ultrarunner

I know right...especially when you paid into that system for years. When the time comes, am going to be all over that pension, as well as the free travel pass ( if they are still doing that )?

BristolUK

I went onto the Australia forum to see how it was discussed there.

It's interesting to note that those either against campaigning for equality or just considering it a waste of time are nowhere near as nasty and insulting as those on the Canada section.

Anyone know why that might be?

macadian

We just have more than our fair share of 'A' holes?.....

Jingsamichty

Australia attracts a much slower type of expat. I suspect most of them are still reading the OP and moving their fingers across the screen and mouthing the words.

Tangram

It's the heat.

And by the way, I haven't seen anything nasty, just people disagreeing with the premise.

iaink

Isnt that kind of the point. Its been through the UK courts and the ECHR, there is nothing left to do but come to terms with it.


I dont know that its fair or jsut or whatever, but it is what it is. The best we can hope to do is help people make an informed decision before deciding to count on a future retirement income that may not be all they might think.

JamesM

I can't speak for Alan but at a punt it borders on theft because my generation and those after have to pay extra tax to cover your generation whilst in addition having to save to have our own pensions.

Once you factor in the
- The student grants you had
- The cheap house prices
- The planet that your consumption has ruined
- The many other things I can't be asked to type.

You start to understand why younger generations could perhaps be a bit disgruntled and accuse older generations of theft, pyramid or ponzi schemes.

I also think your petition is a little dangerous mainly because if I was in Government in this "age of austerity" I would view it as an opportunity to remove indexed pensions for everybody living abroad. Think of the millions you could save. You are in danger of getting index linked pensions removed for everybody which to me seems the best and most economic way to restore equality.

All that being said- I am not trying to be nasty and you have every right to protest your corner on this forum or with the British government or whom ever you choose. I was just passing by and thought I would add my 2 pence worth........

If you fought in World War 2 then please withdraw all of the above as I would happily pay your pension.

BristolUK

What about saying people are stealing?

Or

Just disagreeing?

Not insulting?

And that's just this short thread. There have been others.

Maybe some people on this forum are so nasty, so often that they just don't notice it. Time some took a good look at themselves perhaps.

Oink

I'd go further than the above opinions and suggest lowering the voting age to 16 and capping it at 65 or 70. Older people often skew election results and thus influence policies that maybe not beneficial to the majority of the community.

iaink

Surely "a majority" is a majority? If there are enough old people that they are skewing policy, its because majority rules.

Alan2005

Ok, what would you call it when you don't produce anything, but demand that others work to pay for the things you want?

Personally, my solution would be that pensioners can have some percentage (not all of it because it's used on other things) of the NI they've paid refunded to them and they can buy an annuity with it. We'll see how far "I've paid into it all my life so I deserve it" gets you then.

Almost Canadian

Are you arguing that those that have never worked shouldn't receive welfare in the UK? What about those with mental/physical conditions that mean they can't work; no welfare for them either?

Are you turning Republican?

Oink

We're in Canada and we're talking about UK state pensions. What has an American political party have to do with anything?

Alan2005

No. Because welfare should exist. People that aren't pensioners in the UK get income support or something if they are poor. The same should apply to people after they have retired. i.e. Welfare should be a safety net for those that really need it, not a source of additional income for expatriate pensioners.

The thing is that whenever I see people demanding more money from the state I wonder what service they would cut to pay for it. If they don't want to see cuts then they are demanding that everyone else pays more tax or that the government borrows more (which is just delayed taxation). Either way, some other group of people is worse off because of it.

So I say to those who want the pension increased - what should be cut to pay for it?

iaink

Who says anything should be cut? If the current NI contribution income isnt sufficient to cover the current required spending, then increase it. Those paying now will get theirs sometime down the line, hopefully irrespective of where they are living at that time.

Pension is not welfare, its something that working people contributed to while living in the UK, so they should get something now based on past contributions (yes I know its not like a pension fund, but thats immaterial).

Given that they paid into it like everyone else, what moral justification is there to treat some of those people differently WRT inflationary increases, solely because of their current location?


I know the petition doesnt have a snowballs chance of changing anything, but looking at it purely from the point of view of what I think is "right and wrong", the current two tier system is clearly wrong, so I signed the petition anyway.