Proper Pensions Petition - please sign

villain

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to drop the Government's proposal to auto-enrol millions of people into a national pension savings scheme unless it can first guarantee that every pound saved in the scheme will make savers at least one pound better-off than non-savers.

Do you think the government could really make it that simple?

Sign here if you agree on The Prime Minister's website:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ProperPensions/

Only those with valid email addresses will be counted.

Andy_L

So you want an end to means tested benefits then?

villain

I think you'll find that would be a different petition. Not this one.

dunstonh

You can opt out if you dont want the free money.

villain

Should the government be encouraging people to save for their retirement or not? The answer has to be "yes".

If they are, why implement a system where a significant number of people will not see any benefit whatsoever from their savings? If people realise this (cue the Daily Mail well after the event) they will vote with their feet.

Back to Square 1 - the Pensions "black hole".

All the petition does is encourage a worthwhile system.

Ian_W

Villian wrote:

I think you'll find that would be a different petition. Not this one.

It certainly looks very similar if you read the details ...
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ProperPensions/#detail

dunstonh

villain wrote: »

Should the government be encouraging people to save for their retirement or not? The answer has to be "yes".

If they are, why implement a system where a significant number of people will not see any benefit whatsoever from their savings? If people realise this (cue the Daily Mail well after the event) they will vote with their feet.

Back to Square 1 - the Pensions "black hole".

All the petition does is encourage a worthwhile system.

Part of the "benefit" of the NPSS is to reduce the liability to the taxpayer in respect of the cost of meeting pension credit to those that do nothing.

I wouldnt be surprised to see a phasing out of pension credit over the years.

Personally, I think everyone should be auto-enrolled with no opt out (unless occ sheme of equal or higher quality exists). If that means that some people will get less pension credit because they have had to pay for their own retirement, then so be it.

Better they pay for their own retirement than me or my children pay for theirs as well as our own.

villain

Ian_W wrote: »

It certainly looks very similar if you read the details ...
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ProperPensions/#detail

I still don't see where it proposes an end to Means Tested Benefit. Can you?

dunstonh wrote: »

Personally, I think everyone should be auto-enrolled with no opt out (unless occ sheme of equal or higher quality exists). If that means that some people will get less pension credit because they have had to pay for their own retirement, then so be it.

Better they pay for their own retirement than me or my children pay for theirs as well as our own.

So it's ok for the government to effectively dupe people into this? Who will pay when the compensation claims roll in as a result of this ill-conceived plan?

dunstonh

I'm not sure that people taking responsibility for funding their own retirement is an ill-conceived plan.

villain

I don't disagree. How would you react though if you were automatically enrolled in a savings plan that ultimately didn't benefit you at all?

Furthermore, if you were on a tight income, the contribution you made to such a plan were adding to your financial woes .Not everyone who is on a tight income is a career benefits claimant, BTW.

Hardly "Moneysaving", is it?

Ian_W

Villian wrote:

I still don't see where it proposes an end to Means Tested Benefit. Can you?

If you want to be disingenuous, no it doesn't propose it ....

The mass provision of means-tested benefits for retired people has the unfortunate effect of making pension savings unsuitable for millions of people in the workforce as the system penalises savers.