Public sector pension rant

mikebeluga

Hi Guys,

Public sector pensions payer here.
Whoa, don't shoot me, I didn't realise we would become the pariahs we have. scrounging off the state like we all do!
I just paid into the scheme for 27 years like they told me to (another 3 to go)
I mean I've only paid 11% of my wages for 27 years, which equates to today's equivalent of £96,000 paid in.
Imagine if the government had the foresight to invest all that money-oh, hang on, they did. That's the problem. Most public sector pensions started in the 1950s, so for at least 30 years what happened to all those payments?

So now I get to be the baddy while the government says "hey, you private sector guys are right, we can't afford it, we have to change public sector pensions, why are their pensions so good anyway, lets take their hard earned pensions of them, just like we did with you guys, you don't mind do you?"
Err, hang on, MP's are in the public sector pension scheme, and err, hang on, you wasted all our investments on a million of daft schemes.

Yes, I get a lump sum and half my wages for a few years before I die (no, I dont believe the stats that we are living to 77)
I will still have to work and pay taxes etc just like everyone else does!

You guys are currently allowing the government to cut my pension.
All I was going to do was pay bills with it anyway, and maybe buy a few much needed goodies after 30 years without any, you gotta laugh.
You should all be ashamed!

TREVORCOLMAN

Perhaps when they change the system to a lesser one you could ask for the 18% abatement of pay your have suffered all of this time due to you being on such a "gold plated" scheme.

Its also nice to see that through the bankers wasting millions its the public sector workers many of whom are on low wages who lose their jobs!

kidmugsy

"the bankers wasting millions..": indeed they did, and so their shareholders and bondholders should have paid up accordingly. It was our brilliant Labour government and our brilliant civil servants who decided that the taxpayer should stump up.

CLAPTON

mikebeluga wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Public sector pensions payer here.
Whoa, don't shoot me, I didn't realise we would become the pariahs we have. scrounging off the state like we all do!
I just paid into the scheme for 27 years like they told me to (another 3 to go)
I mean I've only paid 11% of my wages for 27 years, which equates to today's equivalent of £96,000 paid in.
Imagine if the government had the foresight to invest all that money-oh, hang on, they did. That's the problem. Most public sector pensions started in the 1950s, so for at least 30 years what happened to all those payments?

So now I get to be the baddy while the government says "hey, you private sector guys are right, we can't afford it, we have to change public sector pensions, why are their pensions so good anyway, lets take their hard earned pensions of them, just like we did with you guys, you don't mind do you?"
Err, hang on, MP's are in the public sector pension scheme, and err, hang on, you wasted all our investments on a million of daft schemes.

Yes, I get a lump sum and half my wages for a few years before I die (no, I dont believe the stats that we are living to 77)
I will still have to work and pay taxes etc just like everyone else does!

You guys are currently allowing the government to cut my pension.
All I was going to do was pay bills with it anyway, and maybe buy a few much needed goodies after 30 years without any, you gotta laugh.
You should all be ashamed!

so you paid in 3,555 per annum for 27 years

what will you initial pension be
what age are you

hugheskevi

I just paid into the scheme for 27 years like they told me to (another 3 to go)

No-one told anyone to. You were free to opt-out if you wished.

Imagine if the government had the foresight to invest all that money-oh, hang on, they did.

Only Local Govt. and MPs pensions are funded, ie, are invested.

Most public sector pensions started in the 1950s, so for at least 30 years what happened to all those payments?

Part of general Govt. revenue, loosely intended to meet the pension payments of public service pensions of former employees now drawing their pension although there is no direct hypothecation.

So now I get to be the baddy while the government says "hey, you private sector guys are right, we can't afford it, we have to change public sector pensions, why are their pensions so good anyway, lets take their hard earned pensions of them, just like we did with you guys, you don't mind do you?"

It is naive to think that pensions don't need to change when longevity increases so much. The economic situation simply gave an urgency for change which hadn't been quite so pressing before.

Pensions in isolation don't matter, it is the overall remuneration package which is significant, but in recent years there is a huge disparity between the salary/pension balance in the public and private sectors. At no point in the history of pensions were they ever intended to support people in retirement for 25 years (on average - some will live a lot longer). Some rebalancing was inevitable.

And with the possible exception of the change to CPI, pensions are not being taken off people. The Hutton Review made the unusual recommendation that historic accruals continued to increase with final salary, which is not the case when Defined Benefit private sector pension schemes close.

