Pension to 68 in U.K.?

7/19/2017 Syl 0 Comments


By keeping the oldies at work, we're creating a lost generation.


The UK state pension age increase to 68 will be brought forward to 2037.

Of course a lot of reasons are presented.
People live longer, not enough young people to earn it, etc etc.

Let's look at one of the two main reasons: people live longer.

This statistical statement is true, I assume.
People live longer. So they will need a pension longer. Pure logic.
Independent of health or quality of life, the pension is needed.

But does that also lead to the pseudo-logic conclusion that people can work longer?

In a way people tend to assume that living longer means living healthier.
We're told in many advertisements that old people walk faster, walk happier, and walk more supple than the generations before us.
So we think that health extends further in old age.
Can we draw the conclusion that in the near future a 68 year old person can be compared to a 57 one of the last generation before us?

Not often do I hear discussions, let alone research outcomes, link for instance dementia with the higher death age. More people get dementia... we know that. And people with dementia can get a lot older, we know that too.
So the increase of life expectancy is caused by stretching life. And that doesn't mean we add more years with better quality of life.

What needs to be asked is if the onset of age related problems also undergoes a shift.
Because only that would be a good reason to move the pension age forward.
In other words: are the people who stop at 68 under the new law as healthy and unhealthy as those who stopped at 57 in the last generation before us?

I haven't seen this question asked, and I certainly haven't seen it answered.

All I can do is look around me and see what's going on with people my age.
We still have to work 6 years (when we have a job).
Compared to when my father was moving towards retirement my 'group' is not as healthy as they were. Yes, we move more, and smoke less. but there are more people suffering from diabetes, heart problems, kidney problems and depression. The amount of people who can hardly cope with daily requirements is growing.

Less health leads to a lower production and lesser quality of production, so the costs of the products rise.
Less health also leads to more investments.
So making people work longer costs more.

In the eighties of last centurie people were aware of that, and the thought was that it was wise for older people to quit working early, so young people could have jobs, and start a proper career.
I'm in favor of that thought.

Now many young people are without a job. Their education is often outdated when they finally can get work, so they won't get the job after all. Add to this the lack of life-long jobs with the same firm, and lots of job changes, even within a year, and it might be clear that young people will be struggling their whole life to earn a proper living, with the consequence that building a good career is out of the question and caring for a family too.

By keeping the oldies at work, we're creating a lost generation.

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