General Chat

Britain actually ranks 21st out of 27 countries in Europe, along with Estonia and Poland, way down from Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Austria, Finland and many others. The UK is the fifth richest country in the world, so this is not exactly something to feel proud of!

The amount of pensioners they would target is that 5% whose income is such that they could afford to pay.

What a can of worms I opened when I mentioned free television licences for over-75s and was it correct that the BBC was going to ask pensioners to give the Corporation some money back (the government having decided not to take that on board). I am still no wiser whether the BBC will run with that idea a but my feeling is it would be on a loser if it did so.

I think the pension that Magpie may be referring to is the small pension received by those women who, when they were married, opted for paying the 'small stamp.' I can state that it was encouraged by employers at the time and many women chose that option. In addition, nursery places were few and far between when I was married and had my first child and, while a few women could go back to full-time employment and a few lucky ones with nearby relatives decided upon part-time work, the majority of women at that time could not return to work at all.

I had my second child overseas and when I eventually returned to the UK , payment of what is termed 'the full stamp' was compulsory for all. In my time away from the UK, maternity leave was introduced as was statutory maternity leave and a host of other benefits - I know not when they were introduced.

So, you can still find older pensioners than I am, often movement-impaired and in need of every benefit possible because they have not been in a position to increase their pension entitlement nor have they been unable to save because they were employed part-time. Men do not have the limitations of what is roughly a half-pension. However, not all are able to do without financial help. Consider those who have weekly hospital trips, daily medication, regular eye check-ups and dental work and bone problems due to a lack of a decent diet 60 or 70 years ago. Every little helps them to live the kind of life that we younger pensioners take for granted.

My original post was intended for older pensioners' free TV licences.

In addition, there are, among us, people born with health problem who have never been able to fend for themselves.

It's all very well mentioning means testing but who would carry out that and who would decide on the criteria? In addition, would taxpayers be happy to fund regular means testing to gain refund of part of the television licence and bus passes?

There has been no assessment regarding costs of means testing for television licences as far as I am aware but I would go so far as to say that if the government has put the television licence hot potato into the hands of the BBC it has decided the costs would outweigh the benefits.

The country's pension system is equalling itself out but there are still inequities and there will be for some years to come - possibly for 30 years until the older pensioners among us have died.

A society ought to care for its elderly, it's very young and its infirm.

It's all very well to make financial comparisons to pensions in other countries, but often the difference is more in the overall picture, to include some of the things mentioned eg access to public transport

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11850330/Nine-countries-where-it-is-better-to-grow-old-than-the-UK.html

I don't know what all the fuss is about....
As far as I heard it's not due to happen....if it does?...until 2020.
Personally,I like the Beeb .....I have a package ...not Sky...with free view,but mostly watch BBC1. 2.3 and 4 more than any other.
What organisation doesn't pay high salaries to staff...sure it's not only the BBC?
You only have to see what a lot of charities pay to their paid staff.
At the moment it's only suggested that it is optional to pay,,,so it's an individual's choice.
We used to pay a licence for radio and didn't make a fuss.
I have lived partly in Spain and their TV is so full of adverts you lose the plot of what the programme is all about.
Depends what you like to watch,but the class of BBC is still better viewing IMHO .

Brenda, I watch a lot on my iPad, that's why I think the BBC ought to ask itself why the Government delegated this to the Corporation.

I have friends in France who watch a lot of BBC programmes - with no licence fee to pay - I have watched with them.

In addition, if one watches ITV programmes on the iPad, one can fast forward the adverts thus avoiding interruptions.

I forgot to ask, does anyone know if the so-called silver celebrities (such as Terry Wogan etc) who are going to ask, on behalf of the BBC, for return of part of the licence fees are going to be paid a fee for so doing?

I am just reading my Daily Mail.

Love
The Old Dear :-D :-D :-D

:-D :-D :-D

Re pensions ...............

The attitude here towards pensions is somewhere between Britain and the US.

In other words, on the one hand, society needs to take care of the elderly and the poor. On the other, it is the individual's responsibility to take care of themselves.

