how can this government say the rate of inflation has gone down Petrol is sky high food has gone up
example I like m/s hot cross buns as a pensioner it is a luxury. this week they went up from 1.19 to 1.35
and a number of there food items have increased in a lot of shops I dont no where these politicians get there figures from. When petrol goes up so does every thing else. Or have they taken a number of items out of the figures that make up the inflation rate . Like they did with mortages when they took that out to lower the inflation rate

Why are older people and particularly those in retirment being hit by recession - you've guessed it - because they usually get by on fixed incomes. They have low performing "private" pensions and low State pension income. Or their personal/occupational pension was blown out of the water when the Thatcher Bubble burst when many were put out of business or lost their jobs at the crucial age of circa 50yrs and consequently were unable to get another job or occupation of the same calibre thus generating a considerable reduction in earned income with which to pay for pensions. So lesson one - poor government economic judgement CAN have a detremental effect on the fortunes however careful we plan and save. There has to be a better way of saving for retirment by ring-fencing State Contributions of National Insurance and legisltating to remove any Chancellor's right to plunder it. You cannot keep making contributions that are not saved and seperated from Central funds [from which we pay all other countries instead of ourselves] colected form the 18 different ways in which we are taxed.

Adding chaos to confusion by introducing the "NEW?" Work Based Pension whereby you and your employer contribute to a - PENSION. So what is the State Pension to which we all contribute? Relief for the State in having to pay it out [from taxes collected the day before as it has never been ring-fenced]?? By sleight of hand Camoron has introduced his idea of a pension resolution, exaclty the sam as the current system of National Insurance Contributions except that it isn't. He's no more solved the future problems of retirment he's just reinvented the wheel. THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE THE LACK OF STATE PENSION IS TO RING-FENCE THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND INVEST IT IN "GUILT" EDGED SECURITIES AND LEGISLATE THAT IT IS A-POLITICAL AND SET INSTONE THAT NO CHANCELLOR CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON THE ACCUMULATED FUNDS. Similarly the NHS funding should be ring-fenced and either keep contributions coming as part of National Insurance or create a separate fund i.e National Insuance and State Pension. The many failures of the private sector in performing their contractual obligations is well known together with the speculative nature of such pension funds. Occupational Pensions funds have been too readily available for the employers to dip into as cheap borrowing so the Employer's fund is underfunded. Personal Pension plans have equally suffered at non performance and when based on traditional reversionary bonus contracts have failed and worse when base on Unit Linked contracts have more than failed as has been proven by the unit linked mortgage - insufficient capital to buy the annuity after so many years. Worse many of the so called personal pension advisers were often former double glazing salesmen retrained and their idea of competitive "quotes" was to cite a high interest return [not realising that high interest only reflects high risk] The truth is the obvious doesn't alwasy immediately grab the ill informed [especially MPs who dabble in matters of which they have no understanding]

And the only way to make them care is to take away their big fat pay packets - which they don't deserve anyway - and force then to live on a state pension.

Not a problem to this Tory coalition.They don`t care any way.