when they have fallen off the face of the earth for years and eventually get themselves back on their feet…do they still get a pension etc when it comes to retirement age

Why wouldn’t they?

The amount will be determined by their NI contributions but they’ll still get a pension.

No national insurance contributions from wages? .. I know it can cause problems with claiming out of work benefits but I’m not sure how it would work with state pension.

If there is even a state pension in a few years, the way things are going.

well that’s what I was reading….about ni contributions and people who had missed it for years by not paying ….just wondered if circumstances had been grim and you had no choice not to pay how it pans out kind of made me wonder about these poor buggers who fallen out of the system

Under the new rules you need at least 10 years of NI in order to get the minimum state pension

So are they just left to starve to death or die of exposure then?

That’s horrendous given the wealth disparity in this country.

Welcome to your caring, sharing government, elected by you – the people.

So are they just left to starve to death or die of exposure then?

What is the life expectancy of long term homeless? I’d imagine it’s well below average and this is a largely hypothetical question.

Nah, stabbed to death by a Bullingdon Boy before they make 40 mate

Guaranteed Pension Credit kicks in for those outside of working age, providing a means tested income.

EDIT: Can everyone calm down a bit!

https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit

What is the life expectancy of long term homeless? I’d imagine it’s well below average and this is a largely hypothetical question.

I dunno sometimes I just get a bit sad she I read how some people maybe even me will end

That’s horrendous given the wealth disparity in this country.

Yup, it’s pretty horrific, but far from uniquely a British problem. There’s been lots of fuss about the prevalence of homeless people here in Aus, but sadly most of that fuss was more about how they made Martin Place in Sydney look, rather than actually about the problem itself.

The place I recall seeing most homeless was also one of the wealthiest places I’ve ever been: Berkeley, CA.

I have been travelling between major UK cities for over 30 yrs and have never seen so many people sleeping rough. Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and London most notably to me.

There is a problem, especially when the other remarkable change in that time is amazing displays of wealth in those cities.

Too many people are slipping through the net, not sure why but it’s new and needs fixing.

It’s utterly messed up, I forget what area it was in the UK now, but homeless people can be fined up to a thousand pounds for making the place look untidy.

I don’t know what brain trust came up with that idea.

Too many people are slipping through the net, not sure why but it’s new and needs fixing.

The explanation is very simple, a deliberate policy by the Tories to reduce the welfare state as much as they think they can get away with under the smoke screen of austerity. They’d quite happily see tens of thousands starve on the streets if they thought it politically acceptable. The see the poor / disabled as being of weak moral fibre and an unnecessary burden on society.

The place I recall seeing most homeless was also one of the wealthiest places I’ve ever been: Berkeley, CA.

I can’t believe how many I’ve seen lately in Harrogate of all places! Saw a load of sleeping bags in the entrance to a church the other day.

How about we sack off giving money away in foreign aid & help our homeless, (the ones who aren’t intentionally so)

*dons tin foil hat*

How about we sack off giving money away in foreign aid & help our homeless, (the ones who aren’t intentionally so)

Why not do both?

I think the most recent cause is the benefits changes in the last five or so years. People with serious mental health issues are being found fit for work and being made to jump through hoops for their money. They can’t deal with it because, well, they’re mentally ill. Heartbreaking really. I see a lot of tents on my bike rides these days.

I reckon that drinking 6 litres of white lightning a day, smoking a loud of roll-ups and sleeping in a shop doorway in January would render the idea of retirement pretty academic

As long as I don’t have to watch the wretched creatures spoiling my view of the royal wedding, as that would be simply frightful. Can we not put them all in prison? Or kill them?

Or kill them?

Good idea! Or, brainwash the moronic public into believing that the poor are to blame for all society’s problems and they will kill them instead.

Or kill them?

Then commission a stamp to celebrate

a deliberate policy by the Tories to reduce the welfare state as much as they think they can get away with under the smoke screen of austerity.

That’s what really sticks in my throat, unemployment and housing benefit costs are a very small expenditure compared to everything else the government spends on.

I was unemployed due to redundancy for 4 months, single, living in a small 2 bed terrace house a few years ago. Because it had more than one bedroom the housing benefit would only cover circa £300pcm of the £450 rent.
My job seekers allowance was £90 per week.
If I hadn’t had some close family members bung me a grand or so to see me through, keep my Internet on and mobile phone so I could actively search for jobs etc, I’d have been homeless and utterly destitute. I’d soon develop mental health and drug issues if I was in that position. Cause and effect.

Some people don’t have that luxury.

I really do dispair for this country.

I can’t believe how many I’ve seen lately in Harrogate of all places! Saw a load of sleeping bags in the entrance to a church the other day.