Hence, the elderly person who has only the basic Federal Old Age Pension would get a maximum about £250 a month. That is paid whether or not they have worked. They could then apply every year for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, a means-tested addition to the OAP, that could add about another £100.

Everyone who has worked has to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (or the Quebec Pension Plan in Quebec) and then gets a pension based on how much they have contributed. The current minimum is about £275/month and the maximum about £400/month

Thus a person who has worked full time since age 18 to (currently) 65 could have a pension of approximately £650.

The only reductions in costs that we get are concession bus fares, 10-15% reduction on train fares, and an extra deduction (Seniors Allowance) on the house taxes that we pay to the local municipality every year.

As an example, this year our House Tax will be about £2000, and Seniors Allowance will be about £200, leaving us to paye about £1800

We get NO allowances for heat, light, phone, etc etc ........ and most parts of Canada are colder than any part of the UK for 4-6 months of the year.

The Federal Government actively pushes buying Canada Savings Bonds, investing in RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plans) and paying into private pension plans during your active life to provide for retirement. In turn, most large unions will ensure that contracts with employers have private pension and health plans are included where the employer will contribute at least half of the monthly premiums.

There are thousands and thousands of Canadians who only have the basic pensions, either because they did not work, worked in non-unionised jobs, or otherwise could not contribute to private plans.



It is actually impossible to compare pensions between countries as there are so many variables ........... how much does housing cost here vs there, how much are the taxes here vs there, how much does it cost to heat/cool a house, how much does food cost, etc etc etc

**Ann** I read mine lunchtime
Love
Another old Dear

:-D :-D :-D

I read mine online does that count :-D :-D ;-)

You are not an old dear Mersey :-D :-D

Ann :-D :-D :-D

Why not just add £150 a year to the UK pension and drop the free licences?

That way rich pensioners would pay tax on it and thereby effectively pay part of their licence fee and non-taxpayers would end up no better or worse off than at present.

Brian there would then be an uproar because houses with two pensioners over 75 git and extra £300 and those with only one only got £150, so couples were making £150 :-D

Begging letters being sent to the old & infirm. Didn't someone say they would but a stop to all these goings-on?

Mersey, you are naughty 'cos I know that you're just a young 'un. :-D

Note

From this old dear
To the old codger

Please excuse me but I've only just finished yesterday's Daily Mail so I have some catching up to do.

I don't know how I found the time to work, truly. ;-)

Sylvia, who's complaining? Not me.
Rollo, do you live in France? I would love to live there, and regularly go there on holiday, but I can't even get my wife to move out of London, let alone the country.

It's good to see from RR's link that Australia occupies no 20 on the list :-(

The Australian Pension is means tested, and also taxed. Before I could even be considered for the Oz pension, I had to start receiving both my (part) UK pension, as well as the remnants of a UK local government occupational pension.

In Oz pensioners receive subsidised prescriptions; $6.20 instead of $37.00 per item. Most are bulk billed by GPs but not by Specialists.

We also receive help with the water and general rates (50%) and part electricity costs.

As from Next year (2017), due to the financial state of Oz, those subsidies will be capped and the goal posts for pension eligibility will be altered downwards

We receive, via the State Seniors Card, free bus and train travel. Also, in WA country areas, in acknowledgement that bus and train services are non-existent an allowance is made by the State Government of $516 per year for either petrol or taxi fares. Only one allowance is made per household with a pensioner ie even if both residents are pensioners only one allowance is received.

The general population does not pay a TV Licence Fee and it's a shame that the adverts are interrupted by segments of TV shows.

As if that wasn't bad enough some adverts are repeated two or three times in a single slot :-|

oh ......

........ so you also have doughnut advertising??????


that's when an ad appears at the beginning and end of the time slot, with the "hole" filled by other ads :-D

Correct, Sylvia, although not necessarily at the beginning and end.

I've also edited my post slightly. In my original post the words 'As from next year...' did no appear in their correct position :-S

This has now been amended :-D