5 ms·

'gift from the government'?! These are people that have worked their whole lives from times when benefit scrounging was not a viable life plan. There's plenty o

'gift from the government'?! These are people that have worked their whole lives from times when benefit scrounging was not a viable life plan. There's plenty of poverty in retirement. Also quite apart from fraud there are peversely generous incentives for people not to work, and thus we end up with the spectacle of multiple generations having never worked, and having no intention to do so.

pjc50 9y ago
Incentives not to work: a real problem. The only way out of that is methodical reform of the system; what Universal Credit could be if it wasn't a disaster being run by IDS. Multiple generations never having worked: very rare, this is a common piece of anti-benefit propaganda that's rarely rooted in fact. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/are-cultures-worklessness-passed-down-generations https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/are-cultures-worklessness-pass...
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  I don't think IDS is involved anymore, May didn't like his face.
underwoodley 9y ago
The welfare state (in the UK) has existed since people who are now 87 were entering the workforce. It used to be a lot more generous. There is no test for having worked your whole life needed to get an old age pension. Unemployment benefit claimants get a National Insurance stamp.
- mattlondon 9y ago
  > There is no test for having worked your whole life needed to get an old age pension. Isn't there? I think that you need to have shown at least 10 years of national insurance contributions to get the pension: https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance-record-and-your-state-pension https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance... Granted, 10 years is not "your whole life", but there is a test.
  - tonyedgecombe 9y ago
    As @underwoodley says, you get a credit if you are unemployed, from https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance-record-and-your-state-pension https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance... You may get National Insurance credits if you can’t work - for example because of illness or disability, or if you’re a carer or you’re unemployed.
DanBC 9y ago
> there are peversely generous incentives for people not to work No there are not, and claiming such shows how ignorant you are of the current benefit system. Name one situation where someone is better off on benefits.

pjc50 9y ago

Incentives not to work: a real problem. The only way out of that is methodical reform of the system; what Universal Credit could be if it wasn't a disaster being run by IDS. Multiple generations never having worked: very rare, this is a common piece of anti-benefit propaganda that's rarely rooted in fact. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/are-cultures-worklessness-passed-down-generations https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/are-cultures-worklessness-pass...

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
I don't think IDS is involved anymore, May didn't like his face.

underwoodley 9y ago

The welfare state (in the UK) has existed since people who are now 87 were entering the workforce. It used to be a lot more generous. There is no test for having worked your whole life needed to get an old age pension. Unemployment benefit claimants get a National Insurance stamp.

mattlondon 9y ago
> There is no test for having worked your whole life needed to get an old age pension. Isn't there? I think that you need to have shown at least 10 years of national insurance contributions to get the pension: https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance-record-and-your-state-pension https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance... Granted, 10 years is not "your whole life", but there is a test.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  As @underwoodley says, you get a credit if you are unemployed, from https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance-record-and-your-state-pension https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/your-national-insurance... You may get National Insurance credits if you can’t work - for example because of illness or disability, or if you’re a carer or you’re unemployed.

DanBC 9y ago

> there are peversely generous incentives for people not to work No there are not, and claiming such shows how ignorant you are of the current benefit system. Name one situation where someone is better off on benefits.