Pension Age Going Up and Strikes Public Sector

gadgetmind

candykisses wrote: »

certainly haven't got a spare £300 per month to pay into a pension (ie the recommended amount).

I'm not sure where the £300 comes from. People really just need to look at their own circumstances and what they want/need in retirement, and then work backwards to see how much they need to be saving.

It's always a big trade-off between what you spend now, what income you have in retirement, and at what age you want to retire.

Worst case is having nothing but state pension, which would be a drop to something around £600 a month, which wouldn't be my idea of a happy retirement.

Andy_L

gadgetmind wrote: »

I'm not sure where the £300 comes from.

Looking at the age & salary I suspect its the rule of thumb about saving 1/2 your age as a %age of salary.

zagfles

gadgetmind wrote: »

I'm not sure where the £300 comes from. People really just need to look at their own circumstances and what they want/need in retirement, and then work backwards to see how much they need to be saving.

It's always a big trade-off between what you spend now, what income you have in retirement, and at what age you want to retire.

Worst case is having nothing but state pension, which would be a drop to something around £600 a month, which wouldn't be my idea of a happy retirement.

Plus the pension credit, possibly housing benefit, council tax benefit etc.

Of course things may change, particularly with the talk of the flat £140 pension which would incorporate pension credit, but for many on low incomes at the moment it is simply not worth saving as any small pension they'd get would reduce the benefits they'd otherwise be entitled to.

gadgetmind

zagfles wrote: »

for many on low incomes at the moment it is simply not worth saving as any small pension they'd get would reduce the benefits they'd otherwise be entitled to.

I suspect that's going to slowly change via both carrots and sticks. We'll see less of the pension being means tested, the other benefits being slowly eroded, and state pension age rising ever more quickly.

My daughter is still at school, but already has a pension scheme running as I really don't expect the current ponzi scheme to last another 50 years.

zagfles

gadgetmind wrote: »

I suspect that's going to slowly change via both carrots and sticks. We'll see less of the pension being means tested, the other benefits being slowly eroded, and state pension age rising ever more quickly.

My daughter is still at school, but already has a pension scheme running as I really don't expect the current ponzi scheme to last another 50 years.

Why do you think the "current ponzi scheme" won't last? As long as children keep being born, or even immigrant workers keep coming, there will always be new participants in the "ponzi scheme". It's not like tax and NI are optional.

Obviously there needs to be a balance between workers and pensioners, and over the recent decades the state pension age hasn't kept pace with increasing life expectancy (the current SPA for men of 65 was set in 1925!!), that is being put right. The Turner report covered all this and showed that the state pension, even an increased state pension, is affordable subject to getting the balance right between years working and years as a pensioner.

candykisses

Hi guys

yes, sorry forgot to add: the £300 per month was me taking 20% of my net income per month as a calculation for pension contribution.

I'm just not sure if I should put into a pension or put into savings each month?

What worries me, if I start paying £300 a month to a pension then in a two or three years time start to struggle to find that amount, will the pension be a waste of time if I have to reduce contribitions. Like the one I started a couple of years ago, paid just over £100 per month into it for a couple of years then had to freeze it. Presumably it would be practically worthless now - I can't get any money out of it - would I be best starting to add to that one, or start complete afresh.

Also, my partner has a final salary scheme pension, which he paid into for five years until he was made redundant. Nothing has been done with that since 2007 - ie no more added to it and someone told us that it would probably not be worth anything now.

If we sold the house to an equity scheme when we retired, presumably the money off that would prevent us getting means tested benefits, as would saving into a savings account or having a lump sum of money from a pension.

Not sure if we'd be better doing a joint pension - he earns around £1000 per month net. We have not long moved in together.

sleepless_saver

candykisses wrote: »

Also, my partner has a final salary scheme pension, which he paid into for five years until he was made redundant. Nothing has been done with that since 2007 - ie no more added to it and someone told us that it would probably not be worth anything now.


Not sure if we'd be better doing a joint pension - he earns around £1000 per month net. We have not long moved in together.

And did this "someone" actually know anything about it? Your partner will have 5 years worth of contributions into a final salary scheme, so when he reaches pension age for that scheme he will get an annual pension based on his final pay when he left probably uprated by inflation or company pay increases since he left. So if the scheme is based on 1/60 of salary for each year of employment then he would get 1/12 of his final pay there. I can't see how it would lose its value.

I'm not sure a joint pension even exists, but in any case I don't see why you would want one. You can buy a joint annuity, but that assumes one of you has built up a pension pot to buy it with.

Finally, before even thinking about a pension, make sure you have a decent emergency fund set aside, say 3-4 months pay.

atush

A final salary scheme is always worth something later. At least since the legislation was changed, even if a company goes bust the pension is still worth someting. And a very good something at that.

Stop talking to 'someone' who knows nothing. Too many people do this, and most 'someones' are very ignorant of pension facts.

BobQ

atush wrote: »

A final salary scheme is always worth something later. At least since the legislation was changed, even if a company goes bust the pension is still worth someting. And a very good something at that.

Stop talking to 'someone' who knows nothing. Too many people do this, and most 'someones' are very ignorant of pension facts.

The above is good advice and the last paragraph is one that you should listen very carefully to IMHO.

bendix

Gracchus_Babeuf wrote: »

I was born in 1967 and my wife in 1970. How do we feel? Hopping mad, that's how we feel!! :mad:

What can we do, other than attempting to blow up parliament and murder the entire government and risk life imprisonment? Not a sausage. I don't even have a relative high up in the military who could start a coup - shame.

The trouble is that in this country we are not proper 'citizens' - we are merely 'subjects'. That means we have no genuine rights. The government can deprive us of our pensions, benefits, etc, without any legal challenge that can work. Other countries, like France, Germany, Holland, etc are different in the sense than not even right wing capitalist parties would dare to tinker with the state pension and benefits systems because they would simply not get away with it.

In this thread you will read the usual ridiculous nonsense about rising life expectancy etc as if this was all hot news. It isn't - it has been happening since the 1940s, when antibiotics became widely available and poverty started to fall. There is no reason why the state pension needs to be moved to 67 as the UK already has the lowest state pension in Europe! This is just the government tinkering in order to recoup money to reduce the deficit. The truth is that the deficit cannot reasonably be reduced without causing massive damage to the country, it can only be managed, and that is what the government should be aiming to do instead. But we have a government of capitalist fanatics who a string-pulled by big business and the City of London. These people would happily starve you, your children and your parents in order to have their way - I'm not joking.

My advice: move abroad and start a new life there. This country is falling into a pit of hell and it will stay there for a very long time.

What a stupid and idiotic point. First of all all the countries you have named have raised their retirement ages, so you're factually incorrect.

Secondly, there is something you can do if you want to. You can supplement your state pension entitlement with a private pension, and so stop your whiney self from being a victim relying on the government for when you retire. In other words, you can take control of your own life.

Christ alive . what is so wrong with adults behaving responsibly?

If you are hopping mad with anyone, be hopping mad with yourselves. If you can't retire until you receive your state pension, then only you are to blame. Others have taken the initiative and made provision themselves.