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Baby boom generation starting to retire in or around 2030

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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,217 ✭✭✭TheIrishGrover


    Well, OK. I think people are getting hung up on the labelling. However, the main point of the OP is that people retiring in the next 10 years or less will be "looming burden on society in terms of state and public service pensions" and "It's also a generation that has accumulated a lot of wealth so will younger people who will be running the country be resentful paying for this generation and will we see calls to tax them (or cut benefits) and get them to help finance their own golden years?"

    When I stated that I will have paid tax for 45 years (40 at higher rate), paid into private/company pension for 35 and AVS for 20, I was labelled A self-entitled whiner.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    All you need to do is run for td using that as your cornerstone, then build up a party to a point where you can get it done

    Oh wait

    You go on about lazy inheritors but here you are too lazy to sort it yourself



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,036 ✭✭✭BailMeOut




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    The fact is people are forced to choose to have less/no kids because they can't afford it. End of. It has fuck all to do with "progressives", or women in a career, or abortions.

    Things have gotten so far out of control with regards to what things cost these days, that the basic life expectations of the past have become unattainable luxuries of today. Something like a basic home, or having a couple of children aren't open to lots of people, because they don't have the money for those luxuries, sometimes even if both partners are working.

    People are hocking themselves into debt until they're OAP's just to buy a modest 3 up 2 down that probably only cost about 10 grand to build originally, because the price of housing is absolutely absurd. They often don't have the financial capacity to add a kid into that mix. Having a child is expensive. It isn't something that comes cost free.

    People are thinking twice, and rightly so, about having kids because of the money factor and "encouraging" people to become parents is going to take a whole new approach to how we handle economics. Many people are starting to wake up to the disaster that right wing/neo-liberal, laissez faire, attitudes to markets have had on their lives.

    It's those attitudes that have us where we are today. Everything overpriced and boom'n'bust faux economies that only benefit the well off.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,633 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    have you any clue as to the level of immigration amongst 18 year olds in 1983 and subsequent years up to mid 90s?



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 40,549 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    Some people are only happy when they're post snide nonsense about "progressives", whoever they are….

    What we're seeing is the pension ponzi scheme finally begin to come undone. A word where everyone was having at least three children is unsustainable and always was. The problem was masked by the fact that people would often die earlier, cheaper and quicker and so pass on their home to the next generation. Now, people are living much longer and often need expensive care to go with it.

    I was raised to either save up for something if I wanted it or to learn to go without. What we're seeing is people simply acting logically. If I can't afford children and the misery accompanying them, why would I bother? I can barely afford to rent my bedroom and all the boomers can do is sneer at me for eating avocadoes without taking the time to learn that I do not eat avocadoes.

    At least we know that older doesn't mean wiser so there's that…

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    All of these terms, Baby Boom, Generation X…whatever, are American marketing terms.

    They don't, and shouldn't be allowed, to apply here.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    this is not really true, this has being going on for decades in countries where housing hasn't been an issue and the same with cost of living

    Many women don't want to go through having the numbers of kids needed to keep the birth rate high now they have a choice in the matter and they did not before

    they want to have lives outside the home, jobs, financial independence

    its easy out being a dad of 12 1950s but not a mom of 12



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    Ruling out accidents, it's money that's the deciding factor on whether people have a kid or not, or at least whether leave it til later in life to knock one out. It's also the factor that limits the amount of children that a couple will have.

    Women having jobs aren't to blame.

    In fact, for most people, both persons working is essential to even being able just to afford a mortgage, never mind having a child.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    You are incorrect

    In fact back in the day the people having lots of kids were the ones least placed to afford them

    It's the same now, people who cpuld have as many kids as they want weirdly choose not to



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    "Back in the day" we were all rather a bit thick when it came to family planning. 😉

    Sex ed has come a long way.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    No to have sex meant kids

    And the person who had the kids often didn't get that much choice

    So of course housing is any issue across the board, but it's not the primary factor it's social



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 40,549 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    They weirdly choose not to be saddled with expensive burdens that they can't afford?

    Post edited by ancapailldorcha on

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    They can afford them, I think you missed the point

    And even though you might see yourself as an expensive burden I assure you yer mammy did not



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    It's gas isn't it?

    Being financially prudent, and having a kid is as much a financial decision these days as many other things, is now somehow "weird".

    Frankly, thank christ we don't still have Mick and Mary, who've no idea what contraception is, knocking out 10 kids and not being able to look after them properly in their 3 bedroom house. There's nothing wrong with those days being a thing of the past.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,062 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    1987 snap!

    Leaving college, permanent job by 19 and mouse in a wheel since then:

    Don’t think I will last another 5 years working for the man, it’s already impacting my health and I want to enjoy life having paid my dues.

    And let there be no mistake, anyone contributing 40 plus years is well owed their state pension.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    Let me guess you are childless for financial reasons 😬



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,192 ✭✭✭yagan


    I come from a typical family of the 60s, 70s, 7 people sharing a 3 bed, 1 bathroom house.

    My mum legally had to give up her job when the first one came along, so there wasn't anything to do except have kids.

    We never had a holiday, except an attempt at camping which was aborted because of typical Irish weather.

    That was the norm then so no one felt they were any better off.



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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 40,549 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    What evidence do you have that they can afford them? Let's see some actual proof instead of your snide comments.

    I remember when your conservative types used to public obsess about the "family unit". Who knew that they were planning to ruin it all along? It's what they accused their opponents of doing. You can see similar attitudes in this thread. There's no problem, it's just that people hate children or don't care. It couldn't be that the cost of mere existence is the highest in living memory.

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    I've 10 kids in a 3 bedroom house and the wife, Mary, is run off her feet.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,479 ✭✭✭Potatoeman




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,062 ✭✭✭✭anewme




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    Look I blame your mother, perhaps you can't read

    I said people who can afford kids tend to have less

    It's a fact



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,103 ✭✭✭monkeybutter


    Rightt, upstairs mammy making you chips and beans downstairs as we speak



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    If my mammy was making me anything, it would be from beyond the grave.



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 40,549 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    The fact is people are forced to choose to have less/no kids because they can't afford it. End of. It has fuck all to do with "progressives", or women in a career,

    Sorry, but you can't dismiss the huge demographic change that has occured because of women's participation in the workforce. You just can't. If that didn't happen along with the access to contraception, people would be still popping out 5,6,7+ kids while mum stays at home to raise the family while dad goes to work.

    As to Laissez-faire/right-wing/neoliberalism, can you give more details on how exactly this has contributed to the housing issues experienced around the world. I might even agree with you on some points, but I think you just want to dish out a bit of anti-something word salad.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    Some people are only happy when they're post snide nonsense 

    From this..

    to this..

    If I can't afford children and the misery accompanying them,

    Talk about Pot Kettle.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    its easy out being a dad of 12 1950s but not a mom of 12

    This is very true, and the data proves this.

    Back in the day, the stereotype was that Dad went to work to earn money, and Mum stayed at home as child rearing was women's work. The Dad would often not be around and wouldn't spend nearly as much time rearing their children as Mum.

    Data proves this.

    So, the back-in-the-day stuff is one of biased nostalgia which is more male-dominant.

    It's interesting that this is reflected here, that the most anti-boomer sentiments are posted by men.




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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    Frankly, thank christ we don't still have Mick and Mary, who've no idea what contraception is, knocking out 10 kids and not being able to look after them properly in their 3 bedroom house. There's nothing wrong with those days being a thing of the past.

    Is there?
    I can understand from purely economic reasons perhaps but each to their own. I am not judgemental.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    And you and others can't place the entirety of blame for lower birth rates on working women, no matter how much you'd like that to be the answer.

    The costs of things are the issue. Not the fact that women are in work and in a lot of case HAVE to be. Gone are the days when the woman could quit work and stay at home and lad brought home the bacon. The reality today is that for most folk two people have be working if they're even to contemplate a mortgage. A mortgage that they'll most likely be in they're old age before it's paid off. Throwing a kid or kids into that does come easy.

    Contrary to how how you're trying paint it, if the cost of living wasnt so out of control, the birth rate would be probably be higher. Because it wouldn't be prohibitive to actually have a few kids.

    The cost of everything nowadays is the barrier to people having 5, 6, 7+ kids.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    And you and others can't place the entirety of blame for lower birth rates on working women, no matter how much you'd like that to be the answer.

