Earning a crust....

[The Grumpy Dad]

Ooh yes, we used to be with AOL and had to get very clever with them to get our contract cancelled. I bet they're even more slippery these days.

Took me almost 2years. Mentioned on another thread on here at the time. My bank had to keep reclaiming my funds each month. Only after they charged them for this did it stop. :0//

[fit old bird]

Can't remember if I have replied to this, can't be bothered to look. The government pays me now, or rather they are giving me back some of the income tax I paid to them over 45 years of working, the last 32 years as a lorry driver. I'm one month off seven years of retirement. I wonder at what point we break even, and I get back everything I have paid in.  I wonder when the pot will run out and I have to start working again. 


Ilona

[Ridge]

I wonder when the pot will run out and I have to start working again. 

You should be fine Ilona, all governments are keen not to cut pensions to current pensioners. This could be that they recognise all the hard work that they have put in over the years and think that they now deserve a retirement without too many financial worries or it could be that pensioners are the highest voting demographic. I'll let you decide.


It is the rest of us who will be screwed.

[madame cholet]

I heard a quote recently that the average pensioner has a higher income than the average employed person plus all the benefits ie free bus passes ect.

[fernman]

Well I must be way below average, then. (Bring on the sad violins.)
I've gone from £35K twelve years ago, when I had full use of a company vehicle, expenses, tools, work wear, laptop, etc., and then I had no choice but to retire prematurely, down to £10K currently comprised of state pension, company pension (reduced because of the early retirement) and a small top-up pension (also reduced). And a London travel pass.
But I am supported by my self employed wife, without whom I would be in dire straits. While all my income goes into a joint account towards bills and food, a fixed amount is transferred monthly into my personal account, and I use that wisely, there's no splashing it out on things like coffees and lottery tickets and frivolous purchases, that way I can afford to buy things like decent walking gear, as an example.
The biggest hardship is that I can only just about afford to run my 11 years-old car. The cost of road tax, MOT, insurance and parking permit is near crippling, while I never reckoned on how much the price of petrol was going to increase since I got it.

[Slogger]

Yes Fernman, my pension pot is even slightly less than yours, comprising state pension, army pension and small private pension. You can bet your life there are more pensioners on amounts similar or less than ours, than on more than a working income. I'm 70 now and still self employed working full time. I can't see me ever going into full retirement. The new pension rules mean that anyone turning pension age after April 5th this year gets the 'new' state pension, in other words benefiting by more than £100 a month over and above the existing basic pension that those of us who were already drawing it, are stuck with.
Ive been paying income tax for 54 years, but now working people of pension age get no extra personal allowance, we still have to pay the full rate. I think we've paid enough income tax over the years myself, the least they should do is lower the rate from 20% to 10% for working pensioners, but is that likely to happen, I think not.

[fernman]

Yes, for the first 3 or 4 years I spent a few hours a week delivering free newspapers, leaflets and catalogues to get a few extra pounds (it helped keep me fit, too!) and it really used to irk me that the taxman took 25% of it.

[Innominate Man]

Ive been paying income tax for 54 years, but now working people of pension age get no extra personal allowance, we still have to pay the full rate. I think we've paid enough income tax over the years myself, the least they should do is lower the rate from 20% to 10% for working pensioners, but is that likely to happen, I think not.

I've never thought about that before. You're quite right - after paying income tax & NI for years, plus then & now paying more money back to the Government by way of VAT (on virtually everything you do):- you should be tax exempt, never mind reduced !
In reality we work like dogs - give all/most our money to the Government through one source of taxation or another and end up with what is actually 'pocket money'.
I'm going to look into one of those Panamanian accounts like all the toffs have. If it's good enough for them - it should also be available to us