pensionsandsavings.com

  • PENSIONSANDSAVINGS.COM

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

    • pensionsandsavings.com

    pensionsandsavings.com

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    Category: Rethinking Retirement

    Getting more over 50s into work

    Getting more over 50s into work

    Comments 0 Comment

    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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    Chancellor’s Statement comment

    Chancellor’s Statement comment

    Comments 2 comments

    Chancellor rightly focuses on jobs and increasing infrastructure spending to boost growth. Great to see Lifetime Skills Guarantee and Restart programmes to help for older unemployed workers – as state pension age rises.   Green projects and social housing should use UK pension assets instead of more borrowing.   The Autumn Statement sets out the depth of the economic emergency we are facing and the Chancellor is right to ensure that we focus on preserving and creating jobs, increasing infrastructure, improving environmental…

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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

    Comments 4 comments

    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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    Increasing State Pension Age to 75 would be an outrage

    Increasing State Pension Age to 75 would be an outrage

    Comments 141 comments

    Increasing State Pension Age to 70 and then 75 would be wrong. Strict chronological age cut-off ignores the 19-year gap in healthy life expectancy across UK.  Saving public money is all well and good, but not by penalising the poorest and most vulnerable. Working longer can be good for health and wealth but it should be a choice, not forced labour. More flexibility is needed for earlier pensions for people in poor health and unpaid carers. UK already has the…

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

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

    Comments 2 comments

    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

    Comments 0 Comment

    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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    Election Manifesto for older voters – 6-point plan for reform

    Election Manifesto for older voters – 6-point plan for reform

    Comments 11 comments

    20 April 2017 Help poorer pensioners, older women and families facing elderly care Radical overhaul of social care to ensure fairer system for all – a crisis worse than pensions State Pension triple lock could move to a double lock, increasing by prices or earnings Double lock should apply to Pension Credit so poorest pensioners are protected properly Improve pension outcomes for women – private pensions, State Pensions and WASPI Reform pensions tax relief to give everyone a 33% Government…

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    Cridland State Pension Age Review

    Cridland State Pension Age Review

    Comments 2 comments

    23 March 2017 Cridland Report emphasises importance of working longer but shies away from allowing early State Pension for those who can’t Summary of my views: Yes it is important to help people work longer, especially after Brexit Yes Government should end the triple lock which doesn’t protect oldest and poorest pensioners properly anyway Yes we must tell people about any increases to their State Pension age Yes adults caring for elderly relatives need more help  BUT I would go…

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    Cridland State Pension age independent review: interim report.

    Cridland State Pension age independent review: interim report.

    Comments 2 comments

    13 October, 2016 Here are my thoughts and comments on the Cridland State Pension age independent review: interim report. As Cridland considers the options, Government has a chance to make State Pension policy fairer Consider extending number of years for full pension, rather just than raising state pension age Current system gives higher state pension to people healthy or wealthy enough to wait and work longer, but often disadvantages those with longest working lives or poor health Continually increasing State…

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