Alex Jones

@Cannydc1 @simonwatt85

@simonwatt85 And with state pensions that are right down there among the worst in Europe, from a country with the 5th largest economy in the world.

Who else is fed up with people carping on about pensioners owning all the houses and sitting on large savings? Pensioners have paid a mortgage for 35 years so yes,they own their houses. They have to live on their savings for the rest of their lives. It's not rocket science.

@PattersonRalph @Carla_littlerob Your employer matches your contribution upto a certain point on a workplace pension and the government will give you 25% on any saving into a private pension. You also get a £20k tax free savings allowance every single year. How much more incentive do you need?

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob Tell me about the “massive incentives”

The minimum wage is around £26,000. The state pension is £11,000. And the elite talk about the triple lock? We expect our pensioners, who can't typically work, to live on less than half of the minimum wage. It is outrageous and cruel in my view. #skynews #gbnews #bbcnews

@Metal_Rebel @Carla_littlerob Ok, but at the same time the pubs were always full and everyone smoked. My own parents lived through that time, I have an understanding of what it was like

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob Many people my fathers age could not afford to put extra away, paying for a mortgage, living costs, children in the 1960/1970’s was all their wages could afford, and some days they did not have money for food. Not everyone was rich back than.

@Zakk2e @Carla_littlerob @ptaxox82700 Who would pay for an increase to the state pension?

@Carla_littlerob @dr_besty @ptaxox82700 I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a decent pension that I can live on without having to go cap in hand to the government, particularly when I know people (and more) who have never worked a day in their life and don’t intend to. Thank you @Carla_littlerob for understanding.

@Fiona35352137 @Carla_littlerob

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob State pension was always meant to support us in one age. There was never a mention of saving in addition to paying NI Conts all our working lives. How were we supposed to save? We were bring up family, during period interest rates were in excess of 15%. There was zero left.

@2147mill The UK government spend £1400 billion every year. £39 billion is just over one week's spending, just for some context

In 1999 Gordon Brown did something that would cost Britain £39 billion. He sold our gold. Not quietly. He announced it publicly first. Causing gold to immediately drop before a single sale. Then sold 395 tonnes at the absolute bottom of a 20 year bear market. He raised £2.16 billion. Today that gold would be worth £40 billion. A £37 billion loss. From gold we already owned. That nobody needed to sell. Gold has averaged 8% annual growth every single year since he sold it. Every. Single. Year. It became known as Brown's Bottom. The literal market bottom. Named after the Chancellor who sold there. Meanwhile Rachel Reeves is raising taxes to fill a £22 billion hole. Brown's gold would have filled that hole entirely and still left £17 billion spare for a tax cut. The most expensive financial decision in British history?

@Sonny496 @RoseEdmunds @AlanJLSmith You get very generous tax breaks for saving into a private pension, it was never intended to be used a a vehicle to avoid tax

@RoseEdmunds @AlanJLSmith Its funds save for your future. When you die why does the Government deserve any of it over the family?

From next year, if your kids inherit your pension fund, they could pay 74% tax on the amount received through double tax (inheritance tax and income tax on the same fund). In, fact it could be as high as 84%. Madness!

@Carla_littlerob @Amadhanlite We don't have record unemployment, we've never had more people in employment, we're at what's considered to be full employment. Try and stick to the facts

@Amadhanlite @dr_besty This is about how money is being spent and invested so older folk can have a decent standard of living in retirement and free up jobs for younger folk. We have record unemployment now.

@Carla_littlerob @Amadhanlite Where would this decent pot of cash come from?

@dr_besty @Amadhanlite If we paid our pensioners a decent pot of cash, they wouldn't have to work freeing up jobs. I'm of the view that all benefits should be taxable.. it's outrageous that people I know are paid welfare of £35,000 per year tax free. You have to earn into the £60ks to earn that

@Carla_littlerob @union4me @ptaxox82700 That's incorrect, unless you think that 47% of the UK workforce were rich prior to 2012. As it stands 89% of people are enrolled in a workplace pension, if you opt out then that's on you unfortunately

@dr_besty @union4me @ptaxox82700 It wasn't mandatory. Only the rich and well off folks had one or those working in the civil service l, police etc.. that's why the 2012 change came in.. and even today you can opt out ....and many do in my view because of the cost of living

@greg_davies @Amadhanlite @Carla_littlerob We're not a wealthy economy, our economy is built on high house prices

@dr_besty @Amadhanlite @Carla_littlerob What have apples got to do with it..? Mid-table in the pensions league for a country like the UK is not good for one of their wealthier economies

@Carla_littlerob Depends on circumstances of course but yeh its not ideal

@dr_besty I don't agree..those on minimum wage have it tough..

@BulletBlueSky2 @Carla_littlerob Majority of any benefit claim is usually housing benefit, followed by a child element, take away both of those things and the base benefit claim is actually really low. My daughter claimed benefits in the 3 months between ending college and going to uni, she got £292 a month

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob What about benefits? People on benefits can receive far more than pensioners, and whilst they are meant to be a safety net it’s a lifestyle for many. Would you agree they should receive no more than the state pension in that case?

@greg_davies @Amadhanlite @Carla_littlerob When everything is taken into account, state pension, private/workplace pensions, savings, investments etc we're about average across Europe. Need to compare apples with apples

@dr_besty @Amadhanlite @Carla_littlerob Yes, it's always about priorities. The higher cost of living in UK puts them well down the list of pension value across Europe. And don't forget pensioners spend almost all of their income so in effect it circulates in the economy

@Lord_MikeS @Carla_littlerob There's not much room for the government to make savings in today's economy so the only option is growth. The problem is the money that we're now spending, and our relative debt to GDP, doesn't offer much option for growth either

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob It’s a political choice where to spend money (or borrow more money). You can make savings elsewhere to pay for pensions. Or grow the economy. Within the next 20 yrs or so when Boomers pass away. There is going to be a boomer inheritance windfall that the Gov Will receive.

@union4me @ptaxox82700 @Carla_littlerob The irony 🙄

@dr_besty @ptaxox82700 @Carla_littlerob Ahh…struck a nerve. My condition is nothing to do with you being wrong. It is a convenient means of covering your embarrassment at revealing that ugly personality that you have.

@wessy666 @Carla_littlerob So the alternative would to be to tax people more in order to increase the state pension?

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob The wages of today do not, and haven’t for a long while, kept up with the cost of living. If you expect working families with children to find £100’s spare each month to save for retirement you are very much mistaken. The system is a sham.

@annselah @Stewart14263521 @Carla_littlerob Other contributary benefits are taxed, they're just well below the tax allowance

@dr_besty @Stewart14263521 @Carla_littlerob Other benefits aren’t taxed or is a pension not a benefit

@Stewart14263521 @Carla_littlerob Sorry that your mum has to pay tax Stew, guess what, mine does too, that's how life is. Comparing me to a nazi for saying that is fucking weird, you should maybe get off the internet for a bit

@dr_besty @Carla_littlerob Yes your Nazi style empathy was expected and I imagine you are very proud of yourself too!

@union4me @ptaxox82700 @Carla_littlerob Sorry that you're not doing ok my man 🤷‍♂️

@ptaxox82700 @dr_besty @Carla_littlerob Yeah but Alex is doing ok so fuck everyone else…