I AM a 65-year-old male, who qualified for state pension earlier this year. I receive a full state pension of £115.95 per week. How galling it is, therefore, to see that someone a year younger than myself will receive about £148 from 2016.
This week the Department of Work and Pensions has introduced a scheme to enable me to increase my weekly amount by up to £25 per week (“Pension shake-up allows boost to income”, The Herald, October 12). However, to achieve this, I have to pay it a lump sum of £22,250. I would have to live until I am 82 to profit from this offer.
Apart from being disadvantaged to the tune of £32 per week, I am now being asked to fund that increase by providing the Government with cheap capital. I don't think so.
Gordon Blackwell,
10 Valeview Terrace, Glasgow.
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It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
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We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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