The governments new pensions initiative

Trying to commit millions of people into giving the financial sector, over a long period of time, a massive injection of cash is a particularly ironic, considering it's proven, as a whole, they couldn't be trusted to run a sweet shop with our money.
The government guarantees savings up to 35k in a bank account if things go wrong but pensions are a different matter.
Another ill thought out piece of Tory policy methinks.

 

I've tried quite a few pension schemes over the years and each time successive governments have scrapped the scheme I'm in and changed the rules.

For me pensions have never worked, it just money down the drain, which eventually goes on charges.
The stockmarket is standing still, and has been for years, so we are not getting any interest on the amount invested anyway, so I've given up trying.

 

I have two pensions from two previous employers.

Just before the inevitable crash, my pension statement said I had over £20k worth of assets in my pension pot. Great, considering I'd not been in it for very long. Then a year later I got my annual pension statement again, and lo and behold, I now had £3k worth of assets. Whoopie do! In 12 months, having done nothing at all to influence anything, I'd lost £17k, or 85% of my pension pot. Except I hadn't really lost £17k, because really I never had that £20k. What I had was some numbers in a computer that vary wildly depending on the activities of a bunch of thieves and gamblers. As far as I can gather, if you want to invest in a pension, you're better off just taking that money and spread betting it on the horses. You're still almost certain to lose the lot, but at least its you doing the gambling.

 

I too do not have any pensions!
Decided at a young age not to bother.
Decided to save from the first wage packet I received.
Brought first house when 26. Put down a 25% deposit
Traveled to many places around world and done things that I won't be able to do when I retire anyway!
Now paying abit extra off mortgage each month.
Hoping to be mortgage free in 10 years time.
Then i can decide what to do with the extra income.
That's my business plan anyway

 

The best policy is to retire with NOTHING then you are kept in a great lifestyle by the Gov and other mugs who have saved all their lives

Based on a manual blue collar worker

My father was with British Railways, he always said save and get a pension son
he bought a house on a mortgage of £430 then total paid over 25 years was £15k
So he retired and got a pension of 10/- a week (that is ten shillings ie 50p)
This took him over the benefits allowance, and as a house owner got nothing towards rates, prescriptions, travel etc
But being a good son I followed in his footsteps bought my own house £4k but paid the mortgage over 25 years at £42k (18% interest rate)
Now I have retired and yes my pension is over the amount to claim benefits, so I am about £5k a year worse off than someone who lived life to the full and pi&^%ed it all against the wall, House rewired for free, triple glazing , new Kitchen, new roof, new central heating

Moral unless you are VERY WELL OFF then quit now whilst you can and claim all the benefits you can
It is against my nature and bringing up but in reality it is the way to go

Do not work, instantly better off with benefits, why earn and pay tax on £19k when you can get £35k equivelent on benefits, you do not even have to pay for a packed lunch, travel, or get up in time to travel an hour each way to work

Then when you reach the age of 65 you get it all for free, unless you have a pension or saved anything for a rainy day as taught by your parents

IF you have worked then I am afraid you have to suffer for two years until you have passed the not working and no savings test to hit the jackpot
If you have a large family they will even evict next door and knock your homes into two so you are not cramped

If you have just arrived in the UK then even better you do not have the two year wait

Enjoy

Jack McHammocklashing

 

I can only echo you, Jack, in saying that there should be a clear disadvantage in living on benefits as opposed to be a hard worker all your life.

Benefits are a great thing, don't get me wrong, but for example If one slaves all his life in order to own a b+b and then because he/she own that b+b they give him/her a miserable pension every week there is something there I am not quite comfortable with.

I think the goverment is heading in the right direction, but the outcome will be seen a longtime from now.

 

Wouldn't go for a penion, they may change the goal post again

 

I've worked since I was 15 and paid a considerable amount in NI/TAX so I don't like being told there isn't enough money to fund a state pension.
They'll have every penny if you've saved anyway including your house if you go into care.

 

As far as I'm concerned, I think it's a good idea, to save for ones old age. Sure, things can go pear shaped. But surely, is it not prudent to at least make some provision? I for one have no intention of living in poverty, and relying on the state. It may of course prove fruitless, but at least I've made the effort....

