State pension means testing; What you need to know
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- Everyone gets the same amount of state pension regardless how wealthy you are. As long as you’ve paid 35 years of national insurance contributions that is. But what if this were to change in the future such that the amount you get depends on how much other income you have.
In this video, go through the likelihood of the state pension being means tested and what it could mean for you if it does.
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Video on why the state pension is a benefit
• The state pension is a...
timestamps
0:00 intro
1:23 the current picture for the state pension
2:22 what portion of retirement income is it?
4:24 should everyone get the same?
8:47 what could means testing look like?
11:11 would means testing discourage pension saving?
If state pension becomes means tested. There is no point saving. Just piss it all up the walls. Then you will get a state pension.
No. Buy gold.
@@SimonDeBelleme1but then they'd try taking your gold off you. Or they'd say, "you've got gold, so you'll get less pension".
@@ForkCandle123 I didn't say anything about declaring it. What you do is buy physical gold, hide it and develop selective amnesia about it.
@@SimonDeBelleme1 yes, I thought as much. But they'd search your purchase history - even if it's cash ones. Plus, you'll be watched and they'd raid your home or follow you.
I haven't factored the state pension into our retirement plan's 56 now quitting work at 60 all being well.
The problem I have with this is the people who have saved and gone without to make provision are penalised. The people who have not, get the reward. That's never right.
It’s always the way. There’s people sitting on their backsides doing nothing getting more than people doing a full time job
The real problem is too many people in full time work not getting payed enough and the cost of living crisis. So there are loads of people who don't have enough money to save for their retirement, even with good money budgeting, skrimking. It's not the fault of the unemployed, you shouldn't listen to the tories and right wing media bull. And also according to our tory government unemployment is very low. Also most people on benefits are now working, we are just subsidising the businesses that they work for. We need to increase the minimum wage to a proper living wage and inforce it properly
@@fredatlas4396 not sure what that has with the government stealing peoples state pension
Aye it’s also not right that the government are constantly moving the retirement age , all that’s doing is robbing us out of our so called benefit !! Benefit Even that makes it sound like your a cadger , the pensions in this country should be inline with the E.U then we might stand a chance of have a decent living, as for taxing pensions........disgusting!
@@fredatlas4396 No, that is totally the wrong thing to do. It's the minimum wage that has got the UK into this mess. High minimum wage has fed inflation to the point everything is expensive because unskilled workers in your supermarket, amazon picking packing jobs now earn £25,500 a year minimum. The has fed through to prices, in a doom loop. People do sit on benefits all their lives scrounging off the taxpayers. To earn what they do in benefits they would have to take a job paying 32k a year, so of course they have happy to sit on their asses, apart from the afternoons when they are in Spoons getting pissed and smoking tabs, watching Sky TV full movie package - then claiming they are can't afford to feed their kids
Am 58 retiring next year but the thought of retirement gives me weakness. My apologies to everyone who have retired and filing social security during this time after putting in all those years of work just to lose everything to a problem you never imagined to happen. It’s so difficult for people who are retired and have no savings or loved ones to fall back on.
True, It has never been easier to understand how to build your money after retirement than it is right now with the inflation, when you may study and experience a completely variegated market passively by employing a successful portfolio-advisor. The impacts of the U.S. dollar's gain or fall on investments, in my opinion, are complex.
Even if you’re not skilled, it is still possible to hire one. I was a project manager and my personal portfolio of approximately $850k of my retirement pension took a big hit in April due to the crash. I quickly got in touch with a financial-planner that devised a defensive strategy to protect my funds and make profit from my portfolio this red season. I’ve made over $250k since then.
This is exactly how i wish to get my finances coordinated ahead of retirement. Can I get access to your advisor?
There are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘’Colleen Rose Mccaffery” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
Thanks a lot for this suggestion. I needed this myself, I looked her up, and I have sent her an email. I hope she gets back to me soon.
The government has to stop penalising the working
The working has to tell the government to get off our back! Life's tough, get a job. HMRC stop grifting from my sweat and toil? They give/do nothing, but take 20% for doing it? Not legitimate anymore. We pay tax voluntarily. It is not ratified in law. Which is why every April it ends. They then have to apply for a new financial settlement? Allegedly? Never expected to get nothing but a pittance, I'll managed and crap! Not fit for purpose. So. They can shove it. I will provide for myself. Cannot rely on the dosey beggers in parliament? They are useless air stealers! Keep all your money to yourself. Tell the state to sling it's dirty grifting hook! Nowt but thieves and liars!😮
No it doesn't but it should🤝
And deporting the money drainers
It won't be means tested, she's click baiting !!! for money.
Yes I get the full pension having worked 51 years , Left school at 15 , Never long enough out of work to bother with trying to get any social security or dole money, always taught to to look after myself , Built my own house at 25 years old , 4 bed, 2 bathrooms on a 350 square meter plot. I worked 7 days a week to do this to give my family a decent home, was a bricklayer, now retired, 68 years old, My wife 69 looked after my daughters children for all the years she was working to give them a chance to better themselves and then when it came to retirement she was denied a full pension, yet lazy Bar-stewards who never worked a day in their lives, get a full pension!
Totally agree 👍
This is totally ridiculous and wrong......and they say they want to make work pay
?????
You should not compare yourself to others.
Your luck was your own but try to do your life from a wheelchair or position of weakness.
Hardships are all around and they are made worse by governments who have no morals.
@@dasdasdatics420 Well said. I bought my own house for £1,300 at the age of 20 and was badly injured in a road accident a few days before my 21st birthday, my own work history being sketchy thereafter. I live with long term cervical myelopathy but looked after my old ma for 25 years, She's 101 now and in full time care, having refused to come home to me from hospital, saying that I 'wouldn't have any kind of a life'. The holier-than-thou, I've always been a grafter bricklayer above can go p1$$ up a rope, to use a quaint but very apt expression. Then again, perhaps all his talent is in his hands. It certainly isn't between his ears.
Like you i can relate fully to what your saying I’m also on a full state pension with a small private pension and I’m still paying tax on them,which leaves me with £920 state And £225 private total income being £1,145.00 monthly taxes are still penalising low income people like myself, the tax system only favours the rich? No one should be paying tax on the first £20,000 of ones income, only excluding the first £12,550. Is just another insult to the low paid,and you wonder why so many people can’t pay their rent and household bills,And I’m talking about the many on lower incomes than mine,it’s an utter disgrace from a government that doesn’t care and never has 🤔 enjoy stay safe 😎🇬🇧👍
This seems like the worst period.
Even the market are now very unpredictable.
Started investing recently when the market prices were a bit high, today I am more than 60% down!
Don't be confuse buying the dip in a bear market, with guaranteed future returns.
Just because that company is down 60% + from ATH does NOT make it a sound long-term investment. Make sure you're investing in great companies. kudos to
Juliana Heidi.
I agree just reached my goal of $500k monthly trade earnings. Setting realistic goals is an essential part of trading.
please educate me, i am willing to make consultation to improve my situation.
She's recognized as 'mrs Juliana. One of the finesst portfolio managers in the field.....and widely recognised; you should take a superb look at her analogies.
