The Chancellor

Curious_Moose

Eck wrote: »

I didn't say he was stupid, and i wholly agree with what you have said in your post.

Sure. I wasn't quoting you as such! I think we both came to the conclusion separately that he is smarmy

exil

However the drop in values in pension funds is largely illusory and only partly due to tax changes - the valuation methods used 10 years ago used unrealistic assumptions about longevity, salary rises, future share movements, interest rates, inflation etc. The US started the flight from final salary schemes and we are (as usual) following suit. Difficult to blame Brown for that.

bedfontbob

Good Morning all,
How do you feel about the Pension Mis management by Gordon Brown?:mad: :mad: :mad:
He was told by his own people thet a tax raid on pensions 10 years ago would cost savers TENS OF BILLIONS, but like Gordon Brown he went ahead with it and low and behold today millions of peoples pensions have severly lost value.
Why can't we claim against Gordon Brown like thousands of people have done with the banks over Bank Charges and Mortgage exit fees, That would be pure people power to the highest degree.
Does anybody agree with me
Come on Martin, you are the only person I can think of that could handle this challenge for the good of the common man/woman

:money: :j :money: :j :money:
I hope this is the right place to post this

EdInvestor

The Government already subsidizes company and private pensions to the tune of around 35bn pounds a year through tax and NI relief.

Almost all of this goes to the best paid 50% of the population.

Yet there are 3m households eligible for means-tested pension credits because they are so poor.

Critics may not have noticed that Brown has put the age allowance for everyone up to almost 10k a year from around 2010-11. So everyone will be entitled to 10k's worth of tax free pension income a year from then on, 3k more per year than now, a rise of almost 50%.

Plus you will only need 30 years of contributions to get the full basic state pension, instead of 39 or 44. PLUS the state pension will be re-linked to earnings.

Is the pension system now better and fairer than it was 10 years ago?

You betcha. Thanks to Gordon Brown.

wotsthat

Why can't we claim against Gordon Brown like thousands of people have done with the banks over Bank Charges and Mortgage exit fees

Because there is no indication that he has done anything unlawful - I think you'll find it's his job to raise taxes and allocate where those taxes are to be spent.

I don't quite see what's new here except that there's evidence that he was told it would make some people worse off - he must receive similar advice whenever a tax is increased. It's his job to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision.

I like your reference to bank charges and exit fees. As someone who has tried, with success, to avoid bank charges I'm very impressed at the campaign since I can now wave goodbye to my free bank account. I've recently changed my mortgage as well - my how those arrangement fees have increased!

Does anybody agree with me

Plenty I'm sure but not me.

Dazza.mk_2

EdInvestor wrote: »

Critics may not have noticed that Brown has put the age allowance for everyone up to almost 10k a year from around 2010-11. So everyone will be entitled to 10k's worth of tax free pension income a year from then on

of course if you take into effect the impact of Inflation (particularly Council Tax Inflation!) that won't be worth quite so much, and of course if you cross the threshold your initial Tax Rate will be 20% rather than the current 10% Gee he's such a nice guy ;->

dealornodeal_3

bedfontbob wrote: »

Good Morning all,
How do you feel about the Pension Mis management by Gordon Brown?:mad: :mad: :mad:
He was told by his own people thet a tax raid on pensions 10 years ago would cost savers TENS OF BILLIONS, but like Gordon Brown he went ahead with it and low and behold today millions of peoples pensions have severly lost value.
Why can't we claim against Gordon Brown like thousands of people have done with the banks over Bank Charges and Mortgage exit fees, That would be pure people power to the highest degree.
Does anybody agree with me
Come on Martin, you are the only person I can think of that could handle this challenge for the good of the common man/woman

:money: :j :money: :j :money:
I hope this is the right place to post this

Yes I 100% agree with you!

Andy_L

Assuming that a new government was to restore the ACT rebate does anybody think that companies would reopen or start FS schemes on similiar terms (ie 1/60th or 1/80th + 3x lum sum plus rpi increases) rather than stick with the cheaper DC schemes they now offer (if at all)

BigBelly

I don't agree with tax credits for personal pensions. I much prefer to save for my retirement through ISAs which, while not attracting tax relief, mean you can withdraw from the ISA whenever you want without having to take drawdown or buy an annuity (which are taxed). The pension age keeps rising so who knows what it will be at your retirement.

Paul_Herring

EdInvestor wrote:

The Government already subsidizes company and private pensions to the tune of around 35bn pounds a year through tax and NI relief.

BigBelly wrote:

I much prefer to save for my retirement through ISAs which, while not attracting tax relief

I wish people would stop calling tax deferral "tax releif." I'll probably be paying tax on my pension.

And I'm not expecting to be allowed to withdraw 25% TFC when it comes to starting my pension, so please don't mention that either.