A Right Royal Rick

Question: Why Are The Queen’s Actions Causing Economic Concern?

 

In 1952, the Queen sent 255 telegrams to celebrate 255 people reaching the age of 100. In 2011, this reached 12,500.

 

So what?

 

Well, average life expectancy has risen significantly……it has increased by 10 years over the past 30 years and this creates a ticking time bomb for the State Pension.

 

So what?

 

There has been much negative comment regarding increasing the age of the State Pension by as much as 3 years for some and the maths just don’t stack up.

 

So what?

 

Let me explain. As things currently stand, the Government do not have a penny towards the State Pension for millions of people that are expecting it. They simply use the National Insurance Contributions from those that are working to pay for those that are in retirement.

 

If the number of people in retirement increases (the post war ‘baby boomers’ are coming to retirement now) and they live for longer, this significantly increases the amount of National Insurance Contributions required from those working to pay the State Pension for those in retirement.

 

Quite simply, there is a black hole between what is coming in and what is being paid out. Clearly, raising the State Pension Age by a few years when life expectancy has increased by 3 times that is doomed to failure.

 

But which political party wants to address the issue of needing to increase National Insurance Contributions significantly for workers and at the same time increase the State Pension age to 70+……none of them when we have an election on the horizon.

 

For the record……in 2034 it is predicted that the number of 100 year birthday telegrams will reach 92,000……that’s just 20 years away.

 

Tick, tick, tick……