pensionsandsavings.com

  • PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

    From Ros Altmann:economist and pensions,
    investment and retirement policy expert

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

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    Category: Older Workers Employment

    Lifetime Allowance was a sledgehammer to pensions and Budget changes aren’t just to help top 1%

    Lifetime Allowance was a sledgehammer to pensions and Budget changes aren’t just to help top 1%

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    Lifetime Allowance was an unnecessary pension sledgehammer which damaged investment and employment  – if you already have brakes, you don’t need a brick wall to stop the car.    Shame to see pensions become a political football being kicked around with hob-nailed boots – threats to reintroduce it will accelerate exodus of vital NHS and worsen health backlogs.  Scrapping Lifetime Allowance isn’t just for the top 1% – it was always an illogicality that hurt DC pensions by punishing investment…

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    Getting more over 50s into work

    Getting more over 50s into work

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    If Chancellor wants to encourage more over 50s to keep working, he must address health issues rather than just pensions or benefits.  Facilitating part-time or flexible working and improving NHS health outcomes are crucial elements to increase labour force participation of older people.  Today’s employment figures show over 50s want to work but are not well enough.  Five million over 50s may not be able to work full time into their 60s so higher pension allowances or tighter benefit sanctions…

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    Spring Statement – great as far as it goes, but nothing for pensioners, not even the poorest

    Spring Statement – great as far as it goes, but nothing for pensioners, not even the poorest

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    Congratulations to Chancellor for bold moves to help working families. But nothing for pensioners struggling, no improvement in their pensions – just 3.1% rise when inflation today is 6.2% and forecast to be 7.4% this year! Clear priority is for workers and businesses, with nothing to help the elderly. Prioritise working families, businesses, skills training: The Chancellor’s Spring Statement shows a careful judgement about priorities for the country as we move forward, with clear priority to helping working families, improving skills…

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    Delighted to see Government rejects age discrimination against over-70s

    Delighted to see Government rejects age discrimination against over-70s

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    Government rejects discrimination in its lockdown policy – quite right too! Isolated, healthy over-70s delighted to be spared harsher treatment just because of their age.  ONS death rates and medical evidence do not suggest all over-70s at greater risk from Covid-19. Older people delighted to see Government rejecting discrimination: The Government’s measures to ease lockdown restrictions do not, as many had feared, include ageist bias. Having worked so hard to overcome age discrimination throughout society and the workplace, Ministers have…

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    Pension freedoms carry risks but are better than the old system

    Pension freedoms carry risks but are better than the old system

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    FCA concerns about ‘significant risks of harm’ from pension freedoms are valid, but do not mean freedoms are wrong. Consumers are facing new risks, but it is right to allow people to manage their pensions over time, rather than requiring most to just buy a standard annuity.  Original policy intention of ensuring everyone receives impartial guidance or advice before taking money from their pension was absolutely right, but this is not happening in practice.  Without impartial guidance or advice, consumers…

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    Making the State Pension more flexible should focus on State Pension Age

    Making the State Pension more flexible should focus on State Pension Age

    Comments 3 comments

    State Pension flexibility could be welcome, but for State Pension Age, not amount of pension. Just allowing people to take part of their State Pension, while still requiring them to wait to an ever-rising State Pension age, will not remedy the injustices in the current system. We already have the lowest state pension in the developed world and receiving only part of it will just add complexity, but will not help those in failing health or caring for others. Current…

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    The wonderful over-70s: inter-generational fairness has many aspects!

    The wonderful over-70s: inter-generational fairness has many aspects!

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    LET’S CELEBRATE THE OVER-SEVENTIES. Having always been a champion of the skills, talents and societal contributions of older generations, I recently enjoyed one of my favourite afternoons of the year. It was so uplifting, I have decided to write about it. As Mark Twain said ‘age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter’. That is so true. And a perfect example of this was revealed the other day when, thanks to the Chancellor…

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    Justice system hit by forced retirement – reduced immigration in an aging population demands new thinking

    Justice system hit by forced retirement – reduced immigration in an aging population demands new thinking

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    Justice system in peril as forced retirement at age 70 causing shortage of magistrates. Compulsory retirement in an ageing population is wasting home-grown skills and talent! Recruitment crisis requires new thinking on age discrimination, especially as immigration falls. Mandatory retirement ages are blunt tool and should be replaced by impartial appraisal. Crisis in justice system as number of magistrates has halved: Magistrates are calling for the Government to abandon its policy of forcing them to retire at age 70, introduced…

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    Discrimination against older workers

    Discrimination against older workers

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    Older workers – especially women – face damaging discrimination in the jobs market. Parliamentary Committee calls for action against recruitment industry for breaches of equality law. Many older women excluded from the world of work face poverty as state pension age rises. Calls for improved efforts to Retain, Retrain and Recruit older workers. The Commons Women and Equalities Committee inquiry into employment for older people contains damning findings of age discrimination in the workplace. It concludes that ageism in the…

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    Don’t hit older workers to pay for social care – need a solution that is fair across and within generations

    Don’t hit older workers to pay for social care – need a solution that is fair across and within generations

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    Forcing pensioner workers to pay National Insurance is not a solution to care funding crisis Imposing new National Insurance on just one group introduces new unfairness and could be politically damaging Pensioners are not entitled to many of the benefits that National Insurance covers Working past pension age should be encouraged, not penalised to pay for other people’s care How could Government justify forcing pensioner workers to fund other people’s social care while non-working pensioners on huge pensions pay no…

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