Woah for real? I'm super excited. Juliana heidi strategy has normalized winning trades for me also. and it's a huge milestone for me looking back to how it all started
God bless this country. Once again, you pay more and more in but get less and less out.
You know they haven't changed it, right ?
I already am means tested. Having a works pension that combined with the state pension I have to pay income tax because the two combined take me over the tax free threshhold. You can't beat the system, happy days as usual. DOB 1956.
Exactly the same for me, also class of '56..I lose 2 weeks state pension each month in tax..hmmmm
@@Jaymark-gk4li It sure does suck especially as we paid tax on it when we paid into it. Now we have to pay tax again. I hope that you are the same as me and have many happy memories of the days that were far better than the crap we now live in. Thanks for your reply and Take Care.👍
@@rubberyowen1469 aye, and you mate
If you have worked all your working life and paid in full, of course you should receive the full amount, it is your pension money!!!!
As an example an asylum seeker gets £49.18 per week which is not far of pension allowance , free acomodation, free NHS …. That’s where our pension money is going?
The state pension is £170 (basic old state pension) to £221 (new state pension) a week, the figures are not even close. If we processed asylum seekers quickly, then they could start working far sooner.
@@grahambriggs8338 what? £55 a week as opposed to 49 a week is not that big and if you can be bothered to take into account some of us have paid in for 50 years, asylum seekers are being ‘given’ far too much.
@@grahambriggs8338 They are mostly unemployable and they will forever be a drain on our society. Fact.
Asylum seekers only have to work 5 years to receive a full State Pension, unlike Uk citizens that need 35yrs !!
Sorry but it’s not your pension money, your money payed for pensioners when you were young,the people working now pay for the pensioners of today.its amazing how many people don’t understand that.
The money that the government spends on pensions…already one of the lowest in Europe…is dwarfed by the billions it wastes on hotels for immigrants, and the benefits paid to them after contributing absolutely nothing. Add that to the billions wasted on PPE, foreign aid to countries like China and India, and you understand how badly taxpayers money has been squandered.
Plenty of money available IF they stop wasting it on the theatre of the macabre that is Ukraine, on illegals,and everything else that comes along as the latest thing
You obviously haven’t studied economics. The biggest wastage is the Tory government who have spent million’s compulsory purchasing land for the ABANDONED HS2 project which is now being sold off at knock down prices to donors, the privatisation of public services which cannot be delivered cheaper and having to be bailed out when services are run into the ground, PPE contracts and VIP lanes running into billions, how about the £4000 a day paid to a Tory donor to moor that ridiculous barge or £490 million to send 1 volunteer to Rwanda with £3000 in his pocket, at that price we could have put every asylum seeker through the finest university’s in the country and let the get high paid jobs and never spend a penny on them again while they pay back the cost in taxes.
The problem has been created by the Tories when they closed the processing centres and stopped sending people back, they stopped paying for security at the French border making it a free for all in small boats. It’s so bad that Labour wipes the floor with the Tories on the numbers of migrants that could get through.
All those are real problems but so are pensions, it’s a Ponzi scheme that required you to have more children than you did.
Not to mention giving our own indigenous head-working benefit scroungers a lifetime of free money and housing who then go on to collect a free state pension they haven't earned.
Evidently sending them to Rwanda will cost 1.8 million pounds EACH! You could not make it up!
Yes... everyone that has paid in should get the same amount regardless of savings and windfalls.
The problem is... with savings etc... you have no idea how long they will last... especially with politicians mismanagement of the economy.
Stop trying to claw back money from pensions to compensate for over spending on Woke issues and Immigrants . Leave pensions exactly as they are... stop frittering away tax payers money on virtual signalling... foreign aid... migrants... and we wouldnt need this conversation... The main problem is a population of nearly 70 million of which only approx 10% Work and pay tax... stop importing poverty.
Well said !!
Here Here. Totally agree. Never truer word spoken
I Agree !
Only 10% work? I'd love to know your source for that assumption.
I know what he means…but totally incorrect data Boris!
Yes, it doesn’t matter how wealthy you are you when you retire, you still worked for the pension
Nice theory. That's not what's going to happen. The PR start with sob stories of impoverished elderly and their tiny pension next to a 'millionaire' pensioner drinking champagne with theirs The point will be made that this is 'unfair' and so called wealthy elderly don't need the pension and the money should be redirected. Before you realize it, pensions will be means tested - starting indeed with elderly with say 2 million in savings. Once established the bar will drop. and drop and drop. Your pension that worked for will be removed because it's 'not fair'.
Exactly, and I would argue that the state pension should be based on the amount of NI a person has paid during their lifetime.
@@kevlarkit's a benefit so that'll never happen but could easily be means tested.
@@stumac869 I'm currently putting as much as I can into my private pension, if I reach pension age and it's means tested then I may as well have peed that money up against the wall.
It doesn't take a genius to guess which party would be the most likely to means test the state pension and penalise those who have taken the grown up decision to provide for themselves.
I made the decision early this year to take my tax free cash, as I thought that option is likely to be something that the next government will abolish.
@@kevlark If you have paid zero contributions like my brother in law he now gets pension credits which is nearly £50 more than I get after 50 years contributions, oh yes and unlike me he pays no council tax or rent 😊
This is a very slippery road to go down . Why should people who plan for their retirement be penalised in order to give those who haven’t more money . State pension is slightly less than a 3rd of what I earn now . With my other pensions I won’t even achieve what I earn now . I would probably fail the means test because my home is paid for . Which again seems unfair as I e planned this to make my retirement comfortable not rich . It aggravates me that I have paid so much in taxes throughout my life and I have saved only to be shafted by government civil servants and MPS who will all have final salary pensions and large bonus payments . Just saying
It's all true!!!! MP's and civil servants are guaranteed solid gold pensions.
@@davidlindley6992 Great point , why dont you hear theres no money for public sector pensions ? 2.6 Trillion but the big problem is state pensions . Next level spindoctoring . were being played like a fiddle by civil servants & politicians who want to make pensions means tested so they can cash in though sleazy connections to the pension providers .
It would have to be compulsory for obvious reasons , then these rip off companies could charge what they like in fees & charges K ching K ching K ching . As in life , all about the money with politicians.
@@davidlindley6992No it isn't all true. It is speculative. Your own home would probably not be considered an asset for something like this. MPs and civil servant pensions are not the state pension. If means testing was introduced, this pension incomes would be counted as income so may disqualify them if, and it is a big if, the government ever went down that route.
Now I’ve had more time to think about it, this video is a bit of scare mongering so people sign up to her (Dianne) guidance products. All this video has done is make a lot of people, angry, frustrated and anxious about something that may never happen!
Slippery slope. Yes indeed. If you are rich no state pension, no NHS, no point in trying to be independent. Richer people who contribute the most via tax and NICs to these services will then get no benefit from them.
Along with most other comments on here, i would be against means testing the state pension. I worked ridiculously long hours, lived frugally so i could put money in a pension, never a high earner. People next door could have done the same but chose to go on long haul holidays, replace their car regularly, upgrade their kitchen. It cant be right to penalise savers by subsidising spendthrifts
Exactly..spend your life pissing your money up the wall and collect a state pension...work hard and live modestly, providing for your own retirement and then get penalised because the government says you're well off.
It seems to me our government don't like good hard working people to do any good for them selfs ..bunch of w..Kers if you've paid it you should get it...its strange you've worked hard all your life to achieve something in life but then because of this we are getting mugged we give up our house to pay for it this is diabolical disgrace..f..k our government...
@@kw8757Exactly. It should look at income/inheritance received over lifetime vs retained assets and those who've earned modestly yet provided for their own retirement shouldn't be penalised.
You’re right, and that’s exactly what the unfairness is of inheritance tax as well. The UK creeps closer & closer to communism. One day you’ll “own nothing & be happy”.
Of course it is not right but they are still going to take your pension. We live in a socialist society and the UK public are for it.
In the 70’s we paid taxes and we had NHS dental care; public care homes for the elderly; a good affordable transport system; people retired at 60 for women and 65 for men; affordable housing, either private or rental, free higher education; legal aid, and I could go on and on. We have lost so much, yet we pay much more tax and get a lot less. I would guess that most people look forward to retirement, particularly those whose jobs offer little in stimulation and are heavy work. To suggest that the state pension is means tested is an insult to the public they are supposed to represent. Especially in the light of the money wasted on a flu virus and these terrible wars. It’s anti human. It is absolutely clear that the government do not want our children to inherit.
100%
You make the 1970s sound like a socialist Nirvana.
You know that the free adult education only went to less than 10% of the population, and they were mostly very wealthy people, right ?
We also had free, or minimum charge, youth clubs to keep kids off the streets & free street loos & Bobbies walked the Beat & were respected, or feared & energy was affordable.
Can I also mention the cost nowadays of all the police, clean up etc of all these street protests. Those protesting don’t realise the ultimate costs. Protest yes but pick & choose those that will benefit the U.K. people & don’t cause them further costs & disruption. All I see are lots of people farting in the wind, mainly about what is happening abroad!
@@timg1246 According to the Social History Society, the Adult Education in the 1970s were dominated by men as women couldn’t avail themselves of that free education, “not because they didn’t want it but owing to the unceasing round of household duties & the care of children”. Something the government forgot when failing the WASPI women!
@@Dana-ml7sy Thank you for this as now I can add these things onto my list. I will ask Sonia Poulton on TNT Radio if she will make this question of the day. What have we lost since the 70’s? My list is very long.
Perhaps for starters we shud look at the golden pensions paid to ministers and civil servants. Funded at great cost by the tax payer. Then look to reducing the state pension.
Absolutely. Most of our council tax goes on gold plated pensions
£80b this year and £45b last year is being spent to cover the BoE's losses on gilts they've decided to sell rather than jus hold to maturity.
There is so much money in this country, the problem is the way it's being wasted by government
2.6 Trillion .. yes Trillion but they try to tell us they cant afford the pitifull uk pension .
Very few defined benefit pensions ( so called gold plated ) in the private sector these days.
I Agree !
This lady also works for the Government and is on the Govt website.
...These Millionaires couldn't care less about the rest of us !
I believe everybody should get the same amount of state pension for years they have been contributed regardless of personal wealth, people can be savers or spenders, savers should not be penalised. For this to change we need a very long timescale and clear choices not to contribute to NI and make own arrangements with those contributions.
Agree! Why should we save if we are penalised?
How do you pay for it? In 1950 people only lived to 68.93yrs on average, now it's 81.92yrs. And those over 65 now number over 10 million, increasing to 16 million by 2060. The burden on taxpayers for this, the £3trn national debt, and £5trn unfunded public sector workplace pensions would be so huge there'd be no point in working.
@@BenzkneesWe retired at age 66 and our Pension as far as we are concerned has already been paid for via National Insurance. Our contributions paid for our parents and our children’s contributions paid for ours. What the Government should have done was to invest enough to cover all Pensions and to continue investing every year.This way there would have been no shortfall at all. Another point my husband worked down the coal mines and paid into his mine workers pension.His pension was non taxable at that time because tax through earnings had already been paid it was also non means tested because miners put their lives at risk going down the mines to dig out coal to keep Britain warm. Then the Government took over running the mine workers pension.They immediately took a 50% split of the surplus changed it to a means tested and taxable pension and the government then enjoyed the 50% surplus without ever paying a penny towards that Pension. If they can invest the Mine workers money and make billions from it why can’t they do the same to provide a State Pension. We have saved hard all our lives and done without a lot to buy our home with money put away incase of big repairs like new roof rewiring etc. We also see our home as a gift that will be shared with our children, because we couldn’t give them a lot of material things when they were growing up. Let’s stop the huge pensions given to Prime Ministers like Liz Truss who only last a few days. Then there’s the House of Lords with £300 a day for turning up and huge Pensions Then the Royal Family. No we at the bottom have had enough let’s start at the Top first and stop grudging hard working people what they have rightly earned. I am disgusted at this plan it punishes the wrong people and discourages good people from saving and doing the right things.
@@Benzknees I've seen more recent statistics which are saying since about 2010 the average life expectancy dor the poor and less well off is actually falling now. I would say this could be down to increasing poverty levels and massive funding cuts for NHS since 2010. Also I think the rich and higher payed should pay some more in tax. I'm sure their is enough money just our government has squandered it in dodgy covid contracts, mismanagement incompetence and to their friends and tory donors. Plus our corporation tax is now the lowest in all the G7 nations and most likely a lot more besides. And it hasn't boosted our economy or benefitted the rest of us in anyway, those businesses have just put the extra money into their pockets, ceo's, directors . On the contrary, the experts are saying if we increased corporation tax it would encourage UK businesses to invest more back into the businesses, thus increasing growth and efficiency etc. Because those businesses would rather put the money back into the business when the choice is either give the money to the government in more tax or reinvest it and this get tax relief on the money reinvested
@@arabellasommers9343 - As those NI contributions by then current taxpayers have always paid for then current pensioners' State Pensions, the pensions would also have to be paid back.
Abolish the state pension, and the government will face 30 million Guy Fawkes.
How come? Look at the crap the general public have taken over the last few years without batting an eyelid.
Britain isn't France. There'd be no protest or anything (Tories made effective protest illegal anyway - you cheered when it was Just Stop Oil, but now it's your retirement...) and everyone would just get poorer and the economy would shrink with the reduced spending.
People will just moan and keep voting these muppits in. There'll be no protests.
Theres a lot of pple who worked over 36 years have died b4 collecting their pension
That is never taken into account
The government gets to keep that no questions asked!!!
Excellent point
Of course it's taken into account. You think the government doesn't know some people die before retirement age?
Work and private pension providers rely on people dying before they retire. That's how they make their money.
Natiinal insurance is used to fund lots of things - not just pension. These numbers used here are meaningless
The government factors that into their budget. This is one reason to invest in a private defined contribution pension, that has great inheritance tax advantages, especially if you die before 75.
What about looking at the 100,000 a year an ex PM gets on top of their pension . plus a state pension
Well, if the government does go ahead with any means testing for pensions….then I would argue we need means testing for how much we pay for everything else through life…..food, petrol….you name it!!! Both my parents didn’t make it to the age I need to be to get my state pension…..so I’m not expecting anything even though I’ve paid my 35 years…..
