Stop Stealth Taxing Me!!!

I’m self employed, I pay National Insurance Contributions, I also work for a company and I pay National Insurance Contributions. I’ve done this partly because I have to, and partly because I might want a decent sized pension from the State and possibly benefits in the unlikely event of me not being able to work.

Well some months ago I tried to claim Job Seeker’s Allowance and failed. Now it would appear that I’ll not be getting the decent pension either according to the Telegraph today.

“Under the changes, people earning more than £18,000 a year will see a key element of their state pension provision - the State Second Pension - almost halved.
But there will be no reduction in their National Insurance contributions to reflect the sharp reduction in their weekly pension when they retire - leaving them paying thousands of pounds a year to the taxman for a benefit they will no longer receive.”

Great! I’m now paying the same money and getting half the benefits. No doubt the great unwashed who have never worked in their lives will be quite capable of affording Satellite TV, new phones, new trainers, a small army of children with untraceable fathers.

If I decided to drop my working week by half then my employer would only pay me half as he/she is only getting half the benefit. So why am I still paying full rates for half benefits?

I am so sick and tired of financing everybody else’s retirement as well as my own. It’s not just this… we, the taxpayers, are financing the public sector to retire at 60, we are bailing out the Royal Mail pension, the BT pension and probably others.

We’re not asking for a great deal… I just want my retirement to be my responsibility and everyone else’s to be theirs. National Insurance was set up as a state personal insurance scheme, now it's like paying home insurance in case your neighbour's house burns down.

UPDATE - James Cleverley has posted his usual wise words on this subject. This man would have made a good Mayor... shame on you Lewisham.