MSE News: Plans to allow savers to sell their pension income revealed

I think the other Osborne's latest policy discussion thread running ahead of this one is concentrating on actual annuity contracts.

As we have all for some time now been groomed to understand that our entire world runs on trade of debt more than it ever did on trade of goods, it is any surprise that powers that be have started looking at annuities as tradeable debt ?

But if talking of tradeable debt, what is a private sector DB pension once activated in retirement if it is not something very similar to an annuity ? These schemes have already been crawled over by the likes of Goldman Sachs and many have been "de-risked" (longevity risks) for someone's benefit (not sure whose!). So they have already for a few years been treated as tradeable debt when observed from one end of the telescope.

So does the latest consultation on annuity reform just announced extend to include private sector DB pensions in payment ?

If not why not ? (I am not saying it's a good idea, but it it is a fair question, is it not?)

And the next question obviously ought to be, and what about public sector DB retirees - will they be able to sell their in-payment pensions to banks and others too ?

I detect that this whole thing is a massive QE initiative not designed purely to free lots of cash to be spent in the economy, but to sell massive government debt (liability to pay civil service pensions?) at knock down prices into the hands of banks by stealth.

Afterall, look at that fascinating investment banker playpit named Greece. Greece has an army of public sector pensionists, many who retired remarkably early due to the pervading culture! Who pays their pensions and how ? Is it still the Greek government who pays ? Or do pensions not get paid ? Or have arrangements already been made with banks to sell that debt secretly on behalf of Greece's pensionists along with more tangible assets like their main airport!?

Austerity ought to nicely mess with longevity at the moment in Greece!

If UK pensionists sell their annuities or DB entitlements cheaply now, spend the cash, and then die miserable and poor (and early!) then isn't everybody happy?

So many big questions to play with - investment bankers must be so so happy, and if Tommy Cooper had lived to see the day, he'd have had us in stitches over it! Bottle-glass-bottle-bottle-glass-bottle ... er- he-ha-ha! Not like that ... like that! I said to my mother the other day, I feel like my pension is like a little rope with a knot in it ... I can't undo it ... but wait a minute ... if I cut it here into little pieces, like so ... oh ... so it's not like a pension ... it's a rope! Never mind, I can still hang myself! What's that you say ? .... Ahem .... (throws pieces on floor and a little Gold Man hoovers up). The end. What's next ?