a miderable lieing rat who's only interest is lining his and his mates pockets.

 

global warming will keep them alive. It's fine.

 

No. You heard wrong (I think)

The plans - of both parties - is to link the average rise in pensions to the average rise in earnings rather than inflation.

Therefore in the future, as in the past but not currently, if average earnings in the uk go up by 5% and inflation goes up by 2% ALL pensioners on the state pension will get 5% increase.

 

Ah right.

Im not voting then.

 

Re: The worker now has to work until they are 66... nt

 

Is it the DWP or your local (Tory?) council

reducing his entitlement? It is about how you fill in the forms re maximising your benefits, honesty is not always the best policy, and you're spot on about the benefit dependancy culture, makes me despair walking around Barnsley town centre, without Disability Living Allowance, half the pubs would be shut in Barnsley. But if you cant beat them......

It'll be a shame went Gordon allows the Tories back in in May, just as we were resorting back to Keynesian economics. Back to letting the market right itself, a quid to post a letter and a quick and slow lane in A&E.

 

**** me (shakrhead)

 

How about bring womens retirement age in line first

oh, right, that's what Labour were planning to do!

 

Yes, it has been brought forward

in advance of proposals to FIRST bring womens pensions into line.

He's already had to back-track saying that this doesn't mean women's will go from 63 to 66 in the space of a year.

Labour were going to gradually increase womens retirement age first - surely that makes sense to do that before increasing mens retirement age

 

They are doing

The process started last April I believe, and will last for the next several years. Already women approaching 60 are having to work several months longer, and this will eventually go to 65.

 

I know

See what I said about that being a Labour policy - however the Tories introducing their propsal would mean mens retirement age increasing before they were in line.

 

RE: I know

Well, as it's not passed legislation yet it doesn't really matter.</p>

But I'm quite sure if it does, there won't be any obstacles to levelling them up anyway. I'm not sure if it's 2014 or 2019 when women's retirement age fully reaches 65. Loads of time yet to ensure parity.</p>

 

It's neither. It's a policy that has been identified for review apparently. Who knows what the final outcome may be. The original porposal was made to Labour (Tony Blair era) by Lord Turner and he and others that have apparently looked at the proposal since believe that 2026 is too far off for the required positive impact.

Either way, it's just a headline of a review rather then a policy and I'm not entirely sure what they have discussed in regards to women.