If it does go ahead, Im not sure if that wont be some international precedent? Im yet to hear of a country that means tests their pensions. Also if that idea ever gets entertained, this needs to be with a fair amount of advance notice on how the system will work so that we can adjust.
If that`s the case, all contributions made to state should be returned with interest.
The problem is worse because NIC pension money is not ‘ringfenced’ by government. In other words it gets ‘raided’ by government for other things… If you pay in, you should get out… end of
How would you do that when the state pension scheme was set up as a pyramid scheme? The original beneficiaries were paid by then current taxpayers & it's continued like that ever since.
NI is just income tax and isn't ring-fence for anything.
@@BenzkneesThat is not a pyramid scheme.
@@timg1246 - A unsustainable scheme where large numbers of new members of workers are recruited with a promise of the same future rewards as a small number of pensioners get. But as those expecting s reward increase & new members tail off, the scheme fails. That's the very definition of a pyramid scheme!
@@timg1246 No, it's a legalised Ponzie scheme
Im lucky to be a higher rate taxpayer.
Bear in mind, if you’re a high earner, your employer pays 13.8% in addition to the 10-12% (now 8%)
This means high earners can pay in 100s of thousands along with the employer’s contribution which is technically part of your building up of contributions.
To be told, that because you did well and probably saved and paid into a private pension, that you’re not eligible for SP, would be criminal.
I have already paid my 35 years in, as I started paying when I left school in the mid 80's. I will still have to wait another 12 years to receive it. I am also a high tax payer, and I have always used the SP calculation as part of my retirement plans - to means test it against my other incomes would be a poor move by any government - but I see it as a potential anti -working person thing a new Labour government will do - oddly.
National insurance was always just another form of tax used to pay for current expenditure. With public debt at £3trn, and another £5trn in unfunded promises to public sector workers for their occupational pensions, we can expect both higher taxes & NI, lower or no state pensions, and more charges for using the NHS in future. Basically the country has been living well beyond its means for many decades, and the bill is coming due.
@@Benzknees The problem is national insurance is actually a flawed concept, as it has never covered the cost of the things we say it is for.
A fairly skilled economist will tell you, that if you hold the tax threshold levels were they are for say two years, and reduce NI to say 1% - so we keep a record of who has paid - then the government will be raking more money than every before in tax, without NI.
In the years after that you gradually lift the tax tiers by 2% a year or by inflation if it is less than 2%. That way maintaining fiscal drag, and increasing the tax pouring in .
Psychologically you will notice less - as you have been given some money back in lower NI rates.
@@DS-cf1zc - Well yes, that's what they've done in part. But there comes a limit when taxpayers get fed up of being dragged into the higher rate tax band, even tho' their real wages haven't increased. I was one such, and gave up work early as a result.
Scale that up across the country and you potentially have a big problem. Already the top 10% of taxpayers pay 60% of income taxes, up from 35% in 1978, while 56% of taxpayers get more in benefits than they pay in taxes. The tax base is scarily dependent on fewer & fewer people.
@@Benzknees I get it - I passed into the 40% bracket in 2008, and ever since I have paid 50-51% on every new pound I earn - purely down to NI.
The current reductions mean I am down to around 47-48% on every new pound for the first time in 16 years.
Hence why we need to somehow, restructure taxation.
Increasing NI, and doing nothing with PAYE would mean for every new pound I make, I could end up paying up to and over 55%.
I have a private pension which I paid 14% of my income into for 30 years. Why should I forfeit any of my state pension as I also paid 40 years of National Insurance. I had no option to opt out and expect to receive my full state pension when the time comes.
Exactly right! 👍
Indeed, I can only see this working if the entry date is 30 to 40 years in the future to give people time to adapt their contributions and make use of whatever NI saving or similar the government sweetens the deal by.
@@grahambriggs8338
You've made a good point there, Graham. Those who've lived and worked within the old system shouldn't be penalised by any changes made by the new system whilst they're still alive.
Few members of my immediate family lived long enough to receive the State Pension. Blue collar working class people tend to not live that long. As for !myself I started receiving the State Pension at 66 two years ago. The pension is 100% of my income. I'm very sorry that I managed to survive so long. But maybe not for much longer, seeing I'm undergoing tests for colorectal cancer. So all the more to keep foreign freeloaders in the style to which they have become accustomed.
So sorry for your diagnosis, hope for a good prognosis.
Thanks for your concern. It's greatly appreciated. I intend to be around for a few more years.
@@danielcalderwood6674 excellent news.
How do you get to 66 without ever contributing to a private pension during your life? It's been mandatory for the last decade as well. I hope the tests come back clear for you.
@GrahamBriggs Thanks for your concern re my health issues. It's difficult taking out a private pension scheme when you earn barely enough to feed, clothe, and keep a roof over your head.
In 2009 like many people I was made redundant when the company I worked for shut down - I signed on, as many did - then I found out because I was intelligent enough to put away money in savings, my benefits were "means tested" as well - I got £300 a month - while I should be grateful, I cannot help but be annoyed at the fact I was unemployed for over a year, as many were as the economy had just tanked, My outgoings were £800 (private rent not mortgage, bills food etc etc, I even SORN'd my car) so in the 15 months before I managed to get a job I used over £7500 of my savings - JUST BECAUSE I SAVED MONEY when so many did not and got double or more free from the govt.
There’s a lot to be said for hiding your savings, specially now the interest rate is going lower.
@@nickcastings1568is that legal? What would be the consequences of this legally?
I’m sure it’s not.
@@nickcastings1568 now you can see why Ken Dodd didn't declare all his earning, I praise him for that.
ARE they going to means test MP's and house of Lords too???
Doubt it!!
You are confusing state pensions with work place pensions. If means testing were introduced, it would seem fairly likwly that MPs would indeed lose out on state pension.
The harebrained idea of paying the illegal's housing, food and healthcare for 5 years when they return to Rwanda shows that there's possible Quaalude abuse among those who make the critical decisions. This cannot help the state pension.
No, the people sent to Rwanda will get their Rwandan state ID documents, then use the £3000 to get a flight back here. They cannot be sent back to Rwanda according to the agreement if they have Rwandan state ID. The whole Rwanda thing is a waste of money, use that money to process the claims, keep those we want to keep who can work, with skills, etc, etc.
@@grahambriggs8338 3000 quid goes a long way in Rwanda.
My husband’s pension is less again this year because of the tax we pay, and mine is taxed as well. All the ‘triple lock’ does for us is increase our tax burden. We don’t have enough money to be worry free but just too much to get help.
Read this!!! When my dad died, i kept his bank acc open. I used this for saving into when i was working, keeping my own bank acc low. Retired eight years ago at 68 and still have both accounts, savings in my dad's and pension going into mine. Paid tax & N.I. since i was 15,,,no intention of paying any more 👍
Assuming you are the sole beneficiary, I imagine both accounts would be assessed for means testing. Legally speaking.
@@jamesburke6739 Dad's account kept secret, only I know about it so can't be assessed.
Would be just another way to put down people who have tried hard.
I would take my 25% tax free out of that works pension have a smaller pension to have with your state pension do it early so the pension has its tax on pay as you earn it works better than getting a tax letter
Once a year to pay talk to someone who can give you good advice
If you have paid into it you should get it, if not nothing!
Currently only 40% pensioners receive a full pension. WASPI women had up to 6 years stolen from them. The uptake of pension credit is quite low. Anyone who has a work pension should know it’s taxed!
SP alone will be taxed soon as it edges ever closer to £12,570…
WASPI women have their upper middle class feminist sisters to blame, and EU equality regulatioms, for providing the Government with the pretext for raising the State Pension age for women.
Not if you only withdraw 25% of it
@@wiganer9912 I withdrew a small amount initially from one small pension but I’m still taxed because they add it to another pension, which is slightly larger but nothing to write home about! The tax is not much but it the principal. I would have been better off having no extra work pensions & live off the state pension & pension credit which is more! I don’t qualify for pension credit as I have savings, from doing without & deferring gratification. Bitter sweet really!
Waspi women had up to 6 years to earn extra NI qualifying years, you mean.
I started work in 1977 after Uni as an Articled Clerk. We didn´t earn much so paid minimal NIC. Having qualified as a CA I went to work in the middle east, this lasted on and off for 20 or so years. I had 10 years contributions when I returned for good. Paid class 3 NIC for 5 missed years and did a small amount of small self employed work and paid Class 2 NIC, This got me to 27 years when the time needed was 30 years. They then changed the time to 35 years, I could not add any more years but I was not complaining. My first year of pension mostly covered my total contribution into the NIC.
The problem with means testing is unexpected care costs can easily eat into your entire life's savings within a few years. Care in the UK is astronomical in comparison to the level you receive. 4000 per month to be left in a corner and fed canned soup.
The means testing of the UK state pension is only 7 to 10 years away. That is why The new legislation allowing government to check the bank accounts of anyone receiving a state pension, now classed as a benefit, not an earned right has been implemented. Once up and running the state pension will depend upon property owned, cash assets and private pensionable assets. You'll be audited without your knowledge and the state pension to be received, age 70+, will be tiered or possibly even denied. With the continued massive influx of foreigners, 10 million since 2005, resources will have to be made available for state pensions which will not be available for all. Once everyone knows what procedures and standards are set many will stop saving, stop paying into pensions and even stop working. This will play into government, EU WEF. WHO and UN hands. The less assets people hold in the form of cash, stocks and shares and property the easier it will be to implement Central Bank Digital Currency. Thus controlling the economy's of each country and their populace much more closely. That will just be the beginning......
Yeah I agree. Don't have a private pension. You will be Shafted.
Spot on. I’ve had a gut feeling about means testing state pension for some time and my gut feeling over the last four years hasn’t been wrong yet.
1984 citizen!
Scary
Thank you, Jim, that's the best comment on here (yes, I've read every one of them).
May I ask why you've said "The means testing of the UK state pension is only 7 to 10 years away"?
How do you know it won't be sooner than that? Just curious, but would love to hear back from you.
Stay safe and well, wherever you are.
Don't forget about those who's pensions were contracted out like the Civil Service and the National Health Service etc, I was fortunate enough to check my pension some years ago and found that there was a short fall which I then have had to make up show my years of contribution is around 46 years of paying into the scheme.
You stated that you need 35 years of NIC in order to get the full state pension. This is incorrect and the 35 year rule only applies to the old state pension, not the new state pension. The Gov Pensions website states to work out a projected forecast for the new state pension, you take the full amount of the weekly state pension, divide by 35 and the times it by how many full years NIC from 2016. I have 43 years NIC and I will still not get a full state pension, I am 2 years short. What annoys me is that I had a very stressful job as a Line Manager and was fortunate enough to get a good salary but as a higher band tax payer, I paid 2% more (14%) NIC and this doesn’t even get taken into consideration. I had to take early retirement due to stress so my company pension was reduced by 25%. My wife had to retire early due to a spine condition and gets a small pension so we’ve always been careful with our money and done without things in order to manage. I would be totally frustrated if we and people like us end up being punished for being sensible. Joking aside, the state will then have to pay my care home bills because they will have taken away my state pension.
Your video is excellent and covers all possibilities, thank you. I did know most of it and it has reaffirmed my view of an ever changing entitlement. 👍
A means tested pension would drive the narrative of, what's the point in putting money away for the future, you'll just lose all your state pension benefits.
Means testing would undermine the incentive to save for pensions since your savings would effectively be wasted.
Voluntary NI contributions is an interesting idea. This would allow people to invest the money they otherwise would have paid in NI contributions and hence be able to increase their pension quite considerably. I am all for it.
@oddrunhaland . I agree Voluntary NI contributions is a good idea. That would give people more control over their preferred retirement age etc.
I completely disagree with imposing means testing except for the very highest recipients of private or employer pensions. I do think that the very highest paid beneficiaries of defined benefit pensions (e.g. doctors, judges, senior military officers and civil servants etc) should have their state pensions gradually withdrawn, on a taper. Likewise for those with very large money purchase pension pots above, say, £1.2M. But for everyone else, NO!
Fully agree more has more in this country
For a benefit that is contributed to by all workers, there should be no question of then, later, means-testing whether a worker 'deserves' the pension they have contributed towards. As we know life expectancy has increased since the original rules were established. This means that delaying when the pension is receivable could be reasonable. Unfortunately successive governments have used the income from National Insurance for current projects, rather than investing it for future liabilities, such as the State Pension.. Governments have also squandered the 'windfall' of North Sea oil profits, which might have been invested in a sovereign wealth fund such as the Norwegians did. The bottom line is that a wealthy democracy, such as the UK, should make sure that it has the ability to look after its elderly, treat its sick and prevent poverty. The distortions of the economy by the extremely wealthy and misguided politicians has meant that this simple set of goals are very difficult to attain.
Spot on & well said 👍👍👍
Another great video on pensions. Much needed as retirement saving in this country is just not high enough on the agenda. 👏🏾👏🏾
My aunt lives in australia, When in a conversation about Uk state pensions some one said well you get a pension and free Nhs treatment, nothing is free, most pensioners started work at 15, probably 5% went to university, so when men retired at 65 they will have paid national insurance for 50 years, so the term pension is a benefit is very insulting. Most Aussie's think the Uk should stop the boats now. that's where the money is going. Sorry if this offends the youth
It is already "means tested" in a way, as a pensioner faces a pension progressive (income) tax. So if in receipt of a higher pension as they receive their state pension - they may be paying 40%, 42% or even 45% tax (means tested) on their additional income
Thanks for a great video. It's all too easy to assume there won't be changes to the state pension "contract". But as it becomes less affordable for governments there could be more than just small tweaks to it.
It will only become less affordable if this or any respective governments keep funding these illegals arriving every day.using our money to house them and feed them plus giving them some pocket money.🤔
The government’s attitude is enough to persuade people not to try too hard anymore. Life rewards the slackers!
This sounds like preparing for the universal income which has been talked about. Boris also spoke of how there will be a maximum number of CBDC's which can be held.
If means testing results in the lowest incomes receiving a better pension then yes I would agree. Im living off state pension alone so its not great.
The state pension should be based on how much you have contributed into it. Plain and simple.
To some extent, it already is.....if anyone is below the 35-year threshold. However, what irks me is the fact that those who've never bothered to work are getting the full state pension. Those who've lived on the dole their whole lives should not get the state pension.
@@EIRE55 What’s worse is that you don’t have to have paid anything in to qualify for Pension Credit, you qualify by not qualifying for the state pension and it is a much more generous golden ticket.
@@denisescally7090
True. I was just about to switch off and go to bed, so I'll try to think of anything other than this.😵💫Stay safe and well, wherever you are.😉
NIC’s represent 14.8% of all government income. So if 11% is set aside for pensions… where is the money going? Why can they not afford pensions?
When I last spoke to the tax office they reminded me that money also goes to the NHS from the NICs. In addition the fact that the NIC was reduced 4% is worrying of what it is to come next. Now they will have an argument that NIC does not cover all pensions and NHS anymore so they will think of another way to cut our state pension
Importing many who have never paid in
Great analysis. Thanks Dianne for a nervous 62 yo who wants to retire with a 16 yo daughter
If those who did not contribute get a state pension how can they penalise those who did contribute and also saved else where for their pension.
@stuartkennedy4202 .Great Question?
Hi I live in Australia AND have been paying type 2 NI for my UK State Pension because I won’t qualify for the Oz Pension as I have been prudent and put enough into my Super (or hope to) that I won’t qualify. However, I’ll probably retire at 60 and then spend down my Super between then an 70 until a point when I get some State Pension. Finally, I do know many middle income people who do not over invest in their Super because they want the Pension. I guess you need to educate yourself about the options and make your choices! It’s certainly more complicated here!
Between the video and your comment it really sounds like the Australian system is punitive and has the opposite effect that is intended, of making people save for the future.
So once you reach the age of 67 years old and have paid 35 years NIC but unfortunately you die at 68 years old The government never tell you that side of the NIC story ?
Neither do the upper middle class "high earners" who retire in their fifties, and live to a hundred.
The basic problem with the state pension is that it is found from future borrowing as well as cuter taxation. The deal (no other option) is that the state takes a percentage of your income, over and above VAT, various duties and income tax a further cut, on the promise of a guaranteed regular sum on retirement. To break that covenant would be reprehensible, regardless of independent income. But governments have a habit of not keeping a promise in the long term.
Just came across your channel. Subscribed!!!
Awesome! Thank you!
Hopefully your channel will continue to grow. So many of my friends, professional colleagues know very little about pensions. Im fortunate that i upskiilled my knowledge substantially a number of years ago. Its really important that ALL ages do what they can to improve there retirement income. You, Ramen and James Shack plus some UK based others are helping significantly educate the adult population.
I’ve already paid 37 years N.I. & I’ve still got another 12 years to go. I wonder how much the pot would be worth after 49 years had it been put into a private pension?
The state pension is already means tested in as much as it is kept low so that those with other income (company pensions etc.) can manage, and those with no other income have to claim benefits in order to survive.
If you have savings over £6,000 you are presumed to receive a certain income, over £16,000 you are not eligible to receive any means tested benefits. The amount of income the DWP assumes you receive from savings is far greater than any interest received by orders of magnitude. So basically, if you have savings blow it all before reaching retirement age.
Mine will be in my thai bank account ...
It’s definitely a benefit for Canadians married to a British person and therefore qualify for state pension, many of whom have never set set foot in our country. Get your head round that one.
The word PENSION is changed now to BENEFITS…
Yep. They really should stop calling NI National INSURANCE.
@@danielcalderwood6674 This country never has liked its own people, we lived in a society that wants us as slaves to there awful USER system .. once we have been n used then throw us away like a worn out tool.
I think this is so wrong makes it one steep away from means testing
@@Annie-yv7rc well Annie it is means tested now, and it will only get worse
If they means test it , what will be the criteria for it , will they think that if you own your house ,you will be considered "Rich" , or will it be income based ,who knows?, the big elephant in the room is the eventual collapse of the welfare state , so i suggest that if they dont want you to get a state pension , give us the choice of opting out of the Nat Ins contributions ,after all if you don`t pay in , you don`t get the pension in theory :} and let us keep more of our net pay for starters
So essentially, work all your life, save, invest, put money into a pension so you can be worse off than someone on benefits all their life.
Working hard and saving essentially disqualifies you from a state pension?
This will trap millions of workers into never retiring. The real winners will be those who can play the Benefits system all their lives.
Congratulations.. you have paid 35 years NI so qualify for a full state pension... ps.. you wont get it, because you worked hard, got qualified and did the right thing. We will keep telling you that you qualify, to keep you in work and saving.
Once the state pension is means tested, why on Earth would anyone not on benefits stay in this country?
Great summary. Probably why half of Gen Z are on the sick . Why work for 40 years to be told.... sorry youve worked too much so no pension.
Further, the HMRC tell you if you haven't the full 35 qualifying years, and tell you how much you need to contribute to receive a full state pension. This hardly sounds like a benefit under those rules, but does sound like bad advice....
I'm under 50, I accrued the full state pension during the last tax year. I was contracted out for around 5 years.
@@parishesofthebuzzard9437 So you started full time work at 10?
@@denisescally7090 No. Started at 20.
Back then, you got at least two years NI paid when at school between 16 and 18, I believe. Worked since. Previously you only needed 30 years NI contributions. So when the calculations were undertaken and a starter amount defined...Since 2016 my contributions have just added up to the full amount for the new pension now. So despite being contracted out, I also accrued SP2 during most of my working life between 2001 and 2016. So you don't always need 35 years. Someone starting work after 2016 etc. would. Some contracted out, will. Others with records around 30 to 32 etc. will already have qualified. I got the proper NI record sheet and the calculations from DWP, showing COPE deductions etc. The last one, a year or so ago said I needed one extra year to get the full amount. BTW. I'm not 50 yet.
Hi. I am now 71.
That was all very interesting facts. Wow.
I remember when I worked for myself I had to make sure I payed mine in each month. It was a different amount (smaller). But I made it up. So as to make sure I had the full amount. When I became an pensioner.
I received that letter saying I had done all that I had needed to do to become and have a pension. And would I need it now or later.
Well at the time. Boy, did I need it. Things were happening in my life.
So I am happy now.
Thank you for the info. 😊
My state pension came at 66. Waspi women who took no interest in pension matters whatsoever had 6 extra working years to save into a pension. This includes my wife and sisters. My sympathy goes to the younger generation who face uncertainty, not people who expect others to bail them out. Yes, some die early but poverty in old age is a real risk for the unprepared.
They've already moved the goalposts, work longer and more qualifying years required.
The only reason for UK government even considering this is due to the pension pot being plundered by government. The pension pot was supposed to be exclusive and untouchable from the government to go near. This was supposed to have legal consequences, but as usual the government do what the hell they want with funds they are not allowed to touch, but do; and they get away with it. MP's lie about anything they want, in order to make their party look more popular than opposition. MP's should be held to the same standards as the whole population; regardless of status. They should also be punished in law, just as anyone else would be - yet they always escape prosecution for just about everything.
