probably make the state pension a means tested benefit. Deduct any private pension payments from it. And savings interest. The tories floated the idea didnt they ?
How can they make it a means tested benefit when you have already paid in to the pot ?, mind you the Tories say they want to reduce and eventually stop all NI contributions, now think about it we already have compulsory Workplace pensions which will imo replace state pension after all no NI means no State pension, which will mean some sort of means tested benefit for the serial unemployed perhaps pension credit. I will float an idea that will save money, You have all these guys/women that live on there own and don't work. they have everything paid for them ie rent, council tax etc etc now why should Joe/Jess public have to pick up this particular tab ?, if they have parents alive and in a property surely it's their responsibility to look after their kids by either paying their rent or housing them, not Joe/Jess public. However back on topic how much will the pound continue rising ?.
SSP is taxable income... having said that why anyone with a private pension of £50k or more should get it in the first place is beyond me. And why those with massive incomes should also get massive amounts of income tax relief on their "contributions" or "investment" is also beyond me. They need to try to level the playing field and nail those with second homes etc.
Perhaps if they increased the rate of pay for some of these jobs and brought back proper training people would be keener to do them. Seriously, I was earning (the minimum wage) £10 or £11 an hour nearly 40 years ago and when I look at job adverts it's not changed much since then. Yet for some reason the CEO at Tesco is now worth 431 average workers - it's just plain greed and they've been allowed to get away with it here for too long. I think in Germany there is some kind of ratio or control mechanism - why the UK cannot do the same I don't know.
The Europeans are OK with coming in to do the work for the pay, what training do you need to lift spuds? Are you in the UK now?
It's a race to the bottom... basically modern day slavery... when the pay is so low you run out of Eastern Europeans.... who will our elite turn to next... probably no one... the robots. And then...? How will people feed their families? It's a failed model... you think because you're comfortable that it's just and right, the rest are just lazy as Thatcher told you, when in reality you were just lucky to be born in a part of the world that was on the up or part of the G7,8 or 9, what you don't seem to realize is you and people like you or your children are coming next... If we're all going to survive...which we're obviously not if things carry on the way they are.... there needs to be balance... And no I'm not , still here with my Red Horse
Where you not on a recent other thread looking for ideas on the avoidance of paying stamp duty on your 2 homes one in UK one in the Philippines? Perhaps you need nailing!
I’m comfortable because I’ve worked dammed hard all my life to achieve what I’ve got and enjoy, as have many. The Eastern Europeans come here and you will see many picking fruit and veg on farms especially in places like Norfolk because the pay is better than that in their homelands however they are away from their loved ones and often living in poor conditions. Why do farmers have to employ EE when there are so many fit and able youngsters in the UK living on benefits? I think people get to easily aggravated if the system doesn’t match their own personal circumstances. A topical point would be the current earnings threshold and dependant restrictions.
There is no pot, never has been a pot, your pension and my pension are paid by current working people by their tax it's not even from the NI. This is why we needed more people working and paying tax rather than telling them all to leave to f-off, more people=larger economy and more tax revenue and a better country for everyone. But very few on this site seem to be able to see past the lies they've been sold by the Tories for the last 45 years, what the Tories wanted and got was corporate socialism for business and the rich, meanwhile when that obviously hurt ordinary people they and the rest of the extreme right wing then sold you a story that it was all the foreigners fault, they control the media narrative and it took a long time but they succeeded. And it's started again now their rags are predicting doom because labour are in charge so many stupid loaded stories already all over the net. Pound might rise for a few more months before the US election.
I'm paying 20% tax on two pensions currently, I don't have my state pension yet, so just like every other worker that tax is deducted at source before I get the money. Next year my state pension will use almost all of my personal allowance the year after that almost every pensioner will be paying tax on their state pension even if that is all they have, that's without labour doing anything, that's all Tory policy coming to fruit. There's a simple answer here which is end corporate socialism not just here but especially in the USA, do that and everyone will be a damn sight better off.
I recon Starmer will increase tax on income revenue, specially those wealthy sods and leave us poor pensioners alone, hopefully.
Problem is that's a bit like trying to take the Chinese out of the Philippines... they married into it a long, long time ago.
You sound like Thatcher now... dammed hard... and no doubt the CEO of Tesco works 431 times as dammed hard as his average workers... Lived in Norfolk for quite a while... lot's of Portuguese before the EE's... think the EE's were winning the battle when I left as they used to bring their children along to increase their productivity... good for the EE's and good for the farmer no doubt you'd say! Think they've already started the robot's picking so... our EE friends will be able to sit back and relax soon
Simply felt it was my duty, as a member of the forum, to inform others who might be interested of some of the perils that face those trying to return to the UK
Might not have been so bad if the Conservatives had used some of the money they got from the bigger tax base to build more homes and infrastructure to cope with the increased demand for everything... but our political elite don't worry about that - doesn't affect the schools and hospitals they use and they can always afford to move and live somewhere if things get a bit rough where they are etc....
The Tories want the NHS gone there is nothing they would love more than forcing private insurance onto everyone they just have to find the narrative to convince the plebs, us, so far it's been we can't afford it you are all living too long and you all get too sick look it's going to be impossible to pay for it all. Yeah it will be impossible to pay for it all if the bankers are still to get their bonuses and your captain's of industry are still to get their 431 times the average wage plus their share options. Oh no tax them and they will buggr off no more trickle down for you plebs, like trickle down EVER feckin worked. I could vent more but I'm locked away in the bedroom on day 6 of my third COVID infection I've felt fine since day 2 but am terrified that granny at age 84 could get this from me. My niece Rachael was here on the 5th and probably got infected on her flight here from China she was sick last Sunday but thought it a cold, we were all out on Monday as Rachael was flying back Tuesday and I think I got infected that night as I was sitting close to Rachael the two nights we went out. Today's test is on local tests and is extremely faintly positive I ran out of my Flowtex tests yesterday, I'd probably be safe to mix with the rest of the house but don't want to take the risk.
That's unlucky... never been tested myself - probably means everyone in this small Leyte town has had it or nobody has!
