Getting wealthier? -
Half of middle class home owners fear their
properties could be repossessed next year
Note: The middleclass stood uncaringly by when the natural employments
of the workingclass were wilfully destroyed from Thatcher onwards. They
thought they were immune from foreign competition and cheap imported
labour. They know better now.
The most frightening thing about our present predicament is how few of
the population can feel secure. Over 50% have savings less than enough
to keep them living as they do now for two months. RH
daily telegraph
Half of middle class home owners fear their properties could be
repossessed next year
Nearly half of middle-class home owners fear that they could lose their
properties next year because they are struggling to pay their mortgages,
research shows.
By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor
Last Updated: 6:53AM GMT 30 Dec 2008
The average property now costs £161,883, says the Land Registry Photo:
PA
The news comes after the Council for Mortgage Lenders forecast that the
number of repossessions is likely nearly to double to 75,000 next year.
A YouGov poll, carried out for a new report from Tory MP Grant Shapps,
found that 44 per cent of mortgage holders are worried that lenders
could force them out of their properties next year.
A similar proportion were worried about not being able to meet mortgage
payments between now and the end of 2010. The study - The New Homeless -
found that the concern among homeowners about losing the roof over their
heads in the economic downturn stretched across society. It found that
42 per cent of middle class professionals were worried about not paying
the mortgage over the next year, compared with 46 per cent of blue
collar households. The study found that nearly one in seven people were
in the highest category of being "very worried" about making the
repayments over the next year.
More higher earners - 15 per cent - described themselves as "very
worried" about being able to make the payments, compared with 12 per
cent of those in less affluent groups, possibly because they
over-borrowed during the property boom.
Part of the problem was that bills have far outstripped increases in
family income. Figures show that while average pay increased by 13 per
cent in the four years to the end of March 2008, fixed household costs
jumped by 45 per cent.
Mr Shapps said: "Householders up and down the country and in every kind
of housing are now concerned, as never before, about their ability to
maintain a roof over their heads over the next 12 months.
"While Gordon Brown would like us to believe that they fixed the roof
when the sun was shining, it's now becoming clear that for many hard
working families concern about keeping their home is greater than at any
time before.
"Despite this, the Government continues to release a series of poorly
thought out announcements which are often contradictory and confusing
for the public." YouGov polled 1,208 people across the UK on 9 December.
daily telegraph
Financial crisis slashes £60,000 from every family's wealth The
financial crisis has slashed the equivalent of £60,000 from the wealth
of every family in Britain in the past year, research suggests.
By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 9:06AM GMT 31 Dec 2008
The blow already delivered to ordinary households by the global downturn
is set to intensify in 2009 Photo: EPA Plunges in the prices of both
property and shares have seen more than 18 per cent of the value of
families' savings and assets disappear, it is claimed. The estimated
total wealth of British households now stands at £6.7trillion - down
from £8.2trillion in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the
consultants Capital Economics. The fall of £1.5trillion is the
equivalent of £60,000 for every family in the country. The findings
show the blow already delivered to ordinary households by the global
downturn, which is set to intensify in 2009.
Pension funds and share portfolios have been slashed by falls on stock
markets. The FTSE index of 100 leading companies has shed almost a third
of its value this year. The value of families' investments, including
shares, has fallen from £4.1trillion to about £3.2trillion, according
to the research, which was carried out for The Daily Mail.
Meanwhile house prices have fallen by almost 15 per cent in the past 12
months, according to Halifax, meaning the value of the average house has
fallen from more than £190,000 to £163,000. Total property wealth is
estimated to have fallen from £4.1trillion to £3.5trillion.
As Britain falls deeper into recession, property prices are expected to
fall further. Capital Economics's Howard Archer has predicted that
prices will tumble a further 15 per cent as the economy shrinks by 2.7
per cent overall. Meanwhile earlier this week personnel experts forecast
that 600,000 more people would lose their jobs.
daily telegraph
Millions of elderly people live in poverty, figures suggest The number
of elderly people living in poverty has increased by 300,000 in the past
year to stand at 2.5 million, new figures reveal.
By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent Last Updated: 5:57PM
GMT 30 Dec 2008
The first state pension was set at 5 shillings a week in 1908.
In total 2.5 million pensioners are now living below the official
poverty line. Photo: AP They were released by the National Pensioners
Convention on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the day when the first
state pension was collected. It was set at 5 shillings a week and paid
to men and women on reaching 70 years of age.
Today, every man in retirement who has worked for 44 years is entitled
to receive the basic state pension of £90.70 a week. Women need to have
worked for 39 years to get the full amount.
The NPC suggested that the poorest quarter of pensioner households saw
their incomes rise by less than 1 per cent last year, while the poorest
single pensioners saw their real incomes drop by 4 per cent.
In total 2.5 million pensioners are now living below the official
poverty line of £151 a week, the NPC said. The figures comes as The
Daily Telegraph calls for pensioners to be given a tax cut on their
savings and investments through its Justice for Pensioners campaign.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "We owe the original pension
pioneers a great debt of gratitude for securing the very first state
pension, but they would be turning in their graves if they knew that
after 100 years, one in four pensioners was still living in poverty.
"In fact, today's state pension is worth even less in relation to
average wages than it was in 1908 and next year's increase in the state
pension will be a measly £4.55 a week, at a time when millions of older
people will be faced with the unenviable dilemma of trying to heat their
homes or eat properly."
Pensions Minister Rosie Winterton said: “Our reforms to the state
pension make it fairer, more widely available and more generous and
we’ve just announced the biggest increase in the basic State Pension
since 2001.”
daily telegraph
'Half of single pensioners living on £6,000'
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:04AM BST 18 Apr 2008
Half of all single pensioners are being forced to live on less than
£6,000 a year, according to figures released yesterday. While two
thirds of elderly people have some form of private pension, the Office
for National Statistics figures show most provide an income of less than
£1,000. Most married pensioners, 62 per cent, have a combined annual
income of less than £10,000, a figure likely to get worse as saving
into private pension schemes decreases. The majority of pensioners have
their income topped up by state benefits, including the pension credit,
with couples getting an average of £7,296, and single men and women
£5,259 and £5,496 respectively. The ONS figures, which cover 2005/06
show millions living below the official poverty line. Pensioner groups
condemned the figures. Joe Harris, the general secretary of the National
Pensioners Convention, said: "For years, successive governments told us
it was OK to keep the state pension low because private company pension
schemes would ensure that everyone had a comfortable income in
retirement. But these figures prove that was a myth". Gordon Lishman,
the director-general of Age Concern, said: "People expecting to live the
good life in retirement may be shocked by these figures." But the
Department for Work and Pensions argued targeted benefits had helped
more than a million pensioners out of poverty. A spokesman added:
"Pension credit guarantees an income of £124 a week compared with £69
a week in 1997." The figures also show that women in their 40s earn 20
per cent less than men. Analysis of the gender pay gap showed that pay
differences peaked for full-time women workers aged between 40 and 49.
The pay gap for women aged 22 to 39 was just one per cent.
daily telegraph
Three million pensioners survive on less than £10,000 a year Almost
two-thirds of single pensioners are struggling to survive on pensions of
less than £10,000 a year, official figures have disclosed.
By Tom Peterkin
Last Updated: 10:34PM BST 18 Jul 2008
The extent of pensioner poverty was revealed in figures published by the
Office of National Statistics, which also showed that almost 45 per cent
of pensioner couples received pensions of less than £15,000 a year
during 2006/07. Campaigners for the elderly said the figures, which
revealed that three million pensioners received less than £10,000 in
income from their state plus private pensions, were "a scar" on society.
Around 5.7 million elderly people receive less than £15,000 a year from
state and private pensions. "We are still treating our pensioner
population incredibly shabbily," Mervyn Kohler, a special adviser to
Help the Aged, said. "How can you expect people to get by on less than
10,000 a year when energy bills cost at least £1,000 a year, water
rates are going up and are forecast to rise dramatically and they are
having to cope with the remorseless increase in Council Tax. "This is a
truly horrifying way to treat pensioners and is a scar on a supposedly
civilised society," he added. Gordon Lishman, Age Concern's Director
General, said: "It's clear that millions of older people are still
having to live on a low income. These figures, coupled with the
unacceptable news last month that over two million pensioners are now
living below the poverty line, clearly show that the Government must
step up its efforts to help older people." The figures also showed that
around two thirds of pensioner households had income from private
pensions. Pensioner couples received on average £11,059 between them.
