Why have the authorities ignored pensioners for so long?
Even though the Labour government is currently under renewed pressure regarding its treatment of pensioners in the UK, the truth is that the older generation have been ignored by numerous governments over the years. Quite why this sector of the UK population has been ignored is a mystery to many because they are served their time in the UK economy, contributed to society and paid their taxes.
The sad fact for many pensioners in the UK is that the spending power of the UK state pension has been in decline for many years although often, just prior to an election, there may be a spike in the annual increase. When you also consider that pensioners of late have suffered dramatically from the fall in UK base rates, which has reduced income on their nest eggs, it has been one of the more difficult times to be one of the old generation in the UK.
While there are hopes that a new incoming government would at least appreciate the older population more there is the issue of the ever-growing pension funding problem within the UK. When you also take into account the UK budget deficit, which is forecast to hit £178 billion in the current tax year, there would appear to be little hope of a significant increase in state assistance for pensioners in the short to medium term.
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