I am 70 years old next month and your comment about the state pension being a pay as you go system is spot on. However, that is not how it was sold to us. As a child, we were told that there is a pot of money with our name on it and, as you work, your N. I. contributions is built up over the years in readiness for your old age. That was clearly a lie.
yep, and this happens in most countries hence the premise that its a government backed ponzi scheme.
I don't think the Australian model would work in the UK. Unlike the UK, Australia has no national insurance contributions so there is not the same sense of entitlement to a pension. The age pension is funded out of general tax revenue, although superannuation is a kind of privatised social security tax. Also, despite means testing, most people on higher incomes make voluntary contributions (on top of the compulsory ones) to their superannuation accounts because of the tax advantages. For the wealthiest 10% to 20% of workers, the lifetime value of these tax concessions exceeds the lifetime value of the age pension. In fact, federal government spending on the age pension is about the same as the tax revenue forgone due to the superannuation system.
Note that a lot of people who don't qualify for the age pension when they first retire (because of the assets test) do eventually qualify for a part pension and then a full pension as they spend their superannuation savings. In this way, the age pension acts as a kind of longevity insurance.
Means testing does have serious downsides. Perversely, the more you contribute in income tax during your working life, the less likely you are to receive the pension. Also, the income test is a disincentive for retirees to undertake paid work. Perhaps the biggest problem is that the assets test exempts a person's private residence, no matter how valuable. This exemption is arguably unfair on younger generations who have little hope of ever owning a home and yet are paying income taxes to fund pensions for retirees living in homes worth millions of dollars.
Why should it be means tested if you save for your retirement and for a better life and worked all your life why should you be penalised for people who wont work and get pensoin ive worked all my life and saved bought my ex council house and because i have a decent amout of savings i get nothing because of this people who havent worked and have no savings get plenty off the government what i dont recive these days it doesn't pay to look after yourself for your retirement 🤬🏴😊 P.S. im already getting taxed on my private pension
As said below if the goverment looked after people that were born in this country and not wasted
billions on the ones that see the Uk as treasure island funding the full state pension would not be an issue.
One thing that will hit a lot of us already receiving the full sate pension will be income tax.
At the moment the personal income tax allowance remains frozen at £12,570 this means that when the pension
increases beyond this figure we will start to pay tax on it.
The future does not look good for existing pensioners and worse for those facing a much longer time before they
will receive it.
I think you said that state pensions have increased significantly, especially after 2016 but you are talking about the basic state pension I think. You will recall there used to be the earnings related state pension on top of basic pension. It started as SERPS and then SP2 and then Additional State Pension I recall, which was was finally abolished with the reforms in 2016. With each iteration the earnings related part became less and less. When I saw my father's state pensions I thought there must have been a mistake but he accumulated a significant pension top up from SERPS and it was very considerably more than the basic state pension today. So by that logic for some people the state pension has gone down considerably. It seems like people focus on the basic now and have forgotten the rest - historically speaking.
I have paid 35 years of NI last April. But I need to keep paying it from 57, my current age until 67. Where is the justice in rewarding the poor and punishing the wealthier when it's the top 20% who disproportionately put the money into the tax system and the bottom 20% who disproportionately take it out. Same pension for all please.
I endured low pay and gruelling work as a nurse in the NHS , knowing that at least I would get a decent pension . Because of opting out I don’t get the full amount of state pension and I pay tax . Those who didn’t pay into the pension claim pension credits and all sorts of other benefits . They are better off than me . I should have spent my money .
I did and iam glad i enjoyed myself while young enough
Low pay and gruelling work as a nurse in the NHS? You do realise that the pay scale, shift allowances, sick pay and pension scheme for NHS nurses is a matter of public record. Of course, depends on how you class low pay and gruelling work.
@@danielcalderwood6674 I am now retired , pay when I was working was not what it is now . . Yes , we had sick pay , and I appreciated the pension terms , but I rarely worked in any unit which had its full complement of staff . . If you don’t think the work is hard, ask yourself why the NHS has such a huge number of vacancies and always has had .
44 years of NI contributions and I am treated like this, what a fool I have been I should have just gone to the pub, like a lot of my peers, and pissed it away. Just because I have toiled in order to ........ ach! What's the point !!!
you paid NI for 44 years?
@@marcusparkus682 its not unusal - for those not going to university back in the day, we started work at 16 ... I am currently nearing 60 ... so I too have been paying NI for 44 years and I am not due to retire until 67, so still have another 7 years to contribute. My state pension is already at the maximum I can get, but they use my Ni contributions for the benefit of others apparently
I’d rather see state unemployment benefit cut to the bone & force people into work. Why should those that gave contributed for years be the ones punished? Just another incentive to not work in this failing country.
What about those who can't work..? My other half would love to, but her mental health (which is just as important as physical health) means she simply can't.
@@TestGearJunkie. I had open brain surgery in 2008 and had to stop work in 2017 due to ill health from complications with the Arnold Chiari Malformation, the DWP rejected my Doctor's findings and stopped my sick pay, 3 years later, and still not able to work, I won my court case against them and qualified for ESA benefit, but alas I had to sell my house 3 months before the court date and then DWP advised me I had too much savings from the house sale and so I have received the grand sum of £0:00 since 2019, not a penny!! Now I am officially a state pensioner they are taxing me on my private pension, £78 tax, so they give with the left and take with the right! I have always worked and paid my dues since 1972, but when I needed help it was not there.
I would like child be if it cut to two children only .
I’m just under four years away from my state pension. I have a decent company pension that I paid into for nearly 40 years. I paid forty four years national insurance contributions, but I’m expecting something to change from the next government. Who knows how long they’ll live , the state pension should not be means tested otherwise what’s the point in working and saving hard all your life.
Means testing a very low inadequate state pension just provides another disincentive NOT TO SAVE.
Thanks for covering this.
My pleasure!
I am 3 1/2 years away from state pension age.
I took a small pot pension payment and used it to pay for a number of years to be eligible for the full state pension (I think I had to have 37 years contributions because i opted out).
Am I potentially really going to get nothing back for my voluntary contributions, if state pensions become means tested?
It should not be means tested. What should happen is that tax relief on pensions should be at the one rate so that (for example) there is no 40% tax relief rate just the 20% across the board.
Also the personal allowance should be linked to the triple lock, the state pension should be excluded from your personal allowance and once your pension income goes above (for example) the comfortable level of living then you start getting taxed. Heavily.
Cut all benefits and taxes. Leave just enough taxes to pay for defence, police, education and health service. We should not pay for people to do nothing. This is never right. People should work and save for pensions themselves
I disagree regarding tax relief, as it's the only way those on PAYE earning good wages can avoid high rates of tax. The Left rub their hands thinking the rich pay more tax, but the reality is that the rich and the highest earners are rarely on PAYE.
I think the different rates of tax should be abolished, and to make it fair there should be one flat rate that everybody pays.
@@kevlark Up to just over 50K everyone does pay the same basic rate 20%, with no tax on the first £12570. You only start paying the higher rate on anything over that £50K.
