The Budget?

[observer]

No mention has been made between hard manual work and an office type job - one actually wears you out earlier anyway, assuming a 70 year old was capable of doing it, and the other could probably be continued into one's 90s. The evidence also suggests that hard manual work contributes to a less than average lifespan, so again another attack on the poorest. No mention has been made either, of the old grumpies blocking jobs for the young, at a time when unemployment will be rising.

[asperity]

I think you are jumping to dubious conclusions Obs. It may well be that people who have had active lives doing hard manual labour live longer than people who have been desk driving for 40 years. Surely it's more to do with genetic make up and life style than what sort of job someones had. The human body isn't a machine and doesn't wear out like one. Take off the class warfare glasses for once Obs

[observer]

Think the evidence has been fairly overwhelming for some time now, that a clear correlation between socio-economic grouping and life expectancy, which is exacerbated by other life-style factors: but that wasn't actually the point I was making, I was distinguishing between "job" types EG; a 60 odd yo soldier, fireman, copper, builder etc etc, ain't going to perform at the same rate as a 20 yo - so some careers are for youngsters: now it may be possible in some organisations to provide for this with trasitions to back-office duties - but that would defeat the objective of the cuts! The reality is, that this idea is driven by the austerity prog and demographics, which I'm not particularly arguing with - but it's also true, that by raising retirement ages, you increase on average the number of contributors who will not live to collect their pensions, thus making it a cheaper scenario! btw the French are up in arms about their pension age being raised from 60 to 62!

[Robbo]

It may well be that people who have had active lives doing hard manual labour live longer than people who have been desk driving for 40 years.

 

It may well be that manual labourers live longer but that doesn't mean they are still capable of carrying out a manual job at 70 as well as they did at 50. I think you need to take the blue specs off.

[Peter T]

I blame SID at British Gas.

If shares han't been made available to the ordinary man, shares would not have become the god that it is, and industry would probably still be around.

 

Ever since shares took over, everything has gone downhill.

[wolfie]

Isn't SID retired now?

[Bazj]

Police Officers can only retire from the age of 55.

 

 

Are you sure?

 

I was under the impression that up until a few years ago they can retire on a full pension after 30 years service so if one joined at 18, one could retire at 48.

 

I am pretty sure that is the case actually because my next door neighbour is a copper and he joined at 19 and retires in 3 years (so he likes to keep telling me) and he is 46 now

[wolfie]

Rule changes Baz, introduced a few years ago for all new coppers.

 

Not sure about those already in the system.

 

In fact it could be later than what I thought.

Here are some of the basic eligibility requirements for police officer candidates.

 

Applicants from all backgrounds and ethnic groups are encouraged to apply. Applicants are not limited to any particular age group - in fact, we welcome those who are looking for a career change. The minimum age to apply is 18, and there is no upper age limit, though you should bear in mind that the normal retirement age for police constables and sergeants is 60. You should also be aware that all new recruits, whatever their age, are required to undertake a two-year probationary period.