Change to retirement age
John Lawson, head of pension policy at Standard Life, said: "Last year we predicted that an increasing state pension age was likely to be an ongoing trend in the years ahead. Now the Chancellor has confirmed this is to be the case and we should brace ourselves for having to work much longer in the future. Unless we save a lot harder and are able to retire on our private pensions when we want to, many of us will still be working well into our seventies.
"Some people are bound to be thinking that 'this won't really affect me - I'm still going to aim to retire at 60 or 65 anyway'. But if people want to take control of their retirement age and be retired for longer, without the support of the state pension in the early years, they'll need to start planning and investing much more now. This isn't easy in the current environment, but it's something to be thought about very seriously, as every little helps when it comes to investing for the future.
"There are already two increases to state pension age scheduled for 2019 and 2026. If after 2026 the state pension age increases in line with our changing life expectancy, we could expect that someone who is currently 37 won't be able to start drawing their state pension until they are 70 and someone who is 21 won't receive it until they are 75. This means that children born in 2012 are unlikely to get their state pension until 80, if life expectancy at retirement rises in line with last the 30 years."
"This is a massive change for everyone, but women in particular are having to make a big psychological adjustment as their state pension age is leaping forward."
The two increases already planned for 2019 and 2026, followed by increases every 5 years thereafter
Pensions Tax Relief
John Lawson, head of pension policy at Standard Life, said:
"We're pleased that the Chancellor has not made a change to tax relief on pensions contributions. This valuable incentive encourages more people to save for their retirement years. Tax relief on qualifying contributions into private pensions means that a £100 investment made by a basic rate tax payer is automatically topped up to £125. And if you are a higher rate tax payer you can still claim the higher rate tax rebate too. This tax incentive encourages many to make the most of pension contributions now, so they can make the most of their retirement in the future."
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Campaigns & Issues
Councils’ care home policy may cost families £millions a year, says charity
Thousands of families in England may be paying councils millions of pounds a year for care home places that should be free, according to a report by older people’s charity Independent Age.
The families are having to ‘top-up’ their elderly relatives’ care home fees because some councils refuse to pay the full market cost themselves. Councils are required to provide an appropriate care home place to elderly people with few assets but the maximum rate they will pay in England is on average £45 a week, compared to an average real cost of £524.
News
Inflation falls for all age groups, although elderly still hit hardest
- The latest figures from the Alliance Trust Economic Research Centre show that all households experienced a decline in their inflation rates in April
- Despite this, it is still the elderly households which face the highest rate of inflation
- The over 75 year old households face an inflation rate of 3.6% and although this is the lowest level since October 2010, it is still higher than the official rate of inflation
- The 30-49 year olds, once again, have the lowest rate of inflation at 3.0%. This is the lowest level recorded for this age group since November 2009
- Gas price inflation remains elevated at 15%, which continues to affect the elderly households disproportionately
Competitions & Fun
Win a pair of tickets to South Pacific
This breathtaking and lavish Lincoln Center Theatre production reinvented Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical.
It swept the 2008 Tony Awards, played for two years to sold-out houses on Broadway and was televised across America.
Reader Offers
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Health & Wellbeing
Patients to benefit from better advice on pain control
New guidance for doctors and other prescribers on the use of strong painkillers for patients with chronic or incurable disease has been welcomed by researchers at the University of Leeds.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is today (23 May) launching a new clinical guideline on the safe use of opioids – a family of drugs derived from the opium poppy that have been identified by the World Health Organization as essential in the treatment of severe pain. The new NICE guideline should help ensure that when patients receiving palliative care for chronic or incurable illnesses start treatment with strong opiods, the drugs are prescribed safely and consistently..
Property & Finance
Older people need specialist housing
Britain’s housing market is failing to meet the needs of the elderly, despite a rapidly-ageing population and a growing demand for retirement housing, a charity has warned. Housing charity Shelter has found that if demand remains at current levels supply would have to increase by over 70 per cent in the next 20 years in order to keep up.
The report explored the housing options available to those over 55 - a group that will make up one in three people in England by 2030.
Lifestyle
Learn how the internet can make life easier for you
Stocking up on the heavy grocery essentials was a full day out for Sheila, age 82. “I could see the advantages of doing the supermarket shop on the internet: having the groceries delivered, saving the taxi fare and not relying on others to shop for me if I’m ill,” said Sheila.
“But although I used the internet for emails, I didn’t really enjoy or trust it. My daughter suggested that Pearson Love to Learn’s Internet Basics online course might give me confidence and when she offered to try it out with me, I decided to give it a go.
Travel & Leisure
New sat-nav for older people
There could be a new solution for the increasing number of elderly drivers in Britain who are driven round the bend by complicated sat-nav devices. Scientists are developing a new satellite navigation system - dubbed the Granny-Nav - to help technophobic pensioners. The new device, which tells pensioners to turn at a specific point, such as a pub and not in a certain distance, is being hailed as a new way to keep the elderly as independent as possible.
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