MEMBERS of the Older People’s Forum in Droitwich have hit out at the high levels of taxes retirees are being forced to pay.
According to an analysis by Prudential, retired people handed over an average of £7,400 per household in taxes last year adding up to nearly 30 per cent of their annual income.
For the 2015-16 tax year, the total annual tax bill for the UK’s 7.1million retired households was £52.7billion from direct and indirect taxes.
Speaking to the Standard, Sheila Neary of the Droitwich Older People’s Forum said paying high taxes was ‘frustrating’ as a lot retirees had worked all their lives.
“We have been fortunate enough to be in good health to work for so long and some of us are volunteering now as we love helping people,” she said.
“After paying into the system for so long, we feel like we are being penalised.
“We are never going to be rich and we don’t want to be, we just want to be comfortable.
“There should be more lineality to the system.”
Stan Russell, a retirement income expert at Prudential, advised workers to create a long-term plan as income expectations for new pensioners had risen in recent years, meaning many people would face tax bills well into retirement.
*What do you think? Are taxes too high for retirees? Does more need to be done to help pensioners? Email your thoughts to [email protected]
