Cursed headline. Finger closes on the monkey paw as the country enters 6 months of rain from September

Me trying to downplay the size of my emergency by putting on a whimsical French accent:

Amazing. Normally they stop working when you leave Zone 3

Little set of micro screwdrivers from W Germany, many of the things I unscrew would have been utter Sci Fi when they were made On the other hand - often walk around where I live and almost everything man made (other than canal infrastructure) in every direction has been built in last 15 years old

Pookleblinky@pookleblinky.bsky.social · last mo.

I always like thinking about: what is the oldest object you regularly use, the oldest thing you're using in your normal everyday life

The question this King’s Speech poses – even if it does not intend to – is whether governments are capable of thinking in the long-term demographic timescales that the challenge demands. The answer, on today’s evidence, is: not yet. ilcuk.org.uk/the-kings-sp...

Worryingly accurate reflection on today's intergenerational situation

The Onion@theonion.com · 3mo ago

Retired Factory Worker Had No Idea Earnings From ’50s Would Have To Support 3 Generations Of Family https://theonion.com/retired-factory-worker-had-no-idea-earnings-from-50s-w-1819576513/

I had been seeing lots of chat about DWP2 being out at the cinema. Ashamed my first thoughts were - do I need to watch the first one? or is it mostly just the origin story of how they merged the DSS and the Employment Service

Cassia Rowland@cassiarowland.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This may be my favourite argument ever advanced by a politician:

I have a piece in today’s Guardian on the recent history of retirement: a collective social experience whose moment has almost passed? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Britain pioneered the comfortable retirement – but that golden age is coming to an end | Helen McCarthy

The once inexorable rise in retiree living standards since the second world war has broken down. Can we keep the dream alive for future generations, asks historian Helen McCarthy

theguardian.com

A graphic from a 1953 government booklet exhorting employers to retain their older employees lest too many of the economically inactive become 'carried' by the producers.

If I were a government minister and I had a magic wand, I think 'make people more aware of pensions and how they work' is the thing that solves so many political problems.

Marie Le Conte@youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 4mo ago

used a little online calculator to find out how much I actually need to save every month to retire at 75 (lol) as someone who started saving for a pension at 34 and I should: not have done that on such a nice and sunny Saturday afternoon

This week, the State Pension age started to rise from 66 to 67. Our new research with people in their 60s shows that most people know about this change. However, our research also highlights the issue of pre-retirement poverty among people aged 60 to 65. www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

Home Alone Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ...

Things could be worse. Just saw a dad frantically on the phone, with a kid in *FULL DINOSAUR COSTUME* at the school gates who had turned up for World Book Day a week early...

Ooh - handy list of PRACTICAL TIPS FOR WORKING PARENTS for anyone after some childcare hacks for the "summer childcare crunch" Not sure why I hadn't thought of...*checks notes*... the Ritz-Carlton, Gleneagles, Southern California or one in Fiji who actually 'get' what parents need lnkd.in/eRSJVrUN

This is the right framing and question. We can learn a lot about the real world experiment of UBI in a socially/politically acceptable packaging (the State Pension) Most agree the State Pension is there to ensure everyone has a minimum level of income in retirement.

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Or actually it is more like the actually existing recipients of UBI (pensioners!) most of whom do some kind of work, whether it is 'doing the odd bit of work in retail' or 'doing voluntary or social work'.

New research from us at the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement: "Decisions in the dark: How the DC pioneer generation are navigating retirement income decisions" Report explores the psychology and emotions of accessing DC pension pots. www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

Decisions in the dark: How the DC pioneer generation are navigating retirement income decisions

Retirement in the UK is changing. The shift from Defined Benefit (DB) to Defined Contribution (DC) pensions, combined with pension freedoms, longer working lives and a rising state pension age, means ...

standardlife.co.uk

I had a great time chatting about older people with @timharford.ft.com on BBC4 More or Less. The starting question was – are one in four pensioners really millionaires? Quick thread below: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

More or Less - The Stats of the Nation - Older People, Education, Prisons and the Weather - BBC Sounds

Tim Harford explores the stats on pensioners, exams, justice and climate change.

bbc.co.uk

Brilliant think tank job opportunity Come work for us at the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement Asking (and hopefully answering) some of the big questions for people, industry and government Closing this Mon 12th Jan fa-enor-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Knowing with some certainty that there is a group in society who's rates of poverty will double in the next few years - is that the best outcome we can hope for? That's what will happen to 66 year olds from next April - how can we weather the change? www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

New report out today "Jam tomorrow? Work, finances and retirement in an era of a rising State Pension age" Higher State Pension age has led to higher employment among people in their 60s. But there are 250k more people in pre-retirement poverty than in 2010 www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

Jam tomorrow? Work, finances and retirement in an era of a rising State Pension age

As the State Pension age rises to 67, we think the government needs to put in place policies to ensure that as many people as possible have financial security throughout their 60s and beyond.

standardlife.co.uk

Incredible to see how different things were. In the 1970s pensioners were most likely to live in poverty. Pining after lamp shades, butter and barley water... Now a new challenge - 250,000 more in pre-retirement poverty since the state pension age began to rise share.google/9lPMsYNWq0Gt...

Jam tomorrow? Work, finances and retirement in an era of a rising State Pension age

As the State Pension age rises to 67, we think the government needs to put in place policies to ensure that as many people as possible have financial security throughout their 60s and beyond.

share.google

BBC Archive@bbcarchivebot.bsky.social · 8mo ago

1972: Living on the State Pension | Man Alive | Voice of the People | BBC Archive

New research out today "Retirement Voice 2025: How an era of uncertainty is affecting our attitudes towards retirement" We used a new 6k survey of the UK population. I had fun designing the charts! Find out how people feel about finances, work and retirement www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

Good piece in the FT which cites our research from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement on the demographics of the Industrial Strategy workforce.

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 12mo ago

The ageing workforce should be central to UK growth ambitions on.ft.com/45jsxXS | opinion

Interesting chart from this @stephenkb.bsky.social piece. Should be viewed alongside the birth-rate chart (see next post). www.ft.com/content/107a...

Ahead of the Euro 2025 quarterfinals... How would you feel if the officials added an additional 14 minutes of injury time at the end of the 90? That's how much longer women in the UK need to achieve pay parity. In Belgium it's just 1 extra minute

Who do you picture working in the high-growth, high-tech sectors of rhe Industrial Strategy? These sectors are older than average and all have a higher rates of early retirement. We estimate this costs economy £31bn - we need to plan for this www.standardlife.co.uk/centre-for-t...

2 year old who loves nothing more than stickers and rainbows devastated when I come home from work wearing a rainbow sticker that wasn't for her...

Policy thinking on a topic like the State Pension helped by clear A/B choices even if cost neutral Raising the AGE hits lower earners (most rely on it /feel effect of longer wait) Limiting it's VALUE hit higher earners more (live longer and get more over lifetime) academic.oup.com/oxrep/articl...

In terms of retirement savings we have a definite group who missed out on DB pensions, and a big chunk of auto enrolment. What's worrying is the number who still think that their retirement will 'turn out ok' because their parent's did

Felicity Hannah@felicityhannah.bsky.social · last yr.

Really interesting and I think very insightful thread on Mumsnet about just how entirely different the intergenerational financial experience has been:

According to Demos, across all local authorities, adult and children’s social care combined accounts for 67% of spending demos.co.uk/blogs/public...

Public Service Trusts: a solution to the crisis in local government finances?

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk