Once someone is retired, their financial die is more or less cast.
They have little scope to recover from financial shocks or to generate new income from anywhere.
They are reliant on a fixed income based on their state pension plus income from any private savings they have had. An income which is vulnerable to inflation and also stock market returns, as final salary schemes have died away.
They don't know how long their remaining money needs to last, and don't know what ill health or care for elderly partners lies ahead. Their fate is unpredictable and, to a large extent, in the hands of others. A very vulnerable situation.
They may own a "valuable" property but it's probably their family home and selling up and moving is stressful at a time of life when health and mobility is often poor. Elderly people having lived in a family home for a long time have usually built up a support network of friends and neighbours, hard to replace when moving somewhere new.
If government starts breaking promises made to pensioners a decade or more ago, around which retirees based their retirement planning, trust in government and in retirement saving will quickly collapse, which would be an economic and humanitarian catastrophe.
There needs to be cross party consensus reached on pension funding so that today's working people can make plans for their future safe in the knowledge that future Chancellors won't fcuk everything up for some cynical short term political advantage.
And there needs to be a bit more compassion towards today's elderly people. Despite the wild fantasies of some young activists, it isn't pensioners' fault that property is unaffordable for first time buyers. It's the fault of politicians, past and present. Lay the blame where it belongs, please, and spare us the intergenerational hate.
I wish they would leave this family alone - dealing with illness/cancer and a young family is hard enough without this constant scrutiny - I don’t know what’s going on in her healthcare plans and it’s not my business but this is starting to feel like bullying
"They're eating the dogs. They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets" What person with a brain would even consider voting for this ridiculously stupid fecking cuntcake? 🙄🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭
#Debate2024
Govt minister Matthew Pennycook says if the govt didn't scrap the universal winter fuel allowance they'd have had to do something else
What, like introducing a wealth tax on the super rich?
No, of course not. The alternative Pennycook gives is cutting front line public services