There’s a tents in Leeds City centre every morning when I walk to work.

Then you have the likes of (pretty much any British MPs or MEP) simply not doing thier jobs, syphoning huge wages, privatising everything for personal gain and complaining about the poor.

There’s a special place in hell for these people.

To be honest, if I ever did end up back there, I’d commit a very serious crime, so at least I’d get put in prison so I’d have a bed and something to eat.

Then commission a stamp to celebrate

This one? TBH, he looks like a member of the nasty party.

I’m no expert but I believe a homeless person could claim pension credit. I might get a more detailed answer tomorrow and if i do i will post the reply.

Homelessness is a complicated issue and each individual could have a different story as to why they are homeless. The underlying issues behind homelessness would suggest that whatever help is available wouldn’t be easily accessible without a bit of assistance for the individual. Lots of organisations offer assistance.

They

Lots of organisations offer assistance.

do but they are just scratching the tip of a growing issue, without a phone, without Internet, with no address, with no clean clothes, all the odds are seriously stacked against them, they turn to (understandably) begging, drugs, alcahol, self loathing, mental illness, it’s a vicious spiral into depravity.

And its only going to get worse.

I’m no expert but I believe a homeless person could claim pension credit.

You’re right, they can.

The OP (not that it matters by the direction of travel of the thread) was asking about the scenario where a person had got back on their feet, but was not entitled to a state pension.

The underlying issues behind homelessness would suggest that whatever help is available wouldn’t be easily accessible without a bit of assistance for the individual. Lots of organisations offer assistance.

The organisation which used to provide the most, Local Authorities, are being starved of cash on an epic scale, so cutting right back to the bone on homeless support. Combine this will a deliberate malicious change to benefits which leaves people without money for up to 8 weeks and you have a perfect recipe for increasing homelessness. It’s almost as if it was all planned to do so….

@ Matteyfez – majority of homeless people I meet have mobile phones but not all. They are incredibly important to them as quite often, its their only link to mainstream society and the outside world. This includes any help they might be getting from Shelter, Crisis, St Mungos & the rest of the wonderful organisations that offer help. Unfortunately, mobile phones are a valuable commodity when you’re on the streets as they are easily sold.

How about we sack off giving money away in foreign aid & help our homeless, (the ones who aren’t intentionally so)

Why not do both?

Often people who raise this, do neither

Lots of organisations offer assistance.

Thy do and many charities, quite apart from the fact that as a state we expect charities to care for our unfortunate, for some, what is offered is not appropriate. I understand that there are enough hostel beds, but actually hostels can be quite violent places. Many of the permanently homeless have a number co-issues, victims of abuse, mental and physical health issues and so can not survive in hostels. What they need, is a home of their own, just as a starting point.

The model we tend to run here is to try to habilitate the homeless, until they can hold down a job and get a place to live. We should start at the other end, find them a home, from there, they can rebuild their lives.

St Mungos & the rest of the wonderful organisations that offer help.

It’s very kind of you to notice my good work

Charity begins at home

Combine this will a deliberate malicious change to benefits which leaves people without money for up to 8 weeks and you have a perfect recipe for increasing homelessness. It’s almost as if it was all planned to do so….

FF, you strike me as a decent chap, but what on earth does that statement mean? Plus, what benefit makes you wait 8 weeks?

Can we not burn them. Or put them in an anaerobic digester. Either way, we’d at least get the energy back.

FF, you strike me a decent chap, but what on earth does that statement mean? Plus, what benefit makes you wait 8 weeks?

Universal credit

@ Matteyfez – majority of homeless people I meet have mobile phones but not all. They are incredibly important to them as quite often, its their only link to mainstream society and the outside world. This includes any help they might be getting from Shelter, Crisis, St Mungos & the rest of the wonderful organisations that offer help. Unfortunately, mobile phones are a valuable commodity when you’re on the streets as they are easily sold.

I know I’m not trying to argue, just illustrate how difficult it is, for example they could sell the phone out of desperation, it’ll be a cheap one, so it won’t be water resistant if they are sleeping rough, they’ll struggle to find a charging point, or keep some credit on it.

Things that most of us take completely for granted, suddenly become monumental tasks.

CharlieMungus – Member

FF, you strike me as a decent chap, but what on earth does that statement mean? Plus, what benefit makes you wait 8 weeks?

Universal credit[/quote]

No it doesn’t.

No, it went from 6 to 5 But.. some takes longer and 8 is not so out of scale.

and 5 is not really a socially supportive and nurturing wait period, is it?

FF, you strike me as a decent chap, but what on earth does that statement mean? Plus, what benefit makes you wait 8 weeks?

second guess…Disability related benefits? DLA? PIP?

You might want to do some more research CM 🙂