Get it off your chest.

[Ray B]

With April fast approaching the new state pension rates will kick in.
For those of us born before 1951 and endured food shortages and rationing, are we supposed to use this experience to manage our lives today.
When we get our first payment in April, our pension, the basic state pension will be £169.50p.
For those on the New State Pension, they will get £221.20. That's £50 more than the basic, over £200 a month more.
Nobody has been able to explain why we can manage on less.
It does P me off, having worked from 14 1/2 and never been out of work, having never claimed a penny ,I'm suppose to watch the ever widening gap in pensions get wider with every increase in pensions.
Can anyone explain ?

[Mervyn and Trish]

Can't explain Ray but equally miffed. I never had a gap in my contribution records and have never claimed anything other than my pension.

[towny44]

I guess that paying the higher rate to everyone was deemed too expensive, and of course by not giving it to the older pensioners the shortage might speed up their death rate.

[Jan Rosser]

Doesn’t make sense as you say Ray - our expenses are the same as those born after 1951 As a “babe” born in 1947 I have been receiving my old age pension since my 60th birthday and am having more than the amount paid to “new” pensioners simply because after my husband died I inherited all sorts of contributions from him. He was 62 when he passed away so didn’t receive his old age pension himself - I wouldn’t have qualified for a full pension based on my earnings as I stayed at home with my boys.

[Ray B]

Thanks towny for that reassuring explanation

[Ray B]

Jan, the staying at home bit, hit a nerve. Sarah was at home looking after the children and should have been credited during that time by the government towards her pension. Unfortunately it was when the government departments were in dispute with the government and her pension was not credited. Having supplied exact dates ,the pensions people would not move. In the end we paid up the three missing years to guarantee her a full pension. Sarah retires officially in June, although she gave up work a few years ago at my request. As a waspi, she had to wait a few more years to the new pension age.
Good news is, she will be on the new rate , getting more than me.

[Slapstick]

There are a lot of unjusts in this day and age, like others I've worked since I left school, but I know several people of my age who have never worked and with the exception of an odd jobcentre interview got away with it, yet they'll get the same amount of state pension as me, more perhaps after my personal pension is taken into account

[Jan Rosser]

There aren’t many advantages being older but I certainly didn’t get affected by the situation your wife is in - my sister was born in 1952 and waited until she was 62 and a few months before she had her pension. We both worked in local government and paid AVCs to top up our works pension and I know I shouldn’t complain but our old age pension is lumped in with works pension for tax purposes - my personal allowance for 24/25 is laughable

[Stephen]

Looks like I can upgrade my choice of whiskey come May

[Ray B]

Stephen, as you are on the new state pension, you certainly can upgrade your choice and at the same time treat us all to a round of drinks.

[Stephen]

Yes…..and it’s free beer tomorrow, all round…….


Foxy’s

[towny44]

Thanks towny for that reassuring explanation

Actually I believe the higher payments are to compensate younger pensioners for the missed pension years, because their retirement age was pushed back. However I think maybe they used the P&O IT dept to calculate the uplift, because it looks overly generous to me.

[Ray B]

Towny, I still can not see how that makes any difference except that when you retire, my food ,rates etc are sill the same as a new pensioner.

[Happydays]

I'm a waspi as well, my sister who was born in 1949 got her full state pension at 60 but my birthday 1954 so I had to wait until I was three month short of my 65th birthday

[barney]

I’m not a waspi, I’m a bloke.
I was born in 1956 and was the last year that could leave school at 15.
I got my state pension at 66.
I did however manage to retire with my work pension at 60 due to prudence and good luck with a bit of hard work thrown in.

[towny44]

Towny, I still can not see how that makes any difference except that when you retire, my food ,rates etc are sill the same as a new pensioner.

The pensioners retiring under the new rules will have less pension years in which they receive a pension, than those who retired on the old rules.

[Ray B]

A petition to Parliament to bring the state pension up to the new state pension is available to sign here......

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/630163

[Stephen]

The petition is now closed Ray according to your link. Good try though.

[Ray B]

Bugger...............

[Ray B]

Pressed on the wrong petition.

Try this one if on old state pension

https://petition.parliament.uk/petition ... ustifiable.