Nearly 1m UK pensioners living in deprivation, official figures show

12 comments

1. There is also 4.3 million children.

   280,000 homeless.

   And around 6 million adults.

   Where is there triple lock?

2. I’d genuinely support the government just building some massive tower blocks with a canteen at the bottom, and just having a small but warm flat with internet, basic TV channels and food provided for those who can’t afford it.

   Can remove the need to have a confusing benefits structure in place and just say everyone gets given £50 a week, and if you want to live in the monolith structure you can

   * Further edit , if you misbehave or ASB you get sent to Monolith 2 with all the other ASB people and its a free for all there , but cameras are set up to document it for people’s enjoyment

3. Did they try putting 10% of their salary away into a private pension each month like every single Millenial now has to do ON TOP of the highest NIC contributions in history?

   No?

   Hmm. Sounds to me like those people lived beyond their means and should have spent less money on ciggies, booze and Sky Teevieee.

   Personally I don’t think society should bail you out for being a feckless saver across 40 years of paid career in the strongest economy known to UK history; a time where mothers could afford to stay at home, and a single earner could afford a 3 bed house that’s now worth over half a million quid…

   But what do I know?

   Edit: just to preempt the usual rubbish defences put up by feckless Boomers:

   • Yes, private pensions have existed for your entire adult lives.

   • No, the 3 months where interest rates reached double digits on your 3.5 : 1 house value to annual salary mortgage was not more expensive than Millenials currently pay on 9 : 1 ratio mortgages at sustained 5% interest.

   • Yes, you DID all get government support on your mortgages in the form of MIRAS which was worth over £10k to the average mortgage holder.

   • No, you were never told the state pension would be enough to live on and it was always official advice you would need to make other provisions for your retirement to avoid living in poverty which you chose to ignore.

4. I’m very conflicted.

   On the one hand, people should have saved, and if you’ve had 40 years to build up a nest egg, then there’s no excuse.

   On the other hand I imagine a lot of these people are women who have never had a job and thought they’d be looked after, their husband has died and they don’t have anything.

   Access to information, specifically financial and pension information, was much poorer when they should have been saving and so therefore some of these people won’t have known what was coming. It’s not very clear cut.

   I take my pension very seriously and I’m fortunate to have an employer that puts a lot in. However not everyone is in this situation… It’s very tricky. I think younger generations have a right to challenge older people if they’ve saved fuck all, but we can still feel sorry fit them at the same time.

5. The solution to pensioner poverty is obvious.

   Let’s mass produce barge care homes now our country has the expertise.

   Elderly people love living by the sea, they’ll never be lonely living 3 to a room, and they’ll be constantly surrounded by a moat of water so can rest easy knowing they’ll be safe from all the frightening “others”.

   It would create thousands of BRITISH jobs up north where the barge factories are.

   And best of all we know from reading the Mail Online that elderly people massively support people living on them.

   It’s win win win WIN WIN.

6. Maybe they should have saved more instead of buying fish and chips and unfiltered cigarettes 

7. The rich elites drink your milkshake (“There will be blood” reference)

8. > According to a House of Commons library report from 2022, the UK provides a lower state pension than most other advanced economies relative to average earnings.

   Won’t stop people moaning about the triple lock though.

   > “The country is crying out for change. It’s Labour who have the plan to grow the economy, to tackle the cost of living crisis, and to once again be the party for pensioners.”

   50% of social housing in London and Birmingham are now occupied by people born overseas and is only increasing. Labour aren’t going to do anything about the current migration levels, so universal credit will soon pass the state pension in government spending.

9. And you’d think that under the Tories pensioners would be getting more benefits!

10. Unfortunately building communist style apartments with free food at canteen would not solve anything. What we need is promoting this idea of personal responsibility. I know many healthy young people with full time jobs spend their money like there is no tomorrow. They plan holidays couple of times a year and vape, gamble and drink.

    When you say make plans for future then they come up with this idea: I want to enjoy my life. Why not invest in future and try to enjoy with rest of it? I have no doubt many of these people didn’t care about their future when they were young and now they’re facing the consequences.

11. 1 million pensioners living in deprivation. 14.5 million living alright or comfortably on their 4 decades of savings, capital and the state pension.

    12.7 million children. 4.3 Million living in poverty.

12. How? Didn’t they live through the easiest time to create wealth?
    Imagine the figures in 40 years.