How much does uk spend on weight-loss products and services?

You know how much you spend per week. Its hard to find an average for families now days are it depends on where you live, how often you eat out and what you like to eat. I would advise you to keep track of your food costs for a month. How much do you spend on fast food, restaurants, at the grocery store etc. From there you can figure out your average monthly food costs, what you need and where you can save. Then budget to suit your income.

For a family of 8 it costs £130 for food shopping each week and it can some times more than double when there is a special occasion such as birthdays christmas etc...

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Britons have worst state pension in euby sean poulter last updated at 22:08 12 november 2007 ( daily mail ) millions of britons are being condemned to poverty in old age by the worst state pension in the eu, a study shows. the basic state pension of £90 a week is equivalent to just 16 per cent of the average wage, it found. this figure rises to 30 per cent once pension payments related to earnings are taken into account. but this is still only half the eu average of 60 per cent, the financial firm aon consulting said. its study concluded: "the inadequacy of the state system is beyond question." charities including help the aged warn the problem has been made worse because the state pension has failed to keep pace with increases in the cost of essentials such as heating, water, and council tax. a recent study found a quarter of pensioners are having to cut back on basics to survive. until recently many british workers could rely on private pensions such as final salary schemes. however, many of the most generous schemes have been replaced by deals requiring higher monthly payments in return for a smaller pension. in addition, the study said a "spate" of banking scandals and crises had damaged confidence in the private pension system. as a result, britons are not investing in private pensions on the scale needed to make up for the state system's failings. the average age of retirement in britain - 62.6 - is also above the eu average of 61. some 57 per cent of britons aged between 55 and 64 are in paid employment. aon found the value of britain's state pension for a single person is 30.8 per cent of the average wage. this figure is 32.5 per cent in ireland, 39.9 per cent in germany and 51.2 per cent in france. the most generous state pension is offered by greece, where the figure is 95.7 per cent. aon said britain's ageing population is reliant on young immigrants to boost the number of workers, generating taxes to fund pensions. but it stressed this was not a longterm solution to the pensions crisis. the firm's chief actuary, donald duval, said: "migrant workers have helped boost the pension pot in the uk to mitigate against its demomeal-graphic problems but this is not a sustainable measure. it is a smokescreen hiding deeper issues facing the pension system. "more needs to be done to restore confidence in private schemes so as to drive an increased level of contributions. people cannot afford to rely on the state pension, which remains the lowest in europe. "the 2005 turner report on the future of pensions concluded that the ageing population left the uk with four choices: lower pensions, higher retirement ages, higher member contributions or higher taxes. "assuming that the first is unacceptable, some combination of the latter three needs to be encouraged." a spokesman for help the aged said: "pensioners are resorting to strategies such as buying cut-price food that is nearly out of date. "increasingly the poorest pensioners are turning to friends and family to help them out. "debt agencies are also reporting an increase in the number of older people who have borrowed money they can't repay. "simple things like going out for a meal or inviting people to your home become impossible. holidays are completely out of the question, while people have to cut back on hobbies and social events." the government plans to restore a link between rises in earnings and rises in the basic pension by 2012. however, this will be part of a package that will also raise the retirement age from 65 in 2024 to 68 by 2050. read more... one million pensioners eating less to pay heating bills the government should ignore some of the money pensioners receive from private schemes to encourage more britons to save towards their retirement, a report suggests. the pensions policy institute said many are afraid to invest in private schemes because they would lose means-tested state benefits. the research charity suggested the government should therefore disregard the first £12 a week someone receives from a private pension when calculating their state benefits. this would allow someone to have a pension fund worth £6,000 before it affected their means-tested benefits.

