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siegfried

I am now 62 and have been reading this forum for a year or two, greatly enjoying the diversity of the subject matter and the opinions of all our fellow users. And gosh, what a lot I've learned from it ! So, thanks to all of you.

Now, I've noticed that some correspondents are relatively youthful in terms of anno domini (although obviously mature beyond their years) and wondered idly what they are doing here.
When I was young, the subject of pensions was seldom a matter for discussion - I was far too busy living for the present, which fortunately involved unconsciously building up assets as a by product. Admittedly I was seduced (along with people far cleverer than me) by the smooth talking Equitable Life salesman (you know who you are, you B**st***!) who explained that quite a modest appropriation of my salary would enable me to play golf every day from age 50 until the grim reaper put my clubs in the furnace. So of course I subscribed to that idea, knowing that it was 20 years away and not really in any foreseeable future.
But I think it is rather sad that some of the youthful readers of this forum appear to hate their jobs so much that they are desperate to get out of them as soon as possible - to do what ? Enjoy a life of sybaritic hedonism in the sunshine in a far off Arcadia? Some of you have about 40 years of "the present" to live your lives before they become "the past".
As a father, I think it is highly commendable that young people should be mindful of the future. I also think that worrying too much about it when you are young can overtake the joy of actually living for the present. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we don't know what the future holds for any of us, and the lesson of Equitable Life should be that it is impossible to control our futures when there are forces so much greater than ourselves at work.

I suppose that my point is, that the people who tell you how important it is to plan for your retirement as early as possible are also the people who stand to gain most from getting your money in their hands nice and early - and they won't be losing as much as you will when it all goes t*ts up.


Your mileage might vary... and I'm expecting to be blasted for this.

Your old cynical friend,
Siegfried

UsernameAlreadyExists

A big fat +1 for the hatred of FAs & IFAs

kidmugsy

siegfried wrote: »

and the lesson of Equitable Life should be that it is impossible to control our futures when there are forces so much greater than ourselves at work.

I'm afraid that the lesson of Eq Life was nothing so profound. It was that a fine, old company can be ruined if a bunch of foolish and reckless salesmen take command.

uk1

kidmugsy wrote: »

I'm afraid that the lesson of Eq Life was nothing so profound. It was that a fine, old company can be ruined if a bunch of foolish and reckless salesmen take command.

....... and when they were running top range new Mercedes ......

dunstonh

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

A big fat +1 for the hatred of FAs & IFAs

The fact you hate me and other valuable contributors to this board despite never meeting them is a sad reflection of your personality.

I'm afraid that the lesson of Eq Life was nothing so profound. It was that a fine, old company can be ruined if a bunch of foolish and reckless salesmen take command.

I disagree. A lot came from it. Indeed, thanks to Eq Life and the changes that followed, the insurers were largely able to come through the credit crunch without the solvency problems that the banks had.

Eq Life may have been a fine, old company but it wasn't the people sales reps or advisers that caused it to fail. It was miscalculation by the management of that not-so-fine company. Also, a good proportion of Eq Life business was execution only/direct to provider. They actively targeted accountants and solicitors who had their own agencies to put business through (it was a time when that was still possible) and bypass advisers. Many of those accountants and solicitors bought Eq Life products via that method and encouraged their clients to. Therefore bypassing advisers. The company wanted to buy business by offering terms it failed to have the money to meet.

The management largely got away with it (as so often happens across all sectors of business) but it did lead to changes for the better.

I suppose that my point is, that the people who tell you how important it is to plan for your retirement as early as possible are also the people who stand to gain most from getting your money in their hands nice and early - and they won't be losing as much as you will when it all goes t*ts up.

So, do nothing and be worse off when it doesnt go tits up.

mania112

So your message is don't save for retirement?

siegfried

[The management largely got away with it (as so often happens across all sectors of business) but it did lead to changes for the better.]

But you might understand why the losers might be a bit sour about it all.



[So, do nothing and be worse off when it doesnt go tits up.]

Not at all. Nobody mentioned doing nothing.

jamesd

There are two excellent reasons to start retirement planning as early as you can:

1. Employer pension contributions. Pay in enough to get them and you get a big gain that you lose out on if you wait.
2. Compound growth, so the earlier you start, the less you need to put in to get to any final income target.

jem16

siegfried wrote: »

I suppose that my point is, that the people who tell you how important it is to plan for your retirement as early as possible are also the people who stand to gain most from getting your money in their hands nice and early - and they won't be losing as much as you will when it all goes t*ts up.

I started paying into my Teachers' Pension Scheme at the age of 21 and I'm so glad I made that decision.

I have and will continue to tell anyone who posts on this forum how important it is to plan for their retirement as early as possible. I stand to gain absolutely nothing from anyone who follows my "advice". However I am sure that they will gain more than they will lose.

hugheskevi

Now, I've noticed that some correspondents are relatively youthful in terms of anno domini (although obviously mature beyond their years) and wondered idly what they are doing here.

I guess I'm one of the younger folk, though not posted so much as of late.

I enjoy chit-chat about pensions, having worked in pensions in one way or another for a decade now. Good to help folk where possible, but best is debating things with people who understand pensions but may have different perspectives.

But I think it is rather sad that some of the youthful readers of this forum appear to hate their jobs so much that they are desperate to get out of them as soon as possible - to do what ?

I don't hate my job, but I certainly aim to stop working at a very young age. In my case it is to continue travelling where I left off 6 years ago. That will account for the first 5 years. Then I'll probably return to UK and work in a 'lifestyle' job, which for me will probably be with animals in one way or another - either voluntary work or at a much reduced wage compared to now.

On top of that will be a number of pets (not viable due to work at the moment), probably indulge my card-playing habits, and enjