Tuesday 18 March 2014

Inequality and Discrimination - Flat Rate Pension 2016 - Even Current Pensioners Lose Pension

CURRENT PENSIONERS LOSE PENSION

The Flat Rate (Single Tier) Pension 2016 pretends your state pension money will be more from 2016.

Nothing could be further from the truth.
See if you lose more or all of your state pension:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now


GOVERNMENT UNDER NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PAY STATE PENSIONS


As the UK is in Europe, it means all this talk of deficits and national debt means the UK government just as easily could do this within EU and UK law.

There was a law in UK from 1975 til 1993 that guaranteed pensions. 

The Tories revoked that law in 1993 and no Labour government or Tory / Liberal (Lib Dem now called) Coalition has brought that law back.

This means that the UK government is under no obligation to pay state pensions. 

One Tory wanted to impose community service on pensioners to gain state pension, at whatever age.

The delivery of the state pension delivery is to be privatised.

INEQUALITY AND ABOLITION OF PENSIONS

Current pensioners get a state pension that is an illegal low amount by treaty law with Europe. 

The Council of Europe informed the UK government that under EU international treaty law UK benefits and state pensions are below what the Social Charter says legally they should be.

The £71 per week benefits and state pension of around £102-£110 per week, should both be £138 per week.

The Pension Bill raised retirement age just as the bulk of the 1950s Baby Boomers (those born from 1953 to 1965) came of age to gain rightful age payout of state pension.

This broke the Coalition election agreement not to raise women's retirement age of 60 til 2020 and men's of 65 til 2016.

You might care to sign Anne Keen's petition as well as mine, as even if women's state pension was gained at 60, the Flat Rate Pension and other changes would take the pension away.







WORKING POOR INCLUDE HALF OF WOMEN AGED 60-66 YEARS


The loss of benefits to the working poor, with ever more cutting of the benefits bill, means the working poor are hardest hit.

And women are harder hit than men, from women being two thirds of the million public sector jobs that will be lost by 2018.

And because, on average, women are poorer than men, so need benefits more to bring them closer to a living wage.

With women losing rightful age payout at 60 of state pension from 2013, for those born from 1953, it means the Flat Rate Pension will reduce further any state pension received at age 66.

If women have any state pension rights in the main by then.

See if you lost most or all of your State Pension:

FLAT RATE PENSION IS INEQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION TO CURRENT PENSIONERS AND 70 PER CENT NEW CLAIMANTS FROM 2016


The Flat Rate pension 2016 pretends it will pay new claimant pensioners £144 per week, so complying with EU law.

But this £144 will only be to 30 per cent of new claimants, because:

a)  the National Insurance contribution years required rises from 30 years now to 35 years in 2016, and 

b) new claimant needs a full history of being contracted into SERPs (State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme) or the State Second Pension. Around 6 million workers were contracted out of these schemes as far back as 1988.

This includes county council works pensioners, who took all their pensioners out of SERPs.

Against rise of NI needed from 30 to 35 years - revoke Flat Rate Pension 2016

HOUSEWIVES LOSE ALL STATE PENSION

Current pensioners with a wife below the state pension age (those born from 1953 have retirement age of 66 and beyond now), with little or no National Insurance credit history of her own, will lose her 60 per cent of husband's state pension rate from 2016.

A man or woman with less than 10 years will get no state pension.

From 2016 a woman who divorces her husband cannot claim the 60 per cent state pension from his NI contributions.

Widows will no longer be able to inherit their husband's state pension from 2016.

So a housewife with little or no NI credit history of her own, may also lose benefit and so have zero income in old age.

Against housewives being left with no income in old age

LOW PAID WORKERS LOSE ALL STATE PENSION WHICH DISCRIMINATES AGAINST UK CITIZENS


Changes by government, mean that low paid workers that earned less than £109 per week and worked less than 14 hours per week, have zero National Insurance credits.

These low paid workers are no longer within the welfare state and have no right to benefits or state pension for life.

This is in contrast to EU work migrants and immigrants who get benefits and pension credit with zero National Insurance credit history.

Another group of people, that could be millions or 80,000 dependent on political statistics, with zero income in old age.

And this may include the million on zero hour contracts, which will be a lot of low income women who turned into self-employed.

Against policy that leaves low waged with no state pension or any benefit in old age - so abolishing the welfare state that was originally invented for just such people.


