SIXTY NOT OUT

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me ….

It wouldn't be a proper birthday without a yellow ticket card

It’s a new year and today I’ve reached the big 6 0! Woo hoooo! At last I can apply for a senior railcard and get 10% off my shopping every Tuesday in Iceland. Brilliant!

Tuesday is now my favourite day of the week

Reflecting on life, it’s sad but exciting to think that I’m already two thirds through my statistical life expectancy which in the UK is currently 83 years for any female born today.

Being a spreadsheet saddo, here’s my life graph showing how those 60 years have been spent and forecasting the rest of my allotted timespan:

MY LIFE GRAPH
How my life is looking
Average life expectancy for females in UK is 83 years (as at 2022)

0-18 yrs	18 - 67 yrs	67 - 83 yrs	83 - 100 yrs
Childhood/Education	Work	Retirement	Bonus time

18 yrs	49 yrs	16 yrs	17 yrs

When you look at the linear timeframe of your life then try to project it to say 100 years from the day you were born, it does paint an interesting picture.

No surprise that work takes up more than 50% of the average 83-year female lifespan, a percentage set to increase if Rishi Sunak gets his way and forces everyone over 50 to remain in employment until they drop dead.

Unfairly labelled 'economically inactive' - knackered would be more appropriate

Retirement which is rapidly becoming a dirty word especially to the Government is likely to decrease over the next decade because let’s face it, they just don’t want to return any of the economical contribution you’ve made to the Treasury coffers over more than half your lifetime.

Interesting to note that even if you strike it lucky and live beyond the average life expectancy of 83 years to reach the century, the total time not spent at work is only 33 years.

Anyone over the age of 50 who has sat down and reflected on their own life graph is no doubt keen to change the proportions of this diagram with less emphasis given to the work years and more to the retirement plus years hence the ‘Great Resignation’. The pandemic made us all realise how precious time is and how little you’ve got in which to do what you want before you kick the bucket.

Maggie Thatcher truly upset the retirement apple cart when she decided to increase the state pension age for women from 60 years to 65 years. If she hadn’t tinkered with things I could have been enjoying an extended lunch break or spending my time taking up oil painting or photography but instead I’ve still got another gruelling 7 years left before the Government returns some of my employment investment.

Take note all you other oldies out there - the Government has a cunning plan to punish all of us over 50 who are not toeing the employment line by casting its fiscal drag net far and wide because for those of you not on top of these things, tax is coming to all those in retirement. Read it and weep.

Nice that the state pension was increased by 10% to £10,600 a year from April 2023 but that only leaves a buffer of £1,970 before you hit the personal tax allowance limit of £12,570 which is frozen until 2026. Further increases to the state pension over the next 3 years will slowly erode that buffer which means that anyone claiming a state pension who is also receiving income from a private pension or any other sources will be subject to income tax. Why else do you think the Government is so keen on pension auto enrolment? They give with one hand and take with the other!

That’s fiscal drag for you. Sooner or later, tax taps you on the shoulder regardless of how old you are. The grey tax pound - not something mentioned by the media when denouncing the over 50’s as economically inactive because I’m willing to bet that most of those who fled the workplace in the ‘Great Resignation’ are financing their early retirements from private pensions, equity release or savings so when they claim their state pensions – tax bingo!