    Entirety, No. I neve claimed that.

    A significant part. Yes, absolutely.

    The costs of things are the issue. 

    I would agree.

    I saw this link in another forum. I think its a good preamble as why we have the world we have.

    Not sure if Nixon was a Neo-Liberal or an advocate of Laissez-faire economics.

    But in summary the Gold Standard being dropped with Bretton-Woods ending has had profound effects on Central Banks and money.

    https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

    By the way, Nixon et all were no Boomers, they were the 'Silent Generation'.

    Gone are the days when the woman could quit work and stay at home and lad brought home the bacon

    I think you are engaging is the mythical 'ah the good ol'days' fallacy of nostalgia.

    Again, you are a man. It appears to be usually men trotting you this line of argument about the good old days when men were the breadwinners.

    The reality today is that for most folk two people have be working if they're even to contemplate a mortgage.

    Why is that?

    Because that nice house in a nice middle-class suburb will have scores of other dual-income earners trying to buy the same property. Instead of one income, there is now 2 and that is the norm now. Goes back to my original point. More money chasing the good nice homes.

    Contrary to how how you're trying paint it, if the cost of living wasnt so out of control, the birth rate would be probably be higher. Because it wouldn't be prohibitive to actually have a few kids.

    I would agree with this tbh. But again, why is stuff so expensive? Who and what is the cause of this?

    Boomers or Central Bankers.

    If one had free state-run or funded Universal childcare for every child older than 12 months, this would certainly help.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    Well having lots of kids is not a moral failure.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,145 ✭✭✭volchitsa


    This nostalgia for a mythical golden age when women were happy to give free leash to their inherent motherly nature being housewives and mothers to large families is nostalgia which affects men of all ages, but among women, only those too young to have actually known women of that era (I'm thinking of the current trend on US sites for pretty young women to market themselves as "tradwives" influencers).

    It seems to have as its basis the notion that women were somehow fooled into abandoning this happy situation for the misery of working and earning their own money.

    Being rather older than that generation (and not male) I remember older women giving birth literally cursing their husbands for having made them pregnant yet again. It was considered kind of amusing - but the truth is that the only reason they hadn't been raped was because marital rape was not legally a thing at the time. I didn't realise it then either, it took me a while to understand exactly what it all meant. But they hadn't consented to being pregnant because nobody, including the women themselves, had thought their consent was necessary.

    So just to remind everyone: women weren't fooled by some Big Business Plot into wanting jobs outside the home. They felt the need to have paid work because it's not always possible to know what the future holds, and the fear of being left penniless due to accident or abandonment, sometimes with half a dozen children to look after, was not something the women of my mother's generation imagined - it was something they saw happening around them. They mostly couldn't do much to prevent that, ie couldn't in practice, get a job. My generation could, and did. Sure, it can be tough - but our lives are better than theirs were.

    Uncivil to the President (24 hour forum ban)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    I think you are engaging is the mythical 'ah the good ol'days' fallacy of nostalgia.

    Well, think again.

    It isn't me who's harking back to the days when women knew that their place was in the home and placing the blame for low birth rates on their shoulders, simply because they're in a job.

    If "nostalgia" is where you think my point is, then you have completely missed that point.

    Again, you are a man. It appears to be usually men trotting you this
    line of argument about the good old days when men were the breadwinners.

    This is not my line of thinking at all.

    Why is that?

    It's that way because house prices and the general cost of living has been let get out of control. It's absurd that a modest house in Dublin costs upwards of half a million…yet again (like nothing was learned from 2008). It's doubly absurd that we have a situation whereby even two working people still can't even dream of owning a home and that's a reality for a lot of folk.

    But again, why is stuff so expensive? Who and what is the cause of this?

    It's this way because we live in boom and bust fake economies and this has been the "norm" for about 40 years. Our own "Celtic Tiger" being a perfect example blowing up a good thing until it explodes in your face, and modern governments have been far too eager to absolve themselves of social responsibilities, one of which is housing.