The average for single men was £6,812 and for women was £5,519.
According to the ONS, 39 per cent of pensioner couples, 58 per cent of
single men and 64 per cent of single women received less than £5,000
from private pensions in 2006/07. Most elderly households received
income from state pensions and related benefits last year. For couples,
the average annual state benefit income was £10,191. Single men
received, on average, £6,911 while single women received £6,700. "This
is evidence that the Government's pension policy is going in the wrong
direction," said Neil Duncan-Jordan, the national officer of the
National Pensioners Convention. "The Government has relied on
means-tested pensions and people having decent occupational pensions,
but these figures show that this approach is failing. "These figures are
shocking. Pensioner poverty is endemic, but it has been around for so
long that people regard it is a matter of course, but we have got to
move on from the idea that it is acceptable." The figures released by
the ONS were reissued after a "significant error" was discovered in the
last set of figures published in August. The statistics, which were for
2005/06, were recalculated and brought up-to-date to last year. As a
result of the correction, the income received from private pensions was
calculated to be four times as much as estimated in April. A Department
of Works and Pensions spokesman said: "Today pensioner households are on
average £1,500 a year better off in real terms than if the 1997 system
had continued. "Today no pensioner needs to live on less than £124 a
week, compared to just £69 a week in 1997. "Annual private pension
income for single pensioners is now on average £936 higher in real
terms than in 1996/1997 – an increase of 42 per cent. "For pensioner
couples it's over £2,200 higher, an increase of 37 per cent. "It is
vital that people save to meet their aspirations for later life. The
Government's workplace pension reforms will help 9 million more people
save more or for the first time, boosting overall contributions by up to
£10 billion."
properties could be repossessed next year
Note: The middleclass stood uncaringly by when the natural employments
of the workingclass were wilfully destroyed from Thatcher onwards. They
thought they were immune from foreign competition and cheap imported
labour. They know better now.
The most frightening thing about our present predicament is how few of
the population can feel secure. Over 50% have savings less than enough
to keep them living as they do now for two months. RH
daily telegraph
Half of middle class home owners fear their properties could be
repossessed next year
Nearly half of middle-class home owners fear that they could lose their
properties next year because they are struggling to pay their mortgages,
research shows.
By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor
Last Updated: 6:53AM GMT 30 Dec 2008
The average property now costs £161,883, says the Land Registry Photo:
PA
The news comes after the Council for Mortgage Lenders forecast that the
number of repossessions is likely nearly to double to 75,000 next year.
A YouGov poll, carried out for a new report from Tory MP Grant Shapps,
found that 44 per cent of mortgage holders are worried that lenders
could force them out of their properties next year.
A similar proportion were worried about not being able to meet mortgage
payments between now and the end of 2010. The study - The New Homeless -
found that the concern among homeowners about losing the roof over their
heads in the economic downturn stretched across society. It found that
42 per cent of middle class professionals were worried about not paying
the mortgage over the next year, compared with 46 per cent of blue
collar households. The study found that nearly one in seven people were
in the highest category of being "very worried" about making the
repayments over the next year.
More higher earners - 15 per cent - described themselves as "very
worried" about being able to make the payments, compared with 12 per
cent of those in less affluent groups, possibly because they
over-borrowed during the property boom.
Part of the problem was that bills have far outstripped increases in
family income. Figures show that while average pay increased by 13 per
cent in the four years to the end of March 2008, fixed household costs
jumped by 45 per cent.
Mr Shapps said: "Householders up and down the country and in every kind
of housing are now concerned, as never before, about their ability to
maintain a roof over their heads over the next 12 months.
"While Gordon Brown would like us to believe that they fixed the roof
when the sun was shining, it's now becoming clear that for many hard
working families concern about keeping their home is greater than at any
time before.
"Despite this, the Government continues to release a series of poorly
thought out announcements which are often contradictory and confusing
for the public." YouGov polled 1,208 people across the UK on 9 December.
daily telegraph
Financial crisis slashes £60,000 from every family's wealth The
financial crisis has slashed the equivalent of £60,000 from the wealth
of every family in Britain in the past year, research suggests.
By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 9:06AM GMT 31 Dec 2008
The blow already delivered to ordinary households by the global downturn
is set to intensify in 2009 Photo: EPA Plunges in the prices of both
property and shares have seen more than 18 per cent of the value of
families' savings and assets disappear, it is claimed. The estimated
total wealth of British households now stands at £6.7trillion - down
from £8.2trillion in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the
consultants Capital Economics. The fall of £1.5trillion is the
equivalent of £60,000 for every family in the country. The findings
show the blow already delivered to ordinary households by the global
downturn, which is set to intensify in 2009.
Pension funds and share portfolios have been slashed by falls on stock
markets. The FTSE index of 100 leading companies has shed almost a third
of its value this year. The value of families' investments, including
shares, has fallen from £4.1trillion to about £3.2trillion, according
to the research, which was carried out for The Daily Mail.
Meanwhile house prices have fallen by almost 15 per cent in the past 12
months, according to Halifax, meaning the value of the average house has
fallen from more than £190,000 to £163,000. Total property wealth is
estimated to have fallen from £4.1trillion to £3.5trillion.
As Britain falls deeper into recession, property prices are expected to
fall further. Capital Economics's Howard Archer has predicted that
prices will tumble a further 15 per cent as the economy shrinks by 2.7
per cent overall. Meanwhile earlier this week personnel experts forecast
that 600,000 more people would lose their jobs.
daily telegraph
Millions of elderly people live in poverty, figures suggest The number
of elderly people living in poverty has increased by 300,000 in the past
year to stand at 2.5 million, new figures reveal.
By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent Last Updated: 5:57PM
GMT 30 Dec 2008
The first state pension was set at 5 shillings a week in 1908.
In total 2.5 million pensioners are now living below the official
poverty line. Photo: AP They were released by the National Pensioners
Convention on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the day when the first
state pension was collected. It was set at 5 shillings a week and paid
to men and women on reaching 70 years of age.
Today, every man in retirement who has worked for 44 years is entitled
to receive the basic state pension of £90.70 a week. Women need to have
worked for 39 years to get the full amount.
The NPC suggested that the poorest quarter of pensioner households saw
their incomes rise by less than 1 per cent last year, while the poorest
single pensioners saw their real incomes drop by 4 per cent.
In total 2.5 million pensioners are now living below the official
poverty line of £151 a week, the NPC said. The figures comes as The
Daily Telegraph calls for pensioners to be given a tax cut on their
savings and investments through its Justice for Pensioners campaign.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "We owe the original pension
pioneers a great debt of gratitude for securing the very first state
pension, but they would be turning in their graves if they knew that
after 100 years, one in four pensioners was still living in poverty.
"In fact, today's state pension is worth even less in relation to
average wages than it was in 1908 and next year's increase in the state
pension will be a measly £4.55 a week, at a time when millions of older
people will be faced with the unenviable dilemma of trying to heat their
homes or eat properly."
Pensions Minister Rosie Winterton said: “Our reforms to the state
pension make it fairer, more widely available and more generous and
we’ve just announced the biggest increase in the basic State Pension
since 2001.”
