It’s difficult isn’t it. My MIL was one of the WASPY women who got fucked over with her pension, she also didn’t have the full NI contributions despite working her whole life as her private pension deductions ate into her net pay so NI wasn’t off the gross which would have meant she did the full contribution or something?? It was something bizarre as she’s done really well for herself, bought a big 3 bed outright and extended it twice, kept it lovely inside, always had decent cars, but she only got £300 private pension for years whilst she waited for the partial state to kick in. Her bestie has never worked but had enough credits from marriage (I don’t think this is a thing anymore? I think if you’re eligible for child benefit that counts, but I cba to claim it then repay it so imagine a lot of ineligible women are missing out on their mat leave year potentially, especially if they’re not HRTP themselves so their partial year of pay pre mat wouldn’t have gotten them the stamp) so gets the full state pension.It's similar to unemployment benefits, if you've saved up some cash then if you lose your job you get next to nothing. Where as if you have no savings then you can get housing benefit, council tax benefit and all that. I don't know what the answer is.
The only thing you’ve got to think is work does undoubtedly pay & you do get a far higher quality of life out of it? I personally wouldn’t want to be unemployed on UC it looks like an absolute nightmare from an admin perspective and very little to live on. I know no one in this thread is being a weirdo so this comment doesn’t apply to anyone, but the Facebook brigade who say how good they have it are…… completely welcome to go try it themselves! ETA - work doesn’t actually pay for the majority of the country does it, I’m being narrow minded sorry but being in work and getting top ups must be better than 100% unemployed still surely?
It’s difficult tho and tbh the saddest thing is the loss of family spaces and under provision of care for those vulnerable elders