No Stupid Questions

Why are they the butt of so many jokes?

A little bit of ageism, but also it feels like they're fair game since their vote is the most sought after and politicians bend over backwards to keep them happy.

It's great that we take care of our elders, but when they get Triple lock pensions guaranteed by both parties while young people are saddled with increasingly higher student loan debts and higher rents/mortgages, resentments build up. They have in many ways voted to fuck the country and youth over the years as well. So it feels more like punching up than punching down

Retired people. -source old American waiting to be corrected

Someone who is retired and now collects social security (or their equivalent of it anyway). We use that term here sometimes, too, though it is less common now than "retiree." As for being the butt of jokes: think like "ok, boomer." And just that old people are easy targets for jokes.

Old people. Cantankerous, poor old people on welfare - think Abe Simpson, but living alone.

'Retired' suggests a reasonable nest-egg of savings or superannuation to live on, and has a whiff of golf about it.

'Pensioner' on the other hand suggests skating the poverty line, and has old-people smell.

Somebody that has retired and is living off their pension: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pension

Pensioner is short for OAP (Old Age Pensioner), so called because they are retired and eligible for the state pension.

Can't recall them being the butt of a lot of jokes though.

When someone stops working due to seniority of years and begins claiming pension money - either private or state. “Pensioner” then becomes informal shorthand for any old retired person up until they die. Old people = funny. (Apparently)

We have pensioners in the US too. Idk where you’re from but I thought pensions exist in every developed nation

Just gonna hop in here and give a shout-out to "One Foot In the Grave." In the US it's on BritBox.

A retiree. Aka boomer.

For additional educational material on pensioners I suggest Still Game: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiacTaYXyRfxMFMOGl6KRLpA6y11JFKZ4

Something I haven't seen mentioned here yet is that a good chunk of the beef isn't necessarily caused by old age pensioners themselves, but the perception that they are the demographic who the Conservative government (and by extension, Labour, who seem to have lost all originality and soul of their own) are attempting to court.

Others have highlighted part of why this perception exists, such as the triple lock pensions, or the fact that older people are more likely to own property, but also there's a heck ton of Tory policies that are harmful to many older people too. I think that most of the Tory pals are probably older, but also that they're a small fraction of the whole demographic.

My opinion is that this perception that the Tories favour pensioners is greater than the degree to which they actually do. I don't have any sources for that though, this part is vibes based speculation from a UK leftist.