Why should public sector be better off?

katerinasol

This thread actually amused me because I deal with the LGPS on a daily basis and today asked to process deferred pensions, which is when someone leaves before the age of 65 and their pension is not paid until that time. So I wrote down 28 people's pensions that they will get at the age of 65 onwards and worked out an average.

The mean pension is... drum roll please... 430.04
The median on the list is 507.36
The highest amount on the list was 1900.94
The lowest was just 18.71

So I don't know where all these crazy 80k lump sums came from, but definitely not from the real world.

Le73Uq86Uv

katerinasol wrote: »

This thread actually amused me because I deal with the LGPS on a daily basis and today asked to process deferred pensions, which is when someone leaves before the age of 65 and their pension is not paid until that time. So I wrote down 28 people's pensions that they will get at the age of 65 onwards and worked out an average.

The mean pension is... drum roll please... 430.04
The median on the list is 507.36
The highest amount on the list was 1900.94
The lowest was just 18.71

So I don't know where all these crazy 80k lump sums came from, but definitely not from the real world.

You know why the pensions are that low?

Because when the private sector was earning mega bucks in the 80's 90's (Yuppie) and spending it, while the public sector had pay constraints.

If people are so concerened about some getting more than others lets have a pension cap of say £1500 a month for everyone including MP's.

See how the private sector would like that bearing in mind most in the public sector may not even come close to getting £1500.

Andy_L

katerinasol wrote: »

So I don't know where all these crazy 80k lump sums came from, but definitely not from the real world.

From someone who retired on ~£53k and the full 40+ years service.

suited-aces

Andy_L wrote: »

From someone who retired on ~£53k and the full 40+ years service.

Generalisation is fun.

katerinasol

Andy_L wrote: »

From someone who retired on ~£53k and the full 40+ years service.

Considering most people I have seen with deferred pensions (and I process about 50 a week, give or take) are on temporary and part-time contracts, I would say that screaming about the public sector being hugely well-off upon retirement isn't entirely accurate because as a whole, they generally really, really aren't. I only remember processing a couple of people on that sort of money in the last couple of months.

knithryn

I'm a teacher.
The goalposts keep moving (not in my favour) regarding my final pension, which i dutifully pay into and alwyas have.
I wouldn't swap my job (on the good days), I'm educating the people who will fund my state pension in the future.
And I don't get paid anything like as much as people with the exact same education as me, but then money isn't everything. That's why I come on MSE.

Andy_L

katerinasol wrote: »

Considering most people I have seen with deferred pensions (and I process about 50 a week, give or take) are on temporary and part-time contracts, I would say that screaming about the public sector being hugely well-off upon retirement isn't entirely accurate because as a whole

People on temporary and/or part time contracts always do badly. however comparing like with like, someone temp/PT with a typical final salary company scheme will have a better pension than someone with a typical money purchase company scheme

bargainbetty

karens wrote: »

Pompous idiot! You think low-paid workers can afford to put ANYTHING away? Don't accuse me of being ill-informed! You probably don't think such people exist! Or, if you do, you probably think it serves them right.

Excuse me? My ex earned £15,000.00 per year in 1998. He was obliged to contribute 6% of his income to his civil service pension. I didn't think it was fair, but he will stand some small chance of getting about £5k per year in top up pensions. In 40 years.

You seem to forget that many civil service workers are low paid too - do you think council cleaners are on better wages compared to private sector workers?

You may be mis-informed rather than ill-informed, but if you believe that all civil servants are on fabulous wages you are, quite simply, wrong.

Andy_L

bargainbetty wrote: »

Excuse me? My ex earned £15,000.00 per year in 1998. He was obliged to contribute 6% of his income to his civil service pension. I didn't think it was fair, but he will stand some small chance of getting about £5k per year in top up pensions. In 40 years.

Membership of the PCSPS was not compulsary in '98, the contribution rate, in '98, was 1.5% so he wasn't "obliged to contribute 6%"

He has a retirement age of 60 so, in 98, he was only 8 when working for the council?:eek:

Nevertheless that 6% is about 1/3- 1/4 of the value of the pension he earned in '98

bargainbetty wrote: »

You seem to forget that many civil service workers are low paid too - do you think council cleaners are on better wages compared to private sector workers?

Assuming there are any who haven't been contracted out then, comparing them to other cleaners, they probably are on a better package

AsknAnswer2

My grandfather (RIP) managed to contribute from his wages before the minimum wage legislation came into affect. So if he could budget accordingly and live within his means when earning less than a NMW would pay and put aside a few pennies but your gran who earned NMW can't, that's her problem. It's also her problem if she failed to seek ways to increase her income in order to put more aside. Go on a training course, get a qualification to increase her earning potential. Did she? Probably not. Did she contribute to a pension scheme? Obviously not.

Public sector employees don't get "handed" a pension on a silver platter for free. They have to pay into it in order to get money out of it. If they choose not to pay anything in, then they won't get anything out.

In effect your gran has put herself in this position by doing sweet sod all to take responsibility for her own pension and your response to her lack of self reliance and thereby pittiful pension is to have a go at the people who do take responsibility for their futures.

Wow. Really, just wow.