Menu
24/10/2012
Retired People 'Should Work For Pension'
A former benefits chief has suggested that retired people should be encouraged to do community work such as caring for the "very old" or face losing some of their pension.
Lord Bichard said "imaginative" ideas were needed to meet the cost of an ageing society, adding that although such a move might be controversial, it would stop older people being a "burden on the state".
The peer is a member of a committee investigating demographic changes and their impact on public services.
The panel was told that the transfer of wealth from young to old in the UK was the highest in Europe.
Lord Bichard, a former head of the Benefits Agency and top civil servant at the Education Department, who is probably best known for chairing the 2004 inquiry into the Soham murders, said the debate on rising healthcare and pension costs needed to be broadened out.
"Are there ways in which we could use incentives to encourage older people, if not to be in full time work, to be making a contribution?" he asked the rest of the committee.
"It is quite possible, for example, to envisage a world where civil society is making a greater contribution to the care of the very old, and older people who are not very old could be making a useful contribution to civil society in that respect, if they were given some incentive or some recognition for doing so."
(H)
Lord Bichard said "imaginative" ideas were needed to meet the cost of an ageing society, adding that although such a move might be controversial, it would stop older people being a "burden on the state".
The peer is a member of a committee investigating demographic changes and their impact on public services.
The panel was told that the transfer of wealth from young to old in the UK was the highest in Europe.
Lord Bichard, a former head of the Benefits Agency and top civil servant at the Education Department, who is probably best known for chairing the 2004 inquiry into the Soham murders, said the debate on rising healthcare and pension costs needed to be broadened out.
"Are there ways in which we could use incentives to encourage older people, if not to be in full time work, to be making a contribution?" he asked the rest of the committee.
"It is quite possible, for example, to envisage a world where civil society is making a greater contribution to the care of the very old, and older people who are not very old could be making a useful contribution to civil society in that respect, if they were given some incentive or some recognition for doing so."
(H)
Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.
29 June 2012
Park View 4 U Wins Prime Minister's Big Society Award
Park View 4 U, a community group who mobilised people in their area to transform a once ‘boggy field’ into a community park where young people could channel their energy, is the latest winner of the Prime Minister's Big Society Award.
Park View 4 U Wins Prime Minister's Big Society Award
Park View 4 U, a community group who mobilised people in their area to transform a once ‘boggy field’ into a community park where young people could channel their energy, is the latest winner of the Prime Minister's Big Society Award.
13 February 2013
NOTW Journalists Arrested Over Phone-Hacking
Six former News Of The World journalists have been arrested by Scotland Yard officers in relation to phone hacking. The journalists, two of whom now work for the Sun, were arrested as part of a new enquiry into the scandal.
NOTW Journalists Arrested Over Phone-Hacking
Six former News Of The World journalists have been arrested by Scotland Yard officers in relation to phone hacking. The journalists, two of whom now work for the Sun, were arrested as part of a new enquiry into the scandal.
17 November 2014
One Briton And 13 Albanians Arrested After Boat Trys To Dock Illegally
A man has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK after a number of Albanian men were caught trying to disembark a boat in Eastbourne. It is understood the harbour master at Sovereign Harbour alerted authorities when the boat arrived and he saw several people try to disembark.
One Briton And 13 Albanians Arrested After Boat Trys To Dock Illegally
A man has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK after a number of Albanian men were caught trying to disembark a boat in Eastbourne. It is understood the harbour master at Sovereign Harbour alerted authorities when the boat arrived and he saw several people try to disembark.
19 June 2014
11-Year-Old Girls Find E-Cigarettes 'Appealing' - Research
Young people find e-cigarettes highly appealing, according to independent research commissioned by Public Health Wales. Girls as young as 11 and 12 have experience of using e-cigarettes and obtain them easily from friends, parents, shops and pizza places.
11-Year-Old Girls Find E-Cigarettes 'Appealing' - Research
Young people find e-cigarettes highly appealing, according to independent research commissioned by Public Health Wales. Girls as young as 11 and 12 have experience of using e-cigarettes and obtain them easily from friends, parents, shops and pizza places.
11 November 2013
Over 2,000 People Use 'Help To Buy' Scheme
More than 2,000 people have put in offers on homes under the Help to Buy scheme, totalling £365 million of new mortgage lending. The applications are backed by a 'decision in principle' by RBS and Lloyds, the first two participating banks, for 95 per cent mortgages. Ten of the 2,384 applications have already completed.
Over 2,000 People Use 'Help To Buy' Scheme
More than 2,000 people have put in offers on homes under the Help to Buy scheme, totalling £365 million of new mortgage lending. The applications are backed by a 'decision in principle' by RBS and Lloyds, the first two participating banks, for 95 per cent mortgages. Ten of the 2,384 applications have already completed.
-
Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:It will be cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, soon followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
