Gotta work till we're 68 now.

viz

Probably necessary though.

monquixote

I'm fully expecting that by the time I'm that sort of age the norm will be that you work until you die, or retire through ill health. 

viz

That's the punishment for being such a whippersnapper, young man!

spacecadet

I won't live that long.

Col_Decker

well that sucks.

 

Assuming that there will be jobs for us to do stay in of course

chillidoggy

I'm working on early retirement, never mind 68. If I live that long it'll be a miracle.

viz

I think you could possibly be over the threshhold of where the new policy kicks in anyway

JAYJO

Im mortgaged till im 70 so not a bad thing for me. 

jonnybradford

Is this "got to work till" or "can't draw the state pension until"?

These are not quite the same thing. 

digitalscream

The population has been ageing so much that I'm honestly surprised this hasn't happened sooner. 

viz

Yes it should have. Mr Bradford - it's can't draw the pension until. I don't think they can force you to work. For me it's the same thing though!

cruxiform

I can leave my job at 60 (in 15 years) with a full pension but being the sort of person I am I probably will want to work anyway. Even if it's a part-time role it's so important to stay physically and socially active. My grandfather was a coal miner who had a stroke 6 months after retiring due to inactivity and I don't want the same thing to happen to me.

octatonic

chillidoggy said:

I'm working on early retirement, never mind 68. If I live that long it'll be a miracle.

I never want to 'retire' as such but I'm working on being able to do what I want, rather than what I have to do.

viz

You're already doing that!

octatonic

viz said:

You're already doing that!

To a degree, I guess.

I like the idea of being financially able to do nothing but choosing to do XYZ (in my case a combination of playing/mixing music and building instruments).

Right now I couldn't do nothing- I just don't have to do my old career, which was IT.

ESBlonde

We can draw a personal pension from 55 but with rising life expectancy you won't get much if it has to be drawn for an expected 35-40 years.

Don't forget that people retiring today could start work at 15, today kids are leaving statutory education 3 years later or with the growing move to further education many don't start earning until their early twenties so the number of 'contributions' they make will be similar.

The early baby boomers had it best, 15 years ago retiring at 55 was possible with a healthy rate. Then Gordon Brown raided everyone's pensions and the rates available fell dramatically, so those days are but a distant memory the likes of which we shall not see again.

I started a pension at 25 with the intention of retiring at 55, well 30 years later and It won't now keep me in the style to which I'd like to be accustomed so here I still am nose to the grindstone. 

VimFuego

back in the 70's they were all saying that, due to technology, we'd all only have to work 3 days a week and we'd all have trouble filling our spare time. Funny how things turn out, eh...

octatonic

VimFuego said:

back in the 70's they were all saying that, due to technology, we'd all only have to work 3 days a week and we'd all have trouble filling our spare time. Funny how things turn out, eh...

That is what politics is- the sale of false promises.

VimFuego

personally (and no doubt opening myself up to a boat load of flack for this) I think we need a radical rethink as to what work is and what sort of work we do. This idea of being a wage slave, chained to a computer in some office or warehouse feels almost barbaric to me. We're (well, not me) are working more and longer for less while profits go up and an ever increasing number of people are forced to resort to the loan sharks just to get through the month, and we regard this as both normal and acceptable. Looks like a society that is fucked up beyond all recognition to me. And before the usual voices come out of the woodwork and say it's labour's fault or the tories, similar stories are being told across the western world.

meh, glad I have as little to do with the whole shitty mess as I can, I just resent the little interaction I do have to have with the real world.

octatonic

I actually don't disagree with you Vim (shock, horror ).

As I get older I like doing physical stuff more.

When I worked in IT I was deeply unhappy- the nature of the work plus the inherent sedentary element of the work was a bad recipe for me.It was too easy and too boring.

Music was pretty good- it is still sitting down, mostly- but it is interesting and challenging.

Building instruments is very tough but very fun.

It is physical and demanding- frustrating at times.

I'm happiest doing this- I just hope it turns into something that makes enough money- or at least doesn't lose any.

VimFuego

that's kind of my point, we have to work. It's fundamental to us as a species, we can't just sit around drinking g&t on a beach for all eternity, but it's the nature of the work we do that we should be exploring. Work should satisfy both our physical needs (food, warmth and so on) but also, for want of a better word, our spiritual needs. We should gain satisfaction from doing it, it should be something we want to do, even if we don't need to. It shouldn't just be about putting food on the table.

Thing is, the system (of which the government is just a part) doesn't want that. It wants obedient slaves that are easily controlled in their pigeon holes. Independent, free thinking individuals are a threat to the system, so it does it's best to stamp that out.