Pensioners - Never Had It So Good?

[Octavius]

IFS research has found that the over-60s are the only age group to have become better off since 2007/08.

"The median - or middle - income of the over 60s grew by 2-3% between 2007/08 and 2011/12, continuing a long-term trend....

Yet, the median income of people in their 20s fell by 12% over the same period, allowing for inflation. This was the largest fall of any age group, owing to low or frozen wages and high unemployment."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22890906

So do you think pensioners are showing indications of financial comfort as opposed to the younger generation? Or is being young just more expensive (car insurance, cost to commute etc) and commenserate with the income "squeeze" that all workers are feeling?

[emmie]

i know any number of pensioners who would disagree. Struggle to make ends meet,

[redvanman]

Most pensioners have work't for 50 years plus and fort in the second world war the younger generation seem to want every think with out working for it and the govermment pension is krapp for 50 years plus of work

[woofgang]

RVM, the generation of pensioners who fought in ww2 is no longer the majority.

[jim360]

I tend to agree with em on this. Perhaps for the majority of pensioners life as improved, but 2% isn't all that much anyway, and if the median grows that doesn't say much about what is happening at the extremes. Moreover, the new pension rules that are likely to makes things harder haven't really started hitting yet -- you'll have to wait a few years to see what impact they have, but I don't expect it to be a good one.

Using the median is generally a misleading statistic -- well, all statistics are misleading without the raw data so that others can analyse it for themselves, I suppose -- and I would like to know what the mean is, and how that has changed, and what's happened to people at or near the bottom.

[Peter Pedant]

Or do I think that youngster look at pensioners who have worked hard all their life because their parents told them they would starve in old age unless they saved

and the youngsters think: oh I want that ! Let's tax them so they dont have it anymore.

This is called the Politics of Envy and has a long long history.


and before you say the NHS pensions are bleeding the country white - they arent - contributions are two billion in excess of disbursements in the current financial year. It is just that there will be a deficit in 2026. So the govt solution is to make them pay more and give them less NOW.

You may now remove your cardie and put it in the washer

[Epona]

I agree but its a mixture of things. Pensioners can make money go further because they have had to be thrifty, they don't need all the 'stuff' 20-30 year olds seem to need and don't replace things every year because they are out of fashion. I think pensioners who were lucky enough to buy their own homes are much better off than those who have to rent.They bought their homes when the average home value was two or three times an average persons wage, so have been mortgage free for years so better off by £400 + per month

[Peter Pedant]

oh and I need to pick up my false teeth which seem to have ended up on the floor

[Graham-W]

I retired six years ago (aged 58). My works pension is linked to the RPI or latterly to the CPI. Therefore, if inflation is 3%, I get a 3% pay rise.
I would guess very few people in work have had pay rises of that order in the last 6 years.

[jno]

the baby boomers when their generation was in power seem to have set themselves up reasonably comfortably (yay!). But since much of our money has gone towards helping our children get an education and buy homes, which our parents weren't called on to do, we're not rolling in it as much as I would like.

[cazzz1975]

A lot of female pensioners had the luck of being able to be a stay at home and raise their children whilst the husband worked, at a time where one income sufficiently supported a family.

[Octavius]

Graham, I have had no pay rise at all since Jan 2008.

[Graham-W]

In the 6 years since I retired I have had a raise of about 2.6%, on average, each year. Without getting into compound interest, it works out at about 16% over the 6 years.
So, yes, some pensioners are getting richer.
Perhaps I'm a special case. I worked for the same company for 35 years and started making extra contributions into the pension scheme when I was 40. I guessed what was coming and got it right ( I think).

[emmie]

when whichever government decides to take away winter fuel allowance and free passes, watch the fallout.

[emmie]

raising a family in my grandmothers time, and indeed mothers was not cushy, they all worked, because they had no choice, many of the men were away during the war years, and women had to keep things running, factories, munitions, and on the land, often hard grinding work, all the while still looking after the family. The difference is that there was usually a relative or someone to look after the children for a time,

[Octavius]

Do you think it is easier now em10 ?

[emmie]

perhaps, but i would say that for some the type of life they have isn't the life their grand parents would have had. More people than ever live longer, but the quality of life isn't always great, not to mention getting your three score years and ten and ending up a vegetable in a run down care home,.
at least then by and large the grandparents were looked after.

[Tilly2]

Because I'm over sixty, I've just got 25% of a pair of prescription sunglasses at Boots.
So there are some cash advantages to being a pensioner

[emmie]

there are, however if you have a little savings, or your hubby up and died leaving you with a small pension, you generally get nowt off the state.

[shaneystar2]

We managed to bring up our family on our own .Our respective familes lived too far away to help on a regular basis .We slogged and bought our home and provided for ourselves with pensions .If we are fairly well off it's through our own endeavours .Lucky baby boomers .Able to retire fairly early ( late fifties) and be mortgage free .Everything comes at price though and although we are comfortable would rather have better health .When you get older you don't need so much "stuff" anyway.
We've also been the bank of Mum and Dad from time to time :)

[emmie]

my mother more of less raised us, the old man was next to useless.
she did work, but was not able to save for any kind of pension, that would have meant we starved, as it was she struggled..