| Topic: Migrants storm Cueta |
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| 61. Author: Jimmy riddell Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 21:45 The Old Age Pension in this country is targeted to be around one third of average earnings. Currently around £12,500 versus £38,000. The triple lock in recent years has helped to get there as old age pensions in the Uk were lagging significantly behind other European and Western countries. We are now roughly in the middle. Private sector pensions in this country are now substantially behind those in the public sector who continue to enjoy final salary or defined benefit schemes. Final salary schemes have largely disappeared over the years in the private sector thanks to Gordon Brown. Employers in the private sector have to contribute a minimum of 3% of salary and the average contribution is about 6%. In the public sector the average employer (us) contribution is around 25% which varies across different sectors. The police, for example, is about 35%. Higher public sector pensions used to be justified because they were paid less than the private sector. That is no longer the case. They also enjoy more job security. This differential is no longer sustainable given the pressure on public finances. This elephant in the room needs to be tackled ….. but I won’t hold my breath. The triple lock is not the problem. Post Edited (Mon 31 Aug 21:49) Reply |
| 62. Author: ipswichpar Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 21:47 You`re definitely best understanding it as early as you can jake as compounding can do a lot of good. Reply |
| 63. Author: ipswichpar Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 21:53 The triple lock definitely as a problem. It is clearly not sustainable over time. Reply |
| 64. Author: Jimmy riddell Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 21:57 Unfunded public sector pensions cost the UK taxpayers £56billion in 25/26. The total estimated long-term liability stands at around £1.3 trillion. This is not included in the overall national debt of around £3 trillion. Reply |
| 65. Author: Jimmy riddell Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 21:59 There are bigger spending issues that need to be addressed before the triple lock. Reply |
| 66. Author: ipswichpar Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 22:16 We need to do multiple things concurrently. Reply |
| 67. Author: LochgellyAlbert Date: Mon 31st Aug 2026. 22:39 Still one of the lowest old age pensions in the Western world and most will have the privilege of paying tax next year if it goes over £12570pa. Women born in the fifties were not allowed to join pension schemes, nor allowed to sign financial agreements, a male dominated world back then. But then again "benefits " are not taxed.🤔 Reply |
| 68. Author: jake89 Date: Tue 1st Sep 2026. 09:25 The public sector in Scotland hasn`t had a final salary scheme since 2015. Career average is used generally. Typically pensions are better in the public sector as the pay is poor by comparison. That`s not always true though. People focus on the pretty poor pay for carers and nurses but ignore that there will be doctors and service managers earning a small fortune and thus getting well paid AND an excellent pension. Reply |
| 69. Author: Jimmy riddell Date: Tue 1st Sep 2026. 16:30 From a Research Briefing.House of Commons Library (27th April, 2026): Trends in Public Sector Pay “In April 2025 median weekly earnings for full-time employees in the public sector were 7% higher than those in the private sector. The gap had been narrowing before the pandemic but increased again in 2020, partly because of the private sector’s greater use of furlough (when employees were paid 80% of their usual salary while they were unable to work during lockdowns). The gap has been narrowing again since 2021 and it has remained at 7% over the last two years.” Reply |
| 70. Author: ipswichpar Date: Tue 1st Sep 2026. 16:57 I wouldnt put too much value on that analysis if you look a bit deeper into the back-up data. Most of the analysis seems to be "Not classified" rather than public or private. Whenever I ever looked for a public role that was equivalent to private sector roles I was doing they were always significantly lower paid. It certainly was the pension that balanced things up a bit. Reply |
| 71. Author: jake89 Date: Tue 1st Sep 2026. 21:29 I`ve worked in both and it depends on roles. Fairly standard "officer" level roles are poorly paid but manager positions tend to be on par or slightly better. The key problem is people in the public sector who get those decent jobs cling onto them for dear life! You also typically start at the bottom of the grade in the public sector making moving between organisations unattractive. Back to the point at hand - pensions are the single biggest expenditure in terms of benefits. Pretty much the same cost as disability, unemployment and child benefits added together. The state pension is unsustainable but that doesn`t mean screw the pensioners. Personally, I can see the state pension becoming only for those below a certain income/savings. My goal is to have the mortgage paid off and a few quid stashed away before I retire. However, that`ll rely on continuing to spend wisely. My view will always be that no-one should be sleeping rough or in poverty but the state should be a helping hand rather than something to rely on. Easier said than done though when wages are low, jobs are often inflexible for parents (and childcare expensive) and business wants to keep people below certain thresholds so they can get UC top ups. Reply |
| 72. Author: desparado Date: Wed 2nd Sep 2026. 01:03 State pension is not a benefit…….. What an opportunity we missed in 2014. Reply |
| 73. Author: buffy Date: Wed 2nd Sep 2026. 02:54 Yes it is. It benefits you in later life. ”Buffy’s Buns are the finest in Fife”, J. Spence 2019” Reply |
| 74. Author: jake89 Date: Wed 2nd Sep 2026. 10:10 desparado, Wed 2 Sept 01:03 It is. A contributory benefit. I see your point though as many benefits you get regardless of how much you`ve paid in. Reply |
| 75. Author: LochgellyAlbert Date: Wed 2nd Sep 2026. 10:27 When you reach the age of retirement you have to claim your state pension, it is not an automatic payment. Therefore it should be classed as a "benefit" just the same as other "benefits" Depending on which party is in power and what the argument is about the State Pension changes from a "benefit" to a "entitlement". Post Edited (Wed 02 Sep 10:31) Reply |
| 76. Author: Dandy Warhol Date: Thu 3rd Sep 2026. 08:11 Back on topic, Cueta looks like a third world slum now, rampant and blatant looting, sexual assaults and yet we`re expected to welcome these people. Animals. I don`t wanna go down like disco. Reply |
| 77. Author: ipswichpar Date: Thu 3rd Sep 2026. 09:27 The US government agrees as it has moved it to "reconsider travel" (level 3 out of 4). Think I`ll be giving it a miss for a while. Hopefully the local protests can start to sort things so they can repair what they can. Of course, there will be some things that can`t be fixed. Reply |
| 78. Author: BouncyPar Date: Thu 3rd Sep 2026. 09:47 Interesting to read the reports and see the videos of "fighting aged" white men, including football hooligans, traveling en masses across the sea to a different continent with the sole intent of causing violence and destruction. These Spaniards have been caught on camera traveling to Cueta, assaulting anyone in their path including local residents, who simply have darker skin than the thugs would like. Post Edited (Thu 03 Sep 09:48) Reply |
| 79. Author: Dandy Warhol Date: Thu 3rd Sep 2026. 11:56 BouncyPar, Thu 3 Sept 09:47 About time people fought back against the animals. I don`t wanna go down like disco. Reply |
| 80. Author: BouncyPar Date: Thu 3rd Sep 2026. 12:09 Dandy Warhol, Thu 3 Sept 11:56 Which group are you referring to, the Spaniards who went over with only violence in mind, or the local Cueta citizens born and raised there who have been seriously assaulted because of their skin colour? Reply |