CURRENT PENSIONERS LEFT WITH BELOW EU LEGAL RATE OF STATE PENSION


Government (whoever wins next general election) intend to end Cold Weather Payments / Winter Fuel Allowance, Free TV Licence and Bus passes, even to those already receiving them. 

Current pensioners will continue to get the below EU law rate of between £102-£110 and will not get the Flat Rate of £144.

Again and again there has been the idea of taxing the state pension at source, as there is no law that obliges the government to pay the state pension, even to those already receiving the pension. 

Revoke Pension Bill and Flat Rate Pension as Discrimination to current pensioners

LOSS OF HIGHER AGE RELATED TAX ALLOWANCE

For those who turned 65 in 2013, they lost £3000 extra tax allowance above the basic tax allowance.

Just as the richest 300,000 people in UK gained a 5% Income Tax cut.

More people have been caught by lower thresholds for the top rate tax of 40 per cent, and these 'squeezed middle' are basic workers like teachers and firemen. 

In the Panorama programme on food banks on Monday 3 March 2014, a 'squeezed middle' couple were interviewed, who found it harder and harder to buy food each month for themselves and their children after all the cost of living rises. 

And the Tonight programme The Rise of the Working Poor on 6th March 2014. 

Energy bills have had massive inflation (half of cost is green taxes that way on low waged and pensioners the most) and food prices have risen 25 per cent in last six years. 

Retirement finance boffins say that the average income for a pensioner to keep out of food and fuel poverty (a 70 year old needs to heat one room to 70F 24/7 to keep well) was £10,020 (2012-2013 figures). And in London was £12,299 (2012-2013 figures).

This loss is also in my petition:
Against men and women loss tax allowance at 65


But you might recall that with the Bedroom Tax and taxable benefits and the threat to part-time workers of cuts to housing benefit if they do not gain a full-time job, that the poorest are also being taxed on their food money.



PENSIONERS - THE WITHERING AWAY OF YOUR STATE PENSION

Austerity means the end of pensions.

The State Pension has been lumped into Welfare Reform, when it is not some generous gift from government to be withdrawn at whim, but deferred wages from our youth.

National Insurance has been 12 per cent of your wage up til the 40 per cent tax band (when 2 per cent), so the tax rate for low workers above the basic tax allowance has been 32 per cent.

EXAMPLES FROM EUROPE OF GOVERNMENT TAKING PENSION MONEY


Bail-outs in Europe mean pension funds from private, works and state pension are taken by Europe's government to pay French and German banks the money owed by any EU member nation's debt to Europe.

Most of this debt was incurred by French and German firms doing capital works in said southern and eastern Europe and then leaving the poor nation with the debt to the French and German banks.

The IMF realise now that the 'solutions' imposed on indebted nations have just brought back less repayment from taxation as the economies of those countries has imploded with no jobs and no business. Greece, for example, has no basic tax allowance and has so many personal taxes, that the taxes gained from people to government (actually direct to Europe) is plummeting.

In Hungary, all pensions from private, works and state were nationalised and taken from even those already receiving pensions, to pay for debt to Europe.


WHAT WOULD THE SWANS DO DIFFERENTLY?


- Pass law guaranteeing pensions

- Revoke Welfare Reform Act, Pension Bill and Flat Rate (Single Tier) Pension 2016

- All citizen pensioners, current and new claimants from 2015 will get £15,000 state pension payout, tax free from age 60

- Basic Tax Allowance of £14,000

- Tax Allowance from 60 of £15,500

- £500 Winter Fuel Allowance for winter 2015-2016.

- Expats who have retired abroad will get the EU rate of £138 per week state pension, gaining same rises as in UK, as long as still UK citizens. Tax free. 


- Equality of treatment and medication under the NHS however old.

- End of Council Tax and BBC Licence

- Work towards end of Car Tax.

The Swans new party Org UK
Only you can make this party a reality.
Only The Swans new party are for women at 60 and all ages current pensioners, as well as Anti-Austerity and Anti-Welfare Reform for all ages and all incomes.

A government with the Swans in opposition to the Left Unity Party would be the only way to end the starvation suffered by millions and ensuring all are feed every day of all ages and not being left to freeze in your own home.

Any other party would just thwart any attempt at social justice for all.

Contact for free membership support - free organising membership - potential candidates for 2015 general election Click here.

http://www.theswansnewparty.org.uk/free-membership/4577168655

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