Err, hang on, MP's are in the public sector pension scheme, and err, hang on, you wasted all our investments on a million of daft schemes.

We are where we are. Assigning blame is popular, but we have to deal with the situation the economy is in. And in fairness to the current encumbents, few of them have been in power prior to the current Government.

Yes, I get a lump sum and half my wages for a few years before I die (no, I dont believe the stats that we are living to 77)

You shouldn't believe that stat, it is much higher - more like 85.

You guys are currently allowing the government to cut my pension.

Your employer is reshaping your remuneration package, part of which may well be a reduction in the overall amount. That isn't surprising when your employer's revenues have been significantly reduced (ie tax revenue much lower than expected). You do not have to accept this, you are free to seek employment elsewhere, that is the nature of the employer/employee relationship.

You should all be ashamed!

I doubt there is anyone on this board with any influence in the decisions being taken.

Sapphire

Many private-sector employees' pension arrangements were changed by their employers some years ago, and they have had to live with it. It happened to me twice – and that's in a creative profession that is considered by many to be 'exciting' and somewhat 'worthy', but is certainly not highly paid unless you get to the very top.

You shouldn't believe that stat, it is much higher - more like 85.

Judging from the way people in their 40s, 50s and 60s are dropping around me like flies, I can scarcely believe it.

StephenM_2

Sapphire wrote: »

Judging from the way people in their 40s, 50s and 60s are dropping around me like flies, I can scarcely believe it.

I think I'd best give you a wide berth.

Loughton_Monkey

mikebeluga wrote: »

You guys are currently allowing the government to cut my pension.
All I was going to do was pay bills with it anyway, and maybe buy a few much needed goodies after 30 years without any, you gotta laugh.
You should all be ashamed!

Phew!

What a rant.

This forum is full of public sector workers. Why are you blaming them? Some of us aren't public sector workers. But why are you blaming us? Many of the people here had their private pensions (Final Salary) turned into a much less valuable money purchase arrangement years ago. You still have a valuable Final Salary scheme.

If the rampant over-spending of prior governments is not sufficient enough reason to ramp down the cost of public sector employees, then the most unintelligent and misinformed tripe you put forward as your argument is.

Who told you to pay into the pension? It was 100% your choice. If you don't like it, then you shouldn't have joined. If you hadn't, you would be considerably worse off than you are now.

What has 'investment' got to do with it. Leaving aside that the bulk of public sector pensions are not funded, the investment income within Final Salary schemes has got extremely little to do with it. You are contributing to a pension giving you contractual rights and not just giving you money plus whatever investment income has been earned.

It used to be said that 'generous' public sector pensions were 'right' because it made up for their generally lower wages than the private sector. Over the last 10 years, public sector pay has risen to levels above equivalent private sector pay - and with maintenance of good benefits as well. This must be corrected. You are (and have been all your working life) free to seek employment elsewhere if you didn't like the terms. If you had done this in the last 10 years, almost certainly you would never have found employment with a Final Salary pension.

Now whilst you are free to disbelieve the statistics that your fellow public sector workers produce, I am afraid their mortality statistics are correct. They apply in the private sector too and Insurance Companies nationally would be able to ratify them.

The whole world (except you it seems) believe them. You, like any other individual, will live to a specific unknown age. But generally we collectively die at the average age.

The only way I can see average age coming down significantly, is due solely to extra deaths cause by all the toys you, and some of your colleagues, are throwing out of your prams. I think they should be taken away from you, for the sake of us all.

ManAtHome

Before us private sector lot start being too ashamed, what lump sum and pension are you getting for your £96k?

vouchersrme

I think that times change, but it is unfair to expect those who were part of the old system should now be considered pariahs. In my profession I was very well qualified a MBA equivalent . In the private sector I could have achieved a salary at least 3 times that I was getting. Although I loved my profession it wa the pension that made me feel easier. Now I am considered a sponger. With a larger salary I could have afforded a larger pension than I get now.

bilbo51

vouchersrme wrote: »

I think that times change, but it is unfair to expect those who were part of the old system should now be considered pariahs. In my profession I was very well qualified a MBA equivalent . In the private sector I could have achieved a salary at least 3 times that I was getting. Although I loved my profession it wa the pension that made me feel easier. Now I am considered a sponger. With a larger salary I could have afforded a larger pension than I get now.

I believe that we all make the choices that we perceive are best for us at the time - we then just have to live with the consequences... or exercise choice again.