 

First off to reply to John
UNI scares me to death, the majority of children aspire to it and the educated majority succeed, Only problem is the degrees they do The original high ones are obviously still there, but the mickey mouse ones help no one at all, they leave with the same debt, but no one wants someone in a degree in the arts of playing a lyre

Due to my health, I had to bail out of mainstream electronics after 30 years and took employment as a civil servant for my last eight years
Frying pan to Fire sort of
I went from a field service engineer, free as a bird so long as the work was done, driving around the highlands, only getting called out at 03:00 to attend a Casino where someone had won £5k but it did not pay out, Only to explain to the person they had miss read the machine and infact the £100 they got was correct
For this I got my time on site back as extended lunch the next day (not travelling time)
So I ended up a Civil Serpent 10:00 - 18:00 Mon to Fri,
And it was exactly so, not one second break between clients, all day everyday, no time to talk to collegues, two fifteen minute breaks and thirty minutes dinner, every second was calculated with your swipe card and the computer, no toilet breaks, ONE SECOND late back on the system and it was a dismissable offence

The really frightening thing was out of 600 of us 280 were Graduates from UNI as a stop gap until they got their career job for life, What was frightening was they were still there on the phones on minimum wage three years later, two jobs and fiftysix chasing them, so back to HMRC some are still there after seven years, in the worst employment I have ever had
Even a high pass law student has not a chance in Hell unless a relation calls him to the bar, again it is a closed shop and fifty chace the one opening

QUOTE John
"I can come up with to counter Jack’s ‘throw yourself onto the benefits’ argument is from my Father's last couple of years. He had enough money saved so that he didn’t qualify for financial help when he needed to go into care. So he could choose a nice home on his own terms (and paid for it himself)." end quote

I did state blue collar workers, ie people who no matter what the Gov say is the average pay is infact at present £14665 a year,
Pay a mortgage and end up at 65 on that with enough savings to buy into a private home :-( Not really
One of my previous electronic companies other business was Private homes in Leeds
Only £1200 per month all in and that was in 2001

Quote Freddy
"As far as I'm concerned, I think it's a good idea, to save for ones old age. Sure, things can go pear shaped. But surely, is it not prudent to at least make some provision? I for one have no intention of living in poverty, and relying on the state. " End QUOTE

Again I stated a blue collar worker whose genuine average wage is £14.5k a year on which thay pay tax and NI So take home pay is about £190 per week, If they have taken out a mortgage they get no help paying it or the council tax
A non worker with a partner and two children under 18 takes home the equivalent of £650 pw in all benefits

So unless you have £250k stashed away when you become ill, then away goes your house if it is your own

Again I am talking oop North, an expensive home here is £200k where down Sarf it would be £600k

What a world we have arrived in
Whilst it is good young people being educated to UNI degrees, it is no good having 100,000 graduates and ten plumbers
£45k of debt no job and no house, flipping burgers or a call centre
At least Scotlands Uni's are free to all the EU (except the English ?)

Jack McH

 

Can I throw a different angle on Pensions schemes (good ones that is!)
I had 30years worth of pension contributions in a British GAs scheme when they sold of the sector I was in to an American Asset Management Co. (Merryll Lynch) who decided they would convert the current Final Salary Scheme to a Money Purchase - promising to "ring fence" the existing pension value until retirement age.
I for one was not impressed - fenced in for 15 more years at the age of 50.
The existing scheme had a get out at 50 scheme under certain conditions (these included redundancy).
I, and another 150 long servers, took the VR option. The result was that 70% of the total asset value of the Pension Pot to be ring-fenced was removed - upsetting to Meryll Lynch (oh dear!)
There was also the levelling option which increased to received value for the next 15 years.
I was advised that this would reduce my pension value at 65 but, with my family history suggesting that I would not exceed that age by much, I decided it was better in my pocket than theirs. It will take another 10 years for me to repay the levelling value received - if I get to 65.
The nett result was that I have had a significant pension income, which allowed me the option of part time work from the age of 50.
Pensions "were" not a bad idea.
Having said all that, nothing I have said applies to "Money Purchase Schemes".
Win the Lottery - the only pension scheme that works for todays young employees!

 

Don't be so pessimistic - how would you like to go well past 65 and then look back at all the time that you spent feeling bad about not being able to reach that age. :wallbang: