Monday 19 August 2019

When I'm 64. to become When Im 74.

When I get olderLosing my hairMany years from nowWill you still be sending me a Valentine?Birthday greetings bottle of wine?If I'd been outTill quarter to threeWould you lock the door?Will you still need meWill you still feed meWhen I'm sixty-four?

Read more: The Beatles - When I'm 64 Lyrics | MetroLyrics 
Paul McCartney  may well have to change the words.


I turned  65 lat year and was lucky that I just reached the then retirement, it is now 67, i was even luckier  that unlike four of my junior school male classmates (out of say 16)O had not died before reaching it.

For Women the r The 1995 Pensions Act increased the state pension age for women from 60 to 65 in order to equalise the age with men, with the change to be phased in over ten years from 2010 for women born between 1950 and 1955. This transition was later sped up by the 2011 Pensions Act.These changes came as a shock to many women who hadn't been aware of them. Some women discovered they would have to wait up to six years longer for their state pension which often affected their retirement plans. In 2015, WASPI was formed by five women to argue for the government to provide transitional payments to women born in the 1950s receiving their pension after the age of 60. They also call for compensation to women who now receive a state pension but had to wait longer.

It now seems  that the  state pension age is set to rise to 75 over the next 16 years — based on a plan by new PM Boris Johnson ’s favourite think tank.It would go up to 70 just nine years from now as the change is phased in according to the Daily Mirror

A report out today by the Centre for Social Justice says Britain can no longer afford the current plan to raise the pension age to 67 in 2028 then 68 by 2046, so it must be speeded up.
The pensions bill has ballooned from £17billion in 1989 to £92billion now, making up £4 of every £10 of welfare spending, the report adds. By 2023 it will cost £20billion more as the population ages and the birthrate falls.
It proposes raising the eligible age to 70 by 2028 and 75 by 2035
 The first people likely to be affected by such a change are those born between March 6, 1961 and April 5, 1977.Welfare campaigners are appalled by the report and point out that with workplace pensions often unaffordable, three-quarters of Britain’s elderly will rely entirely on their state payments by 2036.
Ex-pensions minister Ros Altmann added: “This might be a great way to save public money but will cause a lot of hardship. There are huge differences in life expectancy across Britain. There must be a facility for those who can’t work to retire earlier.”
And Jan Shortt of the National Pensioners Convention added: “The longer you work the more ill you become and the less likely you are to even reach retirement age.”
The Centre for Social Justice is chaired by ex-Welfare Secretary and Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and Tory governments get many of their ideas from it.
In 2009 it dreamed up Universal Credit , adopted as policy by PM David Cameron a year later.
Its boss Andy Cook insists: “Working longer potentially improves health and wellbeing– we don’t do enough to help older people stay in work. The state pension doesn’t reflect healthy working life expectancy.”
The report also claims that a million pension-age Britons want to work, but can’t find bosses who will employ them.
t suggests a system of “mid-life MOTs” for older staff, leading to flexible hours and special training for those who stay in work.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Everyone’s State Pension age is unique to them and in 2017 we raised the future retirement age to 68 so that it is sustainable now and for future generations.
"We’re creating opportunities for people of all generations with record employment.” 
Of course those planning the rise  will hardly be affected , they may well want to work over the current  retirement age , unlike those in manual work and have the health to do so.
company/ workplace  pension, which means they could access it earlier. though that looks less desirable   as final payment  plans are changed.

The Office for National Statistics puts UK life expectancy at 79.2 years for men and 82.9 years for women.
This doesn't necessarily mean that all of us can to reach those ages, since the estimates are based on the age a baby would reach if they were born today.
There are many parts of Wales where the life expectancy is much lower and while it might rise  over the 16 years it probably means that for many their pensions  will only be enjoyed for a few years.  
Tor me it is no longer a worry , but  god help those who were born in the 70's.

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