That is the National State Pension in the UK. Or put another way it is about £8,000 a year. Obviously that must be successive Government’s view of how much you need to live on. Surely everyone wants older people to have a happy life in old age, so that must be how much you need.
It is lower than the minimum wage —— if you say £8.50 per hour for a 35 hour working week, which amounts to around £15, ooo a year. The State pension is about half of it and as the minimum wage goes up in the next few years the pension will slip proportionately lower.
Still, older people can live quite cheaply. No kids to support, no mortgage to pay for, they don’t have to buy all the latest branded clothes or to fork out for clubs and booze at the weekend. A new car is a thing of the past and who needs a holiday when your old ? That must be the Governments thinking.
