another pension increase for police!

bigfreddiel

longleggedhair wrote: »

Well my friend...at the grand age of 24 I have not had much time to acrue one of these lovely pensions, however as it happens I am a member of the local government pension scheme.

nice one - no worries then!

fj

michelle1506

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Just because you appear to work in the public sector yourself, it doesn't mean you can pretend to turn a blind eye to the difference in reaction between the public and private sectors when it comes to wage freezes, declining pensions benefits, reduced working hours and all the other effects of the recession

Unless, of course, you can point to stories about mass-strikes from the private sector when the recession started to bite them in 2008/9, in contrast the the shouty unions in 2011/12 with teachers unions, and council workers and NHS staff bleating.

I eagerly await your own links for the private sector...

You certainly will be waiting a long time. Unlike some I neither have the time or the inclination to spend lots of time on here!

One thing I will say is that not all public sector workers will be striking - I am one who won't be.

You can carry on now...:rotfl:

datostar

longleggedhair wrote: »

My neighbour, who is a very nice chap retired from the police last year aged...wait for it...48! He did his 30 years service, with his retirement grant of £120 k he brought a holiday shack in France and enjoys himself on his £22k pension.

I am glad the government have put your husbands contribution up, and I hope they put it up alot more. Any reasonable person can see that to pay someone apension of that size at age 48 is totally unsustainable.Will the public sector ever live in the real world????

He would have had to commute around 20% of his pension to get that lump sum (which is not a 'retirement grant' as he is paying for it in reduced pension for the rest of his life). His pension contributions would have been 11% of gross salary - fairly high in comparison to most.

peter1000

not another bleating coppers mrs on her poor hard by done hubbys pensions contributions!no sympathy whatsoever here,try being a bus driver with no pension,as any decent scemes were closed years ago so only the old boys who are leaving now my job now have a pension,these coppers dont know there born,get there 30yrs in then its a life of luxury huge lump sum and fat pension for life,and most get another job part time,we got afew ex coppers on my firm greedy !!!!!,taking the jobs of people who need them,then they got the old age pension to come on top!!and we have to let these overpaid numpties on the bus for free when they show there police badge,why poor nurses etc get no free travel:mad:

atush

Just read on another forum where the guys neighbor ( a policeman) just retired at 48, having put in his 30 years. and got a commencment LS of 120K, plus full pension and have taken off for France lol. Most just start up a business or get another job while collecting the pension.


No question it can be a hard job. But the pension is still good, even with the changes. So keep paying in and adding years. and you'll be in france before me ;-)

DavidLaGuardia

datostar wrote: »

. His pension contributions would have been 11% of gross salary - fairly high in comparison to most.

You have to compare like with like. The higher contribution were down to them getting 40 years service after 30 years and being able to take a pension straight away, from age 47 in some cases!

This worked by doubling in the final 10 years (normal forces) or equal enhancement across the years if you are were in the British Transport police under the old Railway scheme. I can't make any comment on the situation now.

jimi_man

Hi cord123 (original poster)

I will be honest and say that I think you are probably better off keeping your rant to yourself on this occasion. Yes, Police officers have to pay more pension this year, and probably for the next few as well, but teachers, NHS, civil servants are in the same boat as well. It's unfortunate that it's come at a time when there is a pay review as well and all the other increment freezes, and lets face it, everyone wants to pay the minimum and get the maximum, but for various political and global reasons, it has become increasingly unaffordable so changes were always on the cards.

But the pension that you get is, by any standards, enormous! I am new to these forums, but have been reading them for a while and the majority of pensions that people ask about, are tiny compared to the majority of Police Pensions. I am in the same position as your husband, and I get mine in about 4 years time when I'm 51, however I am, whilst not exactly happy, more than prepared to pay a fair bit more to receive what is essentially a very good package. £450 a month is far from excessive to get £30,000 a year for life! And I would probably doubt the wisdom of complaining about it on here as, judging by the responses above, people with 'lesser' pensions are going to be somewhat indifferent at best!!!

11% is a reasonable amount granted, though it's only for 30 years. If you were to average it over the 40 years that other schemes are such as NHS, teachers etc, then it would probably amount to 8% or so, closer to other schemes.

Sometimes it's better to put up and shut up, though that's purely my opinion so feel free to ignore. No offence intended.

djjje

@Cord123 : I think you get the sentiment of people replying to your original post and I am with them. Most have already compared private versus police pensions so I wont reiterate.

A useful comparison might be the very nice family I met on an expensive holiday a couple of years ago. I wont hint at where we were or where this person works but at age 48 he was busy taking his inspectors exams and looking for promotion...not because he wanted an inspectors job but because of the substantially increased pension provision it would give him when he retired (was it aged 50 or 55 I cant recall). In any case the rest of us in the private sector only dream of retiring at 55 on a final salary pension.

How can I put this politely......quit your moaning.

evh22

I cannot believe people out there do not support my colleagues and I inretaining what pension entitlements we have been promised???!!!
I joined at 16yrs of age as a Cadet and have remained in 'the job' for thepast 20yrs - never failing once to pay my pension contributions, tax and NI.
I am now paying close to £400 per month in pension contributions alone. Mypay has been frozen and will remain frozen for the at least the next 2 yearswhilst inflation will no doubt continue to rise.
My friends in the private sector have all enjoyed year on year rises in linewith inflation and enjoy bonuses when they are earned.
My fear is that as a public sector employee I will see my pay and conditionseroded away in these times of austerity, but unlike our friends in thecommercial sector, I will not see wages, pensions etc begin to rise again whenthe good times eventually return.
Memories of my youth are scarred with images of death, whilst my mates wentoff to College and Uni...The burnt and charred remains of some poor soul andcountless other unspeakable scenes that still haunt me now will remain no doubtand I wonder what else I will be called to deal with in the future.
My circle of friends and associates are constantly re-assessed to ensure Iam not about to bring discredit on my Force or likely to put me in a difficultposition. I am expected to jump into any unfolding situation when out with mywife and family (with the threat of disciplinary action if I choose to ignoreit), no matter when or where this happens.
My job is one which brings me into direct contact with the very worst oursociety has to offer every single working day, which makes me start to suspectand question new people that come into my life.
After this and more I do not have the inclination to write about - Ihonestly and genuinely say to you reader that I try to do my best for everyperson I deal with. I still care about you Mr and Mrs Public and I know themajority of my colleagues do too. So please don't be too harsh in your words.
I am not asking for a free ride or a hand out or more than is due - I wouldjust like the assurances I was given as a young lad to be honoured.

Paul_Herring

evh22 wrote: »

I cannot believe people out there do not support my colleagues and I in retaining what pension entitlements we have been promised???!!!

Possibly because it comes across strongly as "...but we're different/special," when you're not. This also applies to the public sector in general, by the way.

I am now paying close to £400 per month in pension contributions alone. My pay has been frozen and will remain frozen for the at least the next 2 years whilst inflation will no doubt continue to rise.

I'm contributing over £1,000 per month. And my pension isn't going to come close to what you're going to get¸ and I most certainly won't be able to start claiming it at 48 like you will be able to.

My friends in the private sector have all enjoyed year on year rises in linewith inflation and enjoy bonuses when they are earned.

That's nice. Shame it doesn't apply to the whole of the private sector. You must have some very special friends.

My fear is that as a public sector employee I will see my pay and conditionseroded away in these times of austerity, but unlike our friends in thecommercial sector, I will not see wages, pensions etc begin to rise again when the good times eventually return.

You could always quit the public sector and go into the private sector then, where you'll see astronomical wage rises and a decent private pension not heavily subsidised by the private sector.