Do they think we are stupid?

Showman Barnum made a big emotional tearful show of scrapping the triple lock on the state pension at this weeks show in Liverpool. Does Britain really need to scrap the safety net to ensure pensioners do not fall into poverty? A procession of inept politicians have never fixed the state pension and it is paid out of the current account unlike more robust schemes like Germany where pension contributions are ring-fenced to buy government bonds.   The UK scheme is a Ponzi scheme which relies upon young people paying contributions to pay today's pensioners from current National Insurance contributions. The total cost of the State Pension will be £154 billion  for the 2026/27 financial year. The OBR expects National Insurance contributions for the 2026/27 financial year to be £205 billion so that's the Government is making a profit of £51 Billion per year off the State Pension.  Now it could be sensible and "invest" the £51 Billion into "Pension Bonds" to ensure...

 As it currently stands, someone paying National Insurance is hypothetically paying into their state pension. The current rates are: Employer contributions:    15% of salary Employee contributions:  8% of salary So that's 23% of salary Let's compare that to Germany  Employer contributions:     9.3% Employee contributions:     9.3% That's just 18.6% of salary not 23% of salary like the UK system. In Germany the total contributions are capped a gross salary of EU101,400 so no additional contributions can be made. So someone who has worked 45 years would receive EU 1,913 per month in Germany compared to the UK's £1,045 (EU 1,216).  So the UK payout is 57% less for 23.7% more contributions.  It suggests pensioners in the UK are getting ripped off by our government. One reason is,unlike Germany, National Insurance contributions are not being ring fenced for pension payments but are being spent on a whim by politicians - it's Ponzi scheme...