A recent article on the London Stock Exchange website says:

Pensioners’ relative prosperity rises


Occupational pension schemes boost income for 4.6m OAPs



30 Sep - 13:29

Pensioners working after they have retired and occupational pensions have helped Britain's elderly become relatively more prosperous, latest figures from the government show.

A quarter of income for pensioner couples came from earnings, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A further 35% came from the state pension and about 25% from occupational pensions.

It found an average couple in retirement earned just over £29,000 per year, or £564 a week, in 2008-09.

That income now means pensioner households make up 38% of the poorest fifth of all households in the UK, sharply down from 56% in 1977.

"Although retired households' income is lower than that of non-retired households, over the last three decades the position of retired households has improved," the ONS commented.

The figures, though, showed a wide divergence in income between pensioner groups. A fifth of them exist on incomes of just £197 a week, while the wealthiest 20% enjoy average weekly incomes of £755.

More than half of single pensioners also received total pension income of less than £10,000 a year.

http://www.londonstockex...ve-prosperity-rises.htm

http://www.statistics.go...p?term=pensioner+income

The Tories will doubtless say (to themselves) that poor people are improvident, lazy, stupid etcetera and deserve to starve. The non-sociopathic may believe that life's chances are unfairly distributed and it is the responsibility of a caring society to even out the results for people who are, for whatever reason, incapable of helping themselves.

I know only two or three people who pay a marginal income tax rate of 40% i.e. have a taxable income of over £37,400. I don't think I know anyone with the £150,000 of taxable income to pay at the 50 per cent rate. Yes, National Insurance adds to the burden for almost everyone but those with incomes in six figures can certainly afford all the tax mitigation strategies such as investing in AIM stocks, Venture Capital Trusts, Enterprise Investment Schemes and so on. The 50 per cent rate is almost voluntary.

I have no objection to people minimising their taxation by investing in employment producing businesses. I do object to people who do nothing worthwhile with their wealth. Mathew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-28.

The ideological and self interested comments above are excellent examples of the real problem.

Lets be pragmatic about this. The problem with wide income and wealth differentials is that policy makers, their friends and families are part of the high income group. Hence they lack everyday experience of the barriers and costs faced by those in the lower income groups and end up relying on ideology, statistics and their self interest to make the policies that impact on the majority. The success of policy thus generated is a matter of luck not design.

High income multiple mortgages have caused such havoc across the banking sector and are an example of this distance. Another is the failure to address the reasons that washing manufacturers and other business' locate their operations in Germany, Holland, France and Italy rather than the UK. It's not easy to throw away the advantages of our geographic location as the large island off the coast of the largest economy in the world. Our Eastern and Southern coasts should be the world's richest manufacturing and trading site.

We have to do for the country and all our business' what we did for Financial Services when we de-regulated and put the London
Docklands outside of the planning system. Reducing the budget deficit is laudable but of little point if we fail to address the barriers and costs for business' and consumers created by national legislation. Put simply, we can't afford our planning system, our employment agency and employment business legislation, our solicitors regs, etc.

To give you a current example that will soon impact on the employment of those currently in financial services, govt is about to make redundant roughly half of our legal aid lawyers. These people are bright, motivated by a desire to win over a desire for higher pay, qualified to provide financial advice, experienced spin masters, quick on their feet, able to absorb and understand complexity. Yet not a single financial services business is advertising for staff in the Law Society Gazette. If I was Bob Diamond I'd sack the head of UK HR for not being on this one already.

There is much more to having a life than just stacking up money. Try LIVING in Switzerland - as we are led to believe "thousands" of city slicker screen jockeys are threatening to do. You could always count your dosh for amusement. If I were short of a million, I'd just smuggle dope from Columbia. It's a more honest, acceptable and respectable occupation than either most lawyers or city bankers. Jump ship if you like guys. I'll spend my money in this country for the greater good of the country that has looked after me well. And vice versa.

Absolutely right Mr Barlow. Communism dehumanised people - ask those who lived and suffered under it. I experienced it in the 60's etc. The Nanny State - equality - deincentivising people is the way to degrade the nation. And it has done that. We have to operate within a world market, increase if we can the cake and take as best care as we can of those really in need. Whether Christian or not to aim for a 'Christian' capitalism is best way forward - where individual treated with respect.