UK State Pension

[Kompany Car]

Gen question. What exactly does NI fund?

Mainly NHS, Benefits and the State Pension.

 

[mosssideblue]

Mainly NHS, Benefits and the State Pension.

Fair enough but as a counter, pensioners also pay taxes for services they don’t use, but young families do

 

[mackenzie]

Fair enough but as a counter, pensioners also pay taxes for services they don’t use, but young families do

Genuine question...which ones are you thinking of, in particular?

 

[mosssideblue]

Genuine question...which ones are you thinking of, in particular?

Schools?

 

[old blue]

Wonder if any ex PMs draw a state pension on top of their £100k for life supplement

i think that Liz Lettuce now gets an allowance for the many years she was P.M. There again Richie gets one as well but he was at least voted out.

 

[Kompany Car]

Fair enough but as a counter, pensioners also pay taxes for services they don’t use, but young families do

Everyone pays taxes for things they dont use. Thankfully and maybe by the grace of god Ive never been unemployed, never been seriously ill or had a long stays in hospital. Same with my wife. But its part of being a society paying a share into the pot.

What frustrates me is those that could pay a share but avoid it by gaming the system or using complex tax avoidance schemes only open to the wealthy or those who defraud the system.

 

[mosssideblue]

i think that Liz Lettuce now gets an allowance for the many years she was P.M. There again Richie gets one as well but he was at least voted out.

She does £100k for life. This benefit needs looking at

 

[mosssideblue]

Everyone pays taxes for things they dont use. Thankfully and maybe by the grace of god Ive never been unemployed, never been seriously ill or had a long stays in hospital. Same with my wife. But its part of being a society paying a share into the pot.

What frustrates me is those that could pay a share but avoid it by gaming the system or using complex tax avoidance schemes only open to the wealthy or those who defraud the system.

I agree, simply responding to post that Pensioners don’t pay NI but take benefit from

 

[Blue Maverick]

Why should it be any different ? What you are saying is you want a tax break but instead shift the tax burden on to younger people bringing up families and struggling to get on the housing ladder. Pensioners already dont pay NI contributions even though they still use the services funded by it.

what services do they use that’s funded by NI, apart from pension I doubt they’d need maternity allowance or jobseekers allowance they have retired! Having a slightly lower tax rate would encourage people to save for a private pension otherwise why the hell would you give 8% of your wage and possibly not see any of it, less people having kids so not getting maternity pay, if you don’t need job seekers allowance then pay NI for 50 years and get nothing back from it because you’ve been frugal and got a private pension but you’re means tested so lose your state, you could be £1 over and lose £13k just like they did with the WFP.

 

[city2]

People will not survive on a state pension only unless you have a private pension or property to subsidise your future oh and don’t forget you will pay tax because the maximum is anything over 12520 tax is paid.

 

[Kippaxpete]

The elderly living with family is very difficult these days, particularly if the elderly person has dementia. In most families both of the married couple have to work. If one gives up work to be with the elderly person, because they need care, then that's one less tax payer.

I can speak from bitter experience having seen my other half give up work long before state pension age to care for both her parents thereby not only preventing her from earning but putting paid to any prospect of her improving her pension pot. The alternative was to place them in residential care, an option she refused to consider.

 

[dickie davies]

These private pensions some of you have; did they not tell you you'd be over the threshold for tax/state benefits when they sold them to you?

for a large proportion of my working life I was told that I would be able to draw the state pension at 65 years of age

 

[mackenzie]

I can speak from bitter experience having seen my other half give up work long before state pension age to care for both her parents thereby not only preventing her from earning but putting paid to any prospect of her improving her pension pot. The alternative was to place them in residential care, an option she refused to consider.

Yes, it's an incredibly difficult position. Not only financially but also emotionally.

Kudos to your partner, she sounds like a lovely person.

 

[Blue Maverick]

for a large proportion of my working life I was told that I would be able to draw the state pension at 65 years of age

And lots of public sector workers had signed upto a certain pension until the tories robbed it off them, making them pay more for longer to get less.

 

[Kompany Car]

I agree, simply responding to post that Pensioners don’t pay NI but take benefit from

Aye mate I fully understand the viewpoint.

If I looked at it in one way, the tax system seems out of kilter, not going into details, but I pay a lot of tax each year. My wife earns far less. In a fair system some of that tax should be transferable, I couldn't have done the jobs Ive had if my wife hadn't have sacrificed her career to look after kids. Why should 2 people earning an equivalent combined salary pay significantly less tax ?

But I realise even after paying all that tax im in a fortunate position by comparison to the vast majority of the population. Its easy to get lost in the numbers and not appreciate the bigger picture.

 

[BrianW]

NI is more about earning entitlement to certain benefits - the state pension being one, but not the only one - than it is about actually paying for it.

In reality all the government's income goes into a giant pot - in simplistic terms - and everything is paid for from that pot.

I believe the NI is accounted for separately, and there is a theoretical NI fund that can only be spent on certain things, but in practice this is almost academic. If, notionally, there is a billion-pound surplus in the NI fund, the government does not declare a dividend and share it out.

 

[Blue Maverick]

NI is more about earning entitlement to certain benefits - the state pension being one, but not the only one - than it is about actually paying for it.

In reality all the government's income goes into a giant pot - in simplistic terms - and everything is paid for from that pot.

I believe the NI is accounted for separately, and there is a theoretical NI fund that can only be spent on certain things, but in practice this is almost academic. If, notionally, there is a billion-pound surplus in the NI fund, the government does not declare a dividend and share it out.

Let’s face it, it’s all put in one pot these days just sort shit out, if onky road tax was used for the roads we’d have the best in Europe.

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

You come across as if these people have a choice in being able to contribute to a private pension. Life is tough and many are simply glad to be able to pay the bills monthly. Not everyone can afford to pay into a private scheme

That's a well reasoned polite reply.

I would have called him a ****.

 

[Kippaxpete]

Yes, it's an incredibly difficult position. Not only financially but also emotionally.

Kudos to your partner, she sounds like a lovely person.

You're absolutely right in that the emotional toll on her has been enormous. Her dad finally passed away in December. Let's just say Christmas was a bit subdued.

 

[mackenzie]

Thanks for acknowledging that. You're absolutely right in that the emotional toll on her has been enormous.

I see similar with people I am close to.
Hope things get better for you.