Wol

The reasons governments have given over the years change with the weather.

Wol

I teachers' pension funds were contracted out then, yes, part will probably be frozen. (Not all, by a long way.)

If you have the state pension remitted to Oz you're better off letting them send it - they send £Xm per month to the various countries so get the best rate. That's the theory, anyway <g>.

My company pension used to come the same way, but using the Bank of America IIRC - their exchange rate wasn't as good as what I am getting with OzForex.

morge

Oh really ? Then why do I as an ex-serviceman who did 26yrs service get my pension fully uprated each year ? I should do because I qualified for it. In the same way I paid my National Insurance payments for 47 yrs and should get the uprated pension each year. To not do so is a criminal act and if it were a private company then they would be in court. Just because the goverment make the law and freeze certain pensioners does not make it right ! And 96 % of pensioners do get the uprated pension so where is the logic ?

isgraham

You don't seem to understand how the state pension works. I'll explain it too you. You paid for your parents pension and I pay for yours. Now the problem occurs when my generation are lumbered with large debts due to very high housing costs and the young ones have large and growing debts from education and also housing whilst being told we will have to work longer and probably not even g a state pension and no defined benefit pensions. Now. Here you whining about your bloody increase. Dream on it isn't going to happen. It's not fair but then it's not fair on anyone.

Wol

We'll probably get into a slanging contest here.

I think he understands quite well what the situation is.

It's all very well going on about the way pensions are funded, about how housing is expensive and etc etc. But "my" generation didn't have all the benefits pushed at us by decades of socialist - leaning governments. Nor did we expect to have things like TVs, mobile phones, even fridges and carpets in our first houses. Most of us - and I was relatively well paid from the start (£63 per month after tax) - made do for years with the iconic bricks-and-plank bookshelf, DIY rugs and so on.

So don't bang on, please, about the cost of living. Save for it like we did.

morge

Oh dear, I have been working to get this changed for 15 years and have'nt given up yet and you don't think I know anything about it. Well I have news for you. The NI fund is ring fenced and in a surplus of £40 billion and a great deal of that surplus is due to the robbing of the pensioners who are frozen.
I am not like you who would give up a fight at the first sign of a problem so you can dream on and when we do get the pension paid to all pensioners worldwide you can come back on here and apologise and thank me and those I am working with. The government debt is nothing to do with the pension fund and that is the stupid excuse given by the Pensions Minister who raised an EDM when in opposition to get the discriminatory freezing abolished
because it was unfair and unjust. I cannot go through all of the history of this but I can aassure you that we have forced the DWP to retract a number of statements that they have used in defence of the freezing and they have run out of answers. If only people like yourself would raise the issue, then sheer public pressure would resolve it but no it's left to the few that care about those who are really suffering below the poverty line and believe me it is true. You should read all of the comments on here and elsewhere before doing so yourself. This discrimination has no part in British politics or the British government, The MP'S know it from the top down and we will win the battle with or without your help.

morge

In addition to what I have previously said. Think about this - why would the government reduce the qualifying period for a full pension if the circumstances were not right to do so ? Thewy dropped it from 42 yrs to 30 yrs. Is that dumb or what if they feel there is a pension deficit problem ! Surely a no-brainer.

lesleys

Actually it was 44 years for men and 39 for women. So we had to work/contribute from being 21 to retirement age (65 or 60) with no breaks to get the full state pension. Now you are entitled to a full pension after 30 years of contributions The pension age may have increased a couple of years but the required participation in the UK work-force has dropped by over 30%.

Perhaps it would help the younger generation if we went back to interest rates of over 20%, like it was when all that cheap housing was around.

Wol

>>Perhaps it would help the younger generation if we went back to interest rates of over 20%, like it was when all that cheap housing was around.<<

Excellent idea!

I don't think I ever paid 20% on a mortgage, but IIRC something like 16% rings a bell.

lesleys

My graduate starting salary was above average at £1250 pa. Cheapest house was £10,000.

lapin_windstar

Which was your generation? Which were the decades of socialist-leaning governments?