People who have a pension struggle in down years but manage well in boom years. Unlike the 1% increases that public-sector and benefits of working-age people, pensioners are "triple-locked," meaning that they increase by average earnings - inflation - which is usually around 2.5%. They also have perks, such as free bus passes and free television licenses. The elderly who are in need of long-term care for medical conditions used to sell their homes to pay off bills until the government stepped in at a certain savings amount. Now, the state will take over once they spend 75,000 pounds towards individual care.
Link: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21571892-government-looking-after-old-and-younger-people-are-bearing-brunt-cuts-thats
1 comment:
Sean, thanks for this interesting article. I think it presents a relevant point about the poorer, young generation being squeezed to accommodate nursing costs. I think another important point in the article says that the number of elderly aged 85 and older will double between 2010 and 2030. The question then becomes, does this new policy account for that and is it sustainable? Maybe it is the politicians way of making early moves to keep a large, growing voting block in power, but it seems fairly expensive.
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