They’re at it again – only this time it’s far more subtle. Rather than just changing the taxation goal-posts on pension-funds, now the penny-pinching moves to the yearly increase – made to keep pace with inflation.
Up to now this increase has been in line with the Retail Price Index which is, currently, just over 5%.
In future the Consumer Price Index will be used and this is running at about 3.4%.
A subtle claw-back that will, as time passes, cost pensioners many thousand of pounds.
Watch-out for a small (?) tax ‘adjustment’, imposed on pension-providers, that will sideswipe the results of this payments ‘move’, as ever, into the money sink of government coffers.
I do know one or two folk getting ‘private’ pension payments that they’ve saved for over the years. In every case the amount of weekly private pension cash is deducted entirely from their normal state pension. So, what is the point? Doesn’t national insurance or tax cover the old-age-pension anymore?
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Apparently the government are to ask the 23,000,000 members of Facebook where cuts in services are best made.
Such, it seems, is progress. 50 years ago this would have been impossible as the 23,000,000 would have been at work.
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Some ‘think-tank’ committee somewhere has calculated that a single person needs about £15,000 minimum gross per year in order to live reasonably well physically and socially. Marrieds with say two children need about £29,000.
The recent press, in articles, asks if ‘you’ could live on this.
Live on it! Ye gods! I would positively thrive on that kinda cash every year!
Sadly if all those of my ilk opted for the cushy life with even a minimum-wage – there would be nowhere (Private) that anyone could so earn. And a public minimum-wage actually costs us about double…..
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There are though ‘pensions’ and pensions.
Sometimes by another name…….
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