local government scheme

mrs_baggins

I have been working for a local authority and paying in pension for 16 years although I was part time at first so probebly have about 14 years pension funds. At present I pay £125 a month into the scheme but have my doubts about keeping init. I know that the council pays an amount of money into my pension too but I am 48 at the moment and do not intend staying here until I retire. Dont know what i will do but thee very thought of being here for that long makes me want to cry. I have been thinking that if i stopped paying in this money and paid it instead into something else then I could reap the rewarsd 9if any!0 from this when I choose to retire and not when I am 65 but I keep been told that the pension scheme is a good one (final salary type) . Obviously if I had a crysttal ball I would know when I was going to die but as I havent knowing my luck it would be the year after I retire. My house is mortgage free and my husband has no pension of any type as he reckons with his lifestyle habits he wont be around long enough to get the benefits. What do others think about giving up the scheme and paying into something else?

tanith

If its a final salary scheme then I think I would tend to stick with it . If you leave your job then you could think again but while you still in that job I would keep the payments up, you never what is going to happen... I have just had to take early retirement through ill-health and am so glad that I am in a final salary scheme.....
I am sure those with greater knowledge than me will be along with advice soon...

Debt_Free_Chick

mrs_baggins wrote:

but I keep been told that the pension scheme is a good one (final salary type) ....

So your employer has made a promise that you will recieve a certain percentage of your pay when you retire. You are pretty much guaranteed to get this, as the cost is funded by the taxpayer (unlike those in the private sector, where funding is down to the employer and you could lose out if they went bust).

Seriously - you have a Rolls Royce for a pension - you couldn't buy it out in the savings market, unless you had shed loads of money. And if you did, you wouldn't be wanting a pension

...my husband has no pension of any type as he reckons with his lifestyle habits he wont be around long enough to get the benefits.

So if he's right, what do you live on when he's gone? Or do you simply work for the rest of your life?

And if he's wrong, what are you both going to live on?

What do others think about giving up the scheme and paying into something else?

Madness ... sheer madness

Seriously, hope this helps

klondyke

Hold on to it - there's not many final salary pensions left. I get a small amount monthly having worked for a local authority for abour 3 years. That small amount would have been eroded to nothing anywhere else! Mind you, I was a bit irritated that I couldn't pay more in when I was temping for the same authority later. In fact, that seems to be the way civil service and local authorities are getting round pensions - put most peeps on contract, so not eligible!

saintstreaky

Don't even think about getting rid of it, there's absolutely nothing in the private sector to match it for comparable contributions. Plus the benefits if (hope not!) you retire early through ill health.

Admittedly if you draw on the pension before normal retirement age the annual pension is reduced, but to be honest that's going to be a problem with any investment you make - there'll be less per year in the pot the earlier you retire.

You can find out what your pension will be, based on your current service, from your local pension administrator

http://www.lgps.org.uk/contact/index.html

dunstonh

Most of the private sector want the public sector pension benefits to be reduced as they are far too beneficial nowadays and account for 1/5th of the Govt outlay on pensions.

I like DFC's comment on it being the royals royce of pensions. I would go further and say its a gold plated rolls royce. You have to keep it. You would be daft not to.

seven-day-weekend

I paid into the Local Government Pension scheme for not quite 8 years, then bought two added years with my AVCs. About a third of this service was part-time. I then stopped working at 54 and my pension is frozen.

On todays rates I would receive £5408 lump sum and £2177 pa pension. This is index-linked until I draw it when I am 65 (or 60 if I take less on an actuarily reduction). It is guaranteed. I don't think any private scheme could match this. I think you'd be crazy to come out of it.

EdInvestor

mrs_baggins wrote:

My house is mortgage free and my husband has no pension of any type as he reckons with his lifestyle habits he wont be around long enough to get the benefits. What do others think about giving up the scheme and paying into something else?

Don't do it.As everyone else says, stay put in your gold plated scheme.

The "something else" you need to check up on is you and your husband's entitlement to the state pension(s).

Get a forecast here

Your husband's situation may not be quite as bad as it looks If you were at home looking after kids, make sure you've got entitlement to the home responsibilities credit.If there are any missing years that can be paid up, that's where to spend any spare savings money.

From 2010 women will only need 30 years to qualify for the full basic state pensions, so you may be better fixed than you think.

Well done on paying off the mortgage, BTW.

mrs_baggins

Thank you to everyone who has replied!!! It seems then that the unanimous vote is to stay in it so that has decided me! thanks for all your opinions