macliam wrote:Hmm, the politics of envy are unattractive from any side of the equation. Why are today's retired "over-privileged"?, they are, without doubt, better served than those still working - but that's not down to them...
I was trying not to get into politics of envy territory. That said, you answer your own question: today's retired are better served than those still working.
I do not suggest that the retired are greedy. But they do receive generous privileges - higher tax allowances, non-means-tested winter fuel allowances, free prescriptions and all manner of concessionary prices such as bus passes, reduced admissions. These may have been reasonable when the retired were generally poorly off but are no longer justified.
And I know that many of the privileges granted to today's retired will have evaporated by the time I retire on my (comparatively) meagre defined contribution pension.