@@DeeCee-nb6ev Yes I'm well aware of where the 20%, 40% & 45% rates start, and the fact that they exist is why we don't all pay the same rate of tax!
Some of us self employed are paying two lots of NI, the apprentice levy and a fictitious umbrella company at HMRCs insistence. To make things worse the employers NI does not have an upper limit.
It's no wonder that many contractors have packed work in, reduced their hours with some now contracting to overseas companies as a way around the high tax burden with IR35.
The only way to avoid some of the extortionate amount of tax is by using the pension tax relief via salary sacrifice, and some are saying that should go.
There is very little encouragement to become self employed and start your own business these days, from a tax point of view the Tories have turned into Labour.
whether you consider yourself 'fortunate' to live to the age of 90 is a personal opinion. I would imagine that the majority of 90 year olds are NOT living independently, are in care or not in the best of health - so maybe 'fortunate' is not the right word.
And paying for yourself and the person in the next bed who has never worked
So, we have one of the worst state pension levels in Europe and we face having this removed if we have sacrificed some of our wages to invest in a private pension. If this is to happen, do you think the government will compensate us for the 45+ years of NI contributions we have made? I guess this is why the Tories are reducing NI contributions in order to break the psychological link between NI and the state pension. By doing this they can more easily introduce a means testing system. I bet if Labour get in, they will not change this trajectory at all.
The state pension is consequence of paying in National Insurance. The more a person earned, the more a person paid in to the national pension pot.
Everyone might get the same amount, but not everyone paid in the same amount. Some paid in a lot more.
Yes if you have put into the system for 35 years you should get a full pension
So, basically those who spend, spend, spend during their life will reap the reward in their pension years; and those who went without, but saved will be penalised in their pension years... That's not at all fair. In fact, that would be shockingly unfair. I think that everyone should get the same State Pension, and then they can decide what to do with it - be they poor, comfortably off or very rich.
This has been happening for decades, successive governments have ignored the issue.
Any Government that makes a substantial removal of money from the population that includes the entire cross section of society should be very concerned that amongst that community is contained someone with the capability to carry out a serious threat to the political world, especially as that community includes those who have little to lose as their lives draw to a close. V for Vendetta and Guy Fawkes may be mere inspirations in this circumstance.
Or not.
Whichever.
That's right give them more ideas we have a right to that pension we have worked all our lives and YOU give them more ideas I don't know I dispur well done.
Absolutely 💯 correct 👍
Why should we save if we are penalised?
So you’re not living your retirement in poverty. If you’re happy living on 11.5k/year, good luck to you - it’s not for me!
@@adamfrench1964 Yes, I understand. I have savings, investment and 3 private pensions. But if the state pension is going to be means test. It is not fair when I have contributed to my NI for so many years!
I honestly don’t think the state pension will be means tested…certainly not for anyone who has already paid in. I also have other savings and pensions, so I will be paying income tax throughout my retirement. I’ve also invested in a tax-efficient way to minimise my future taxes as much as possible, but I realise I am in a more fortunate position than most, so have not problem paying tax on my pension income. I really don’t understand well-off pensioners who don’t think they should pay any tax at all, especially when they got tax relief on their pension contributions.
No means testing.
Penalising those who paid mandatory NI contributions for a 35 year promise, and then give them nothing back due to means testing will lead to a new era of tax resistance. The risk to economic compression is so high that no democratic government would do it. Our tax efficiency is a delicate balance and such an act would lower the Laffer curve, reduce revenue and entrench the problem.
It's all very well increasing the state pension age,but there are people out there who have never paid into the system,& will still get benefits & more when they reach the same age.
If you’ve paid in you should get what you’ve paid for… don’t hear anybody complain about people who have paid more than the median contribution get just to get the same as somebody who paid less.. 🤨… but obviously that wouldn’t be in the trolls thinking…
This is why as a basic rate tax payer I put any spare money into an ISA which I can spend however, rather than in a sipp or pension which always seems to have politicians greasy palms all over it. They just cannot leave private pensions alone.
Dont forget, thats why the new state pension was introduced, to do away with the old means tested credit and serps.
Aren’t you worried that we could have an Australia type system that takes your ISA into account and you’ve missed out on the tax benefit on your pension contributions? Perhaps you’re thinking means testing will only consider pension savings here? Thanks for sharing your approach
As a basic rate tax payer, I do not see the benefit of putting more money into a sipp as I will be paying the same rate of tax when I draw it out again, but the sipp will still be under any changes/restrictions of any government changes to its regulations. With my isa, I can just blow the lot and live like a king for a while.
Anyway, I dont think it will come to that in the UK for one reason.
Who in the uk has the most and best pension provision ?
Yep, all those public sector workers with their gold plated tax payer funded guaranteed index linked pensions.
Only 10% of private sector workers can even get close to them. No government is going to turn round to the public sector and tell them they are not getting a state pension, it doesnt take much for some of them to have a hissy fit as it is !
@@johndoh539 Thanks for clarifying your reasons. Yes you'll be paying the same amount of tax but perhaps do some modelling about how much your fund could grow in your ISA vs your SIPP with the help of the extra 20%. The underlying investments in both are exactly the same after all, they are just different wrappers. What about tinkering with ISA rules in the future? Are you worried about that?
As a saver and investor I worry about everything the government may do with MY money !
Surely an ISA would count as 'savings' in the event of you needing benefits or care (e.g. sickness) vs wouldn't a personal pension be exempt from calculations?
I have worked like a trooper my whole life ( now 61 ) and already have more than 35 years of contributions, plus a net asset base of about £1.8m, so I am pretty well set for retirement..................My brother, who is a lazy bone idle waster has sweet fan Anne to show for his work life ( or lack thereof ) & will still get the same State Pension as me, PLUS a truck load of other benefits. If it becomes means-tested I will spit feathers.
Yes indeed, Max. I have a brother who's the same as yours, and who I was continually handing out to during my working life. Fortunately, I eventually had the sense to turn my back on him shortly before I retired. I haven't seen or heard from him for many years, but I lost nothing. Take care and stay safe.
Work doesn't pay now . Why would anybody work if the reward for working & creating wealth is the loss of the state pension ? The Government would target hard working people like you who bothered to get off their arse & created weath . Means testing is a Communist, s wet dream . Weath creators get their money redistributed to the bone idle.
@@EIRE55 I haven't heard from mine for 8 years - I couldn't care less to be honest, I certainly don't miss the dramas.
The UK has a two party "first past the post" electoral system. It's the OAPs who tend to get off their Chaise Lounges to vote and as such are a vitally important electoral resource for those aspiring to be the governing party. I would say the chances of introducing State Pension means testing in the UK are very slim; more likely that the pension qualification age will continue to rise - perhaps much more quickly than many currently imagine - alongside this might be an increased role for medical dispensations for those unable to work into their 70s and beyond due to incapacity.
With regard to Australia, it's compulsory by law to vote, which means that all over 18's will have an input into who runs the country - voter turnout is in excess of 95% and the preferential voting system they use means that electoral outcomes differ from the UK's first past the post regime.