It’s a sign of the times I’m afraid. Pensions worth bugger all if they actually exist at all, and, I’m told, people are living longer, not good for us baby boomers! Funnily enough, we got a letter with our payslips this week stating that form April6 20011, the statutary retirement of 65 will no longer exist by law, which doesn’t mean that we can’t retire at 65, but if we do, we give the appropriate length of notice that we would in the case of resignation. I don’t know but maybee this Tory shower of s£*t are softening us up for total abolition of state pensions??
was talking to a wiltshire driver the other day & he has to work as his pension doesn’t really support he & the wife , he’d have loved to have retired properly at 65 , but just cant afford to but driving is all he’s ever done so he has to carry on . but he’ said he’s too long in the tooth for the DCPC, & will have to give up in a few years anyway.
felt quite bad for him really , as he really didn’t want to get back in the cab, he looked really defeated
An acquaintance of mine is 75+ and still drives part time.
Normally he does holiday cover for the O/O’s at the local Tarmac quarry. So he must know what hes doing for them to trust him. His only bug bear is the cost of medicals/licence replacements, at his age they become more frequent
lightning:
As a new kid on the block, as it were, and with my post of a couple of weeks back in mind ( titled Crisis…) I would say that if a person is fit to do the job - both mentally and physically, then they should be free to continue to work. That said if a RETIRED driver returns to work WHILST claiming a STATE pension, then its my view this has to be looked at. Maybe if their state payments are not their only income - they may have a private pension, then some sort of equilibrium could be sought. Of course you could turn the whole argument on its head and say it out to be the same for a new driver? if the skills of the driver are comparable to a more experienced operator then why not employ?
So - Someone like me, who put money aside as well as paying all my tax and NI should be put in a worse position than some guy who ■■■■■■ all his cash against the wall. 
I am going to retire next year after 44 years on the road, the last twenty as an owner driver. If that selfish b*****d want a job he can buy my tractor and trailer and try and make a living. I am going to work part time for as long as I feel fit enough to do the job. Successive governments and their cronies in the banks have totally wrecked any pension plans I had been paying into.So it is need not greed with me and a lot of older drivers. I dont know where this attitude comes from, namely you are older, work is tight, so give up your job to a younger person who probably can’t do it as well as you anyway. When my generation were starting out we never thought the “oldies” should pack it in so that we could step into their shoes, apart from the respect for their ability these men were passing on knowledge and skills we needed. To sum up, next year if your looking for a job it will be harder cos I will be in the market and I can buy and sell you with attitude, ability, and skill.
kevmac47:
I am going to retire next year after 44 years on the road, the last twenty as an owner driver. If that selfish b*****d want a job he can buy my tractor and trailer and try and make a living. I am going to work part time for as long as I feel fit enough to do the job. Successive governments and their cronies in the banks have totally wrecked any pension plans I had been paying into.So it is need not greed with me and a lot of older drivers. I dont know where this attitude comes from, namely you are older, work is tight, so give up your job to a younger person who probably can’t do it as well as you anyway. When my generation were starting out we never thought the “oldies” should pack it in so that we could step into their shoes, apart from the respect for their ability these men were passing on knowledge and skills we needed. To sum up, next year if your looking for a job it will be harder cos I will be in the market and I can buy and sell you with attitude, ability, and skill.
Well said that man 
altitude:
kevmac47:
I am going to retire next year after 44 years on the road, the last twenty as an owner driver. If that selfish b*****d want a job he can buy my tractor and trailer and try and make a living. I am going to work part time for as long as I feel fit enough to do the job. Successive governments and their cronies in the banks have totally wrecked any pension plans I had been paying into.So it is need not greed with me and a lot of older drivers. I dont know where this attitude comes from, namely you are older, work is tight, so give up your job to a younger person who probably can’t do it as well as you anyway. When my generation were starting out we never thought the “oldies” should pack it in so that we could step into their shoes, apart from the respect for their ability these men were passing on knowledge and skills we needed. To sum up, next year if your looking for a job it will be harder cos I will be in the market and I can buy and sell you with attitude, ability, and skill.Well said that man
I will second that !!!
My uncle has been an owner driver for as long as i can remember,this year he will be 79 & he is still running to Morocco & back on a regular basis & can still run rings around drivers a lot younger.Last year he broke his hip in Morocco,he phoned me up & told me to get on a plane & get the lorry back to the UK, @ this point i was worried that the injury would finish off his lifetime of driving,as this is not his job it is his way of life.I helped him out until he was fit enough to go back to work & things have gone ok for him.Why should he give up his way of life because another person thiks he is too old to be doing the job ?
Whenever i have doubled up with him i still feel as safe with him as i did when i was a young boy,he is still alert & capable of doing the job.He drives a left hand drive DAF 95 xf,give some of these moaners that come on here shouting the odds a left ■■■■■■ & they would, after shi**ing themselves hit everything insight.
My uncle does his job with pride & is never worried when or what time he is going to be home,not like the new breed of " office hours " drivers of today,so lets not pick on the blokes who know what real lorry driving is all about chaps ?
Why should they give it up 
when you are 60 are you going to retire & let someone younger have your job
Yes it is hard atm as I know as yes I am looking have been for a while called at most of the transport / haulage company within a 50 mile radius of my house also registered with 9 agencies & still nowt yes it can be disheartening but still have to keep going will start again on mon & see what happens
kevmac47:
I am going to retire next year after 44 years on the road, the last twenty as an owner driver. If that selfish b*****d want a job he can buy my tractor and trailer and try and make a living. I am going to work part time for as long as I feel fit enough to do the job. Successive governments and their cronies in the banks have totally wrecked any pension plans I had been paying into.So it is need not greed with me and a lot of older drivers. I dont know where this attitude comes from, namely you are older, work is tight, so give up your job to a younger person who probably can’t do it as well as you anyway. When my generation were starting out we never thought the “oldies” should pack it in so that we could step into their shoes, apart from the respect for their ability these men were passing on knowledge and skills we needed. To sum up, next year if your looking for a job it will be harder cos I will be in the market and I can buy and sell you with attitude, ability, and skill.
When I started out as a new driver 31 years ago it was obvious to me that it was a case of those who already had the decent jobs kept them as a closed shop from new drivers unless their face fitted and the ‘experience’ bs has always been one of the main ways in which that’s done.
How could any of those older experienced drivers on international work have passed on skills or knowledge to any of the poor mug new drivers who swallowed all the bs about working their way up from the bottom on zb local/multi drop/uk trunking etc because if that’s where you are unlucky enough to have to start in the industry chances are that’s where you’ll stay unless you start out as an owner driver as soon as possible.
In which case those older owner drivers would probably still moan then about new drivers increasing capacity in the long didtance international sector and increasing the competition with them for the work and cutting rates even further.
It’s hypocritical to hear the arguments about over capacity of owner drivers and employed drivers and therefore pressures on wage rates in the industry when there’s also support for drivers working beyond retirement age when even that present age is too high.
As one of those mug new drivers at the time I soon reached the conclusion that it’s a self preservation society in which being an owner driver from day 1 and learning the ropes for myself in competition with those established older drivers would have been a lot better than listening to all the bs about respecting my elders and learning from them at the bottom on the zb local work which they did’nt want while they were having the life of reilly earning the big money on better work in which the experience bs was just used as a protective closed shop for their benefit. 
The bs arguments in favour of older drivers of retirement age,competing with new drivers for work in the industry also reminds me of the common situation years ago in those pre pc days in which it was common to find yourself losing out,as a teenager,with the birds of your own age to zb middle aged divorcees getting more chances in life to have another younger wife and family while a young single bloke lost out.I should know because it happened to me.
Another facet of this argument is,when a driver retires a lot companies just farm out the work to an agency so the job is no longer their for a new driver chase after.
I just know that if people in the UK were more prepared to keep their collective noses out of others business, then we would all be a lot more happy.
Remove the chip from the shoulder and get on with yer own life.
kevmac47:
Another facet of this argument is,when a driver retires a lot companies just farm out the work to an agency so the job is no longer their for a new driver chase after.
Totally agree & think it is so true
Just out of interst how old are the oldiest truckers on here? Reason i ask is that my dad is getting on a bit now adged 58 and he’s still flat out up and down the county everyday.
Mullens:
Just out of interst how old are the oldiest truckers on here? Reason i ask is that my dad is getting on a bit now adged 58 and he’s still flat out up and down the county everyday.
Your dad is quite young compared to a lot of blokes who are driving in their late 60’s and into their 70’s.
And contrary to what a lot of the young guys think,these blokes are still good drivers who are bang up to date with everything modern and also with their attitude towards the job.
Got a 77 year old driver where I work who works part time.
Must admit I always thought I would be driving to my grave. Lately my badly abused body is telling me if I make it over the next two yrs to my 65 then itll be time to go. Mind Ive always thought we should be retired with a payment based on total yrs worked in addition to pension, . Also maybe work down, 5-4-3-days work, as you pass on your experience to someone coming into the job.
Well the job still needs to be covered,anebie has a better chance of getting a start and breaking his duck with an agency,so it could be argued that this goes in the favour of the young chap.t is bad news for the experienced guys who want something more than the privelidge of driving a lorry.I
There are many reasons why an older driver is still working, especially the over 65s. I retired on the 8th march 2011 having been in the industry for 48 yrs. My pension is the basic £98, plus SERPS, ( state earnings related pension scheme ) which is £50, and a few pennies more giving a total £146 a week. So when youve been taking home £450- £500, you might see how difficult it would be for a driver to pack it in altogether…so what is he expected to do…give up his car, his smokes, beer, social life, in order to allow a young whippersnapper to take his job. NO !
I am fortunate enough to have a private pension of £400, plus another of £80, paid monthly, and my wife still works bringing in another £2000 a month, so we live very well…but its not everyone who can retire, the idea itself sounds great, but you have to have in place a good income, no mortgage, and debt free if you are to survive on a basic state pension. The government are talking about an across the board pension of £140, could you live on that ?
When they bought in serps ( see above ) we were promised a final wage at retirement…they didnt deliver cos they said it was too expensive…but at least i got an extra £50 a week.
Its very easy to get bored sitting at home all day, and our company uses plenty of agency drivers through the week, by me working part time, i am saving them money, and helping myself as well.
For the idiot in a previous post who mentioned a retiree still working and drawing a pension, and something should be done about that ( his words )…When a person remains at work there are 2 schemes.
- He can receive a lump sum and an increased pension when he finally retires
- He receives his pension, but however many days he continues to work, his pension is added to his earnings, and taxed as one lump sum, so you will in effect pay tax on the pension.
As an addition, a person must apply for his pension 3 months before retirement, it is not paid automatically, that is when they will ask whether you are going to retire, or stay on.
Depending on what day you retire, the pension is paid for that week, and then you have to wait 1 month to get the monthly pension, for as you can see, it is paid in arrears.
What they did for me after working and paying taxes etc for 50 years, was: I retired on a Tuesday, a weeks pension was paid on the Friday, and then given nothing for a full 4 weeks, luckily i can manage, can you?
I am getting a pension from my last job and I drive a couple of days a week because I want to, not because I need to.
I will continue to drive until, a) I drop dead, b) I fail a medical,c) I fail dcpc or d) I just fancy a change.
It is up to the individual what they want to do, not for others to tell them they have to stop because someone else wants their job. We have been told we have to work longer, so if there are not enough jobs then blame the previous government.
So who would be the person to get advice about pensions? A financial advisor; if so how much do they cost?
Ive got a company pension pay in 9% and 3% additional payments so it costs me a arm and a leg if i die early im going to heaven to kick gods balls!
Anyway i get these statements every year but i seriously cant make head nor tale of them 