daily telegraph
'Half of single pensioners living on £6,000'
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:04AM BST 18 Apr 2008
Half of all single pensioners are being forced to live on less than
£6,000 a year, according to figures released yesterday. While two
thirds of elderly people have some form of private pension, the Office
for National Statistics figures show most provide an income of less than
£1,000. Most married pensioners, 62 per cent, have a combined annual
income of less than £10,000, a figure likely to get worse as saving
into private pension schemes decreases. The majority of pensioners have
their income topped up by state benefits, including the pension credit,
with couples getting an average of £7,296, and single men and women
£5,259 and £5,496 respectively. The ONS figures, which cover 2005/06
show millions living below the official poverty line. Pensioner groups
condemned the figures. Joe Harris, the general secretary of the National
Pensioners Convention, said: "For years, successive governments told us
it was OK to keep the state pension low because private company pension
schemes would ensure that everyone had a comfortable income in
retirement. But these figures prove that was a myth". Gordon Lishman,
the director-general of Age Concern, said: "People expecting to live the
good life in retirement may be shocked by these figures." But the
Department for Work and Pensions argued targeted benefits had helped
more than a million pensioners out of poverty. A spokesman added:
"Pension credit guarantees an income of £124 a week compared with £69
a week in 1997." The figures also show that women in their 40s earn 20
per cent less than men. Analysis of the gender pay gap showed that pay
differences peaked for full-time women workers aged between 40 and 49.
The pay gap for women aged 22 to 39 was just one per cent.
daily telegraph
Three million pensioners survive on less than £10,000 a year Almost
two-thirds of single pensioners are struggling to survive on pensions of
less than £10,000 a year, official figures have disclosed.
By Tom Peterkin
Last Updated: 10:34PM BST 18 Jul 2008
The extent of pensioner poverty was revealed in figures published by the
Office of National Statistics, which also showed that almost 45 per cent
of pensioner couples received pensions of less than £15,000 a year
during 2006/07. Campaigners for the elderly said the figures, which
revealed that three million pensioners received less than £10,000 in
income from their state plus private pensions, were "a scar" on society.
Around 5.7 million elderly people receive less than £15,000 a year from
state and private pensions. "We are still treating our pensioner
population incredibly shabbily," Mervyn Kohler, a special adviser to
Help the Aged, said. "How can you expect people to get by on less than
10,000 a year when energy bills cost at least £1,000 a year, water
rates are going up and are forecast to rise dramatically and they are
having to cope with the remorseless increase in Council Tax. "This is a
truly horrifying way to treat pensioners and is a scar on a supposedly
civilised society," he added. Gordon Lishman, Age Concern's Director
General, said: "It's clear that millions of older people are still
having to live on a low income. These figures, coupled with the
unacceptable news last month that over two million pensioners are now
living below the poverty line, clearly show that the Government must
step up its efforts to help older people." The figures also showed that
around two thirds of pensioner households had income from private
pensions. Pensioner couples received on average £11,059 between them.
The average for single men was £6,812 and for women was £5,519.
According to the ONS, 39 per cent of pensioner couples, 58 per cent of
single men and 64 per cent of single women received less than £5,000
from private pensions in 2006/07. Most elderly households received
income from state pensions and related benefits last year. For couples,
the average annual state benefit income was £10,191. Single men
received, on average, £6,911 while single women received £6,700. "This
is evidence that the Government's pension policy is going in the wrong
direction," said Neil Duncan-Jordan, the national officer of the
National Pensioners Convention. "The Government has relied on
means-tested pensions and people having decent occupational pensions,
but these figures show that this approach is failing. "These figures are
shocking. Pensioner poverty is endemic, but it has been around for so
long that people regard it is a matter of course, but we have got to
move on from the idea that it is acceptable." The figures released by
the ONS were reissued after a "significant error" was discovered in the
last set of figures published in August. The statistics, which were for
2005/06, were recalculated and brought up-to-date to last year. As a
result of the correction, the income received from private pensions was
calculated to be four times as much as estimated in April. A Department
of Works and Pensions spokesman said: "Today pensioner households are on
average £1,500 a year better off in real terms than if the 1997 system
had continued. "Today no pensioner needs to live on less than £124 a
week, compared to just £69 a week in 1997. "Annual private pension
income for single pensioners is now on average £936 higher in real
terms than in 1996/1997 – an increase of 42 per cent. "For pensioner
couples it's over £2,200 higher, an increase of 37 per cent. "It is
vital that people save to meet their aspirations for later life. The
Government's workplace pension reforms will help 9 million more people
save more or for the first time, boosting overall contributions by up to
£10 billion."
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