    We also have entities that bump up prices at a whim, especially in cornered markets, and people end up having little choice. As far as our housing "market" is concerned, we have no capacity to cool the jets of that. We don't build public housing any more and our rental situation is a bloody nightmare. Therefore we have this crazy scenario whereby people are forced to hock themselves in debt until they're near retirement age just to be able to buy a modest home, because there are no other realistic options. And thousands of people outside of that group will NEVER own their own home.

    That's an absolute recipe for disaster right there.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,021 ✭✭✭✭markodaly


    It isn't me who's harking back to the days when women knew that their place was in the home and placing the blame for low birth rates on their shoulders, simply because they're in a job.

    But you are, you more or less alluded to it.

    There is a correlation between women getting more educated and joining the workforce and lower birthrates. Are you denying this?

    This is not my line of thinking at all.

    Then why engage in nostalgia about those days when the men brought home the bacon, where everyone was happy with their 3 up, 2 down house that could be paid for on one man's income? Those days are gone, so why do you want to go back there?

    It's that way because house prices and the general cost of living has been let get out of control.

    And why is that?

    It's this way because we live in boom and bust fake economies and this has been the "norm" for about 40 years. Our own "Celtic Tiger" being a perfect example blowing up a good thing until it explodes in your face, and modern governments have been far too eager to absolve themselves of social responsibilities, one of which is housing.

    So you blame central bankers? We dont control the ECB.

    We don't build public housing any more

    Over 10,000 social and affordable homes were built last year, the most since the 1970's.

    Therefore we have this crazy scenario whereby people are forced to hock themselves in debt until they're near retirement age just to be able to buy a modest home, 

    Eh, this was the case for most going way back, or do you think people bought their homes in cash?

    An interesting stat from the podcast that was linked.

    In 1970, during the good old days, only 1/3 of homes in the UK had central heating. The situation in Ireland was probably worse as we were poorer.

    Look, one can make valid arguments about the housing situation and how young people in particular have been left behind. But to hark back to a golden age is a fallacy.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,037 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    But you are

    No, I'm not. That can't be made any clearer to you.

    There is a correlation between women getting more educated and joining the workforce and lower birthrates. Are you denying this?

    No. What I'm saying is it's not the MAIN reason. The ability to afford children is the main reason why there are lower birth rates.

    Among a number of factors, people are thinking twice about entering into parenthood, because the cost of everything has become so ridiculously high, including children. So, therefore, we are putting off having kids until later in life, or choosing not to have them at all.

    This isn't difficult to understand.

    Then why engage in nostalgia

    I'm not engaging in any nostalgia. I'm merely stating a fact. The days when the mother stayed at home and minded the kids are over. That's not a lament, it's a comment on reality. The fact that you think there's any "nostalgia" attached says to me you haven't understood the point being made.

    The side discussion you've butted into came about because I objected to another poster characterising low birth rates as being the fault of women in work. A position that I disagree with.

    My position is that the cost of living has gotten so out of hand that people are trepidatious about taking the leap of having a kid, or kids, and why wouldn't they be.

    And why is that?

    I've already told you. Successive government attitudes have let free market thinking absorb everything, to the point where prices for goods have become absurd and the ability to pay for those goods are gaping wider and wider. This has been a trend for quite some time. The more things cost, the more people get priced out of paying for them. This applies to having children as well.

    Over 10,000 social and affordable homes were built last year, the most since the 1970's.

    Not enough. Not even remotely enough.

    There needs to be a more comprehensive overhaul to our attitude to housing in this country. Frankly, our inability to house of citizens is shameful and our governmental hands off approach is going to lead to a disaster and we're already seeing the seeds of that disaster playing out.

    We have vast swathes of people with an inability to put a permanent roof over the their heads. An entire generation that will never have a stable home.

    Eh, this was the case for most going way back

    No, it bloody well wasn't. There was never a time before the last few decades where people indebted themselves until they were retirement age just to buy a modest home. Don't be ridiculous.

    In 1970, during the good old days, only 1/3 of homes in the UK had
    central heating. The situation in Ireland was probably worse as we were
    poorer.

    This has feck all to do the point being made. And for the record I grew up in a house without central heating.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,998 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Who told you that? Wrong on both counts; reversing a century of decline, Ireland had sharply rising fertility rates in the 1945-1964 period (see here), peaking in 1965 and falling once again after that. And the total population over this period was not falling; it was more or less static, with a slight rise over the period (see here). The reason it didn't rise more was not low birth rates; it was high emigration rates.

    Post edited by Peregrinus on




  • We should just let ourselves go extinct…. fade away into oblivion in style. 😎

    There is something very undignified about this desperate attempt to artificially keep birth rates high, while at the same time the global picture regarding population is that we are reaching dangerous levels with massive pressure on resources and the obvious looming climate disaster. Maybe if Ireland really does care about this planet, we could just stop adding to this problem and accept the natural stagnation/decline in our population?

    It's not like this planet desperately needs 8 billion humans, are we that important? It's actually shocking to me, that we have brought in all these climate policies and targets, but nobody at the international policy level thought to put any rules into action regarding birth rate controls on nations - considering this is the biggest factor in carbon emissions above anything else you could care to mention!



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,089 ✭✭✭✭hotmail.com


    The population fell in the 1950s. A baby boom is different from a high fertility rate. The population here only began to rise in the 1960s and 70s.



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 40,549 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    It isn't. A baby boom is clearly an abundance of births.

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,516 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    And what about me? When im retiring in 20-30 years time will I also not deserve it? Problem is though it wont exist due to the current retirees refusing to accept its not sustainable in its current form and instead trying to force younger people to prop it up for them.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,145 ✭✭✭volchitsa


    About this:

    No, it bloody well wasn't. There was never a time before the last few decades where people indebted themselves until they were retirement age just to buy a modest home. Don't be ridiculous.

    That was because many people in cities never got to the stage of owning their own homes at all, not even when they got close to retirement. This was somewhat disguised in Ireland by the fact that a largely rural population were land owners (unlike in England) but in cities many people could not even think of buying. The tenements in Dublin were not owner-occupied!

    Uncivil to the President (24 hour forum ban)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,998 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Over the period 1945 to 1965, the baby boom era, the population rose (modestly). This isn't refuted by pointing to shorter periods with that era during which the population fell; it's the overall trend that matters. And a baby boom is not different from a high fertility rate; it is literally a rising fertility rate — a boom in the number of babies being born.

    During this era, the combination in Ireland of a high fertility rate and a high emigration rate meant that the average age of the population fell sharply, even faster than was the case in countries with a high fertility rate but low emigration. So Ireland during this period exemplified some of the characteristics of a population undergoing baby boom more strongly than most other countries. By the mid-1960s Ireland had one of the youngest population profiles in the western world, and the economic, social and demographic consequences of this were the subject of much discussion, both in Ireland and internationally.

    By the time the baby boom generation reached adulthood, emigration rates had fallen signficantly — in fact while they were in their 20s/30s, in the 1970s, Ireland had net immigration for a few of years. By the time emigration rate were high again, in the 1980s, it was largely the young adults of the following generation that were emigrating. So Irish baby boomers never emigrated at the rates that either the generation before them or the generation after them did.

    It absolutely is meaningful to talk of the baby boom in Ireland, and of the generation shaped by that phenomenon.





  • If you've lived through what has been described as an economic miracle on this Island over the last 20-30 years, and you were being responsible with your earnings, you should be well set up for retirement financially.

    Public pensions should only be for people who were on modest incomes their whole life, working unskilled jobs etc. Unfortunately, many people in this country squandered their money with greed and extravagant lifestyle choices. And we are a very entitled bunch tbh, with everyone thinking they "deserve" this or that.

    In previous generations, pensioners didn't live extravagant lives in retirement, travelling around the world and living it up etc… the fact that many people view this as a natural lifestyle that they are owed and have earned is quite bizarre really. Retirement will go back to being what it always was, people living modestly and being very careful with what small financial resources they have until they kick the bucket. That is more the natural order of things.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,077 ✭✭✭3DataModem


    What "that the basic life expectations of the past" are you referring to, and when?

    100 years ago 25% of Dublin lived in Tenements.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,733 ✭✭✭Nermal


    Why do people imagine that in a society where there's even more retirees than there are now there will be a reduced, means-tested or even no state pension? They're already the strongest voting bloc, why would they get weaker when they're a much larger fraction of the population?



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