Basic Pension then you have either additional pension or a work pension on top of that

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Britons have worst state pension in euby sean poulter last updated at 22:08 12 november 2007 ( daily mail ) millions of britons are being condemned to poverty in old age by the worst state pension in the eu, a study shows. the basic state pension of £90 a week is equivalent to just 16 per cent of the average wage, it found. this figure rises to 30 per cent once pension payments related to earnings are taken into account. but this is still only half the eu average of 60 per cent, the financial firm aon consulting said. its study concluded: "the inadequacy of the state system is beyond question." charities including help the aged warn the problem has been made worse because the state pension has failed to keep pace with increases in the cost of essentials such as heating, water, and council tax. a recent study found a quarter of pensioners are having to cut back on basics to survive. until recently many british workers could rely on private pensions such as final salary schemes. however, many of the most generous schemes have been replaced by deals requiring higher monthly payments in return for a smaller pension. in addition, the study said a "spate" of banking scandals and crises had damaged confidence in the private pension system. as a result, britons are not investing in private pensions on the scale needed to make up for the state system's failings. the average age of retirement in britain - 62.6 - is also above the eu average of 61. some 57 per cent of britons aged between 55 and 64 are in paid employment. aon found the value of britain's state pension for a single person is 30.8 per cent of the average wage. this figure is 32.5 per cent in ireland, 39.9 per cent in germany and 51.2 per cent in france. the most generous state pension is offered by greece, where the figure is 95.7 per cent. aon said britain's ageing population is reliant on young immigrants to boost the number of workers, generating taxes to fund pensions. but it stressed this was not a longterm solution to the pensions crisis. the firm's chief actuary, donald duval, said: "migrant workers have helped boost the pension pot in the uk to mitigate against its demomeal-graphic problems but this is not a sustainable measure. it is a smokescreen hiding deeper issues facing the pension system. "more needs to be done to restore confidence in private schemes so as to drive an increased level of contributions. people cannot afford to rely on the state pension, which remains the lowest in europe. "the 2005 turner report on the future of pensions concluded that the ageing population left the uk with four choices: lower pensions, higher retirement ages, higher member contributions or higher taxes. "assuming that the first is unacceptable, some combination of the latter three needs to be encouraged." a spokesman for help the aged said: "pensioners are resorting to strategies such as buying cut-price food that is nearly out of date. "increasingly the poorest pensioners are turning to friends and family to help them out. "debt agencies are also reporting an increase in the number of older people who have borrowed money they can't repay. "simple things like going out for a meal or inviting people to your home become impossible. holidays are completely out of the question, while people have to cut back on hobbies and social events." the government plans to restore a link between rises in earnings and rises in the basic pension by 2012. however, this will be part of a package that will also raise the retirement age from 65 in 2024 to 68 by 2050. read more... one million pensioners eating less to pay heating bills the government should ignore some of the money pensioners receive from private schemes to encourage more britons to save towards their retirement, a report suggests. the pensions policy institute said many are afraid to invest in private schemes because they would lose means-tested state benefits. the research charity suggested the government should therefore disregard the first £12 a week someone receives from a private pension when calculating their state benefits. this would allow someone to have a pension fund worth £6,000 before it affected their means-tested benefits.

The priority for the British is to featherbed the yuppies, especially if they are female. They are the wanted, the desirable. Brown's tax cuts will be aimed at them. So will Cameron's and Clegg's. If they wanted to help the poor, they should cut Council Tax to a fifth of what it now is. The success of celebrity culture, nightclubs, hairdressers, fashion boutiques and all the other trappings of Cool Britannia reflect the importance we put on these people. The middle-aged and the elderly can go hang: "Ewwww, gross" is the correct response when contemplating anyone over 40. Middle aged men in the workplace have just one function, and that is fodder for redundancy, with the odd temporary maternity leave assignments with minimal training, pay, and nil prospects. Sacking men is one helpful way to show you are doing your bit for women's emancipation. The result is that most of the money is blown on stylish lifestyles for yuppies and aspirational wannabe celebrities, and those who would save for their old age are being prevented from doing so, because these are the folk being pushed out of the workplace. I am now 52, so I am past it. I doubt I will ever work again. Rather than have me being a drain on the country's finances for the next 40 years, would it not be more merciful just to give me, and those like me, a nice quick cyanide capsule, and make our benefit payments conditional on us taking it?