A reasoned reply and as I said about my comments they are no more than saloon bar reflections.
The comment about women not having pensions. I can very much see your point but I am not advocating not saving, just to think about if the best way of providing for retirement in an uncertain world, is a pension scheme. There was an Observer article a great number of years ago,that said given all the money our generation had in pension and endowment policies, then the 'financial system' would struggle to give it to us all back when we retired. So it would seem. Things changed with the last budget, but if your employer was not making a contribution, and you were on basic tax, and then had to buy an annuity at the end, I would suggest a pension in these circumstances was not as good as an ISA.
Tax was interesting. I remember those kind of rates, but it seemed fair when all paid it, when companies paid their share, when unemployment was 500,000, education was free, we got university grants, MP's haad done something other than being a 'special adviser', the roads were in good condition and so on. And I know, Mum's apple pie tasted so good!
As for housing. I also remember the interest rates on my mortgage in the mid eighties. I wonder how I could sleep at nights thinking of it! I took a £40,000 mortgage in 1986, got a captains job in 1989 and used the increased salary to over pay the mortgage. I had paid it off in 1992 and a simple count up showed that I had paid back over £73,000. However that house was sold last year for £300,000. That house was only in my wife's name, and the next one, a country cottage was only in mine. So playing the system we have now 'flipped' and pay no capital gains. (My cousin was an accountant!)
I would also like to see a reply to the above post, considering they have just sent me a letter to say my RAF pension is halving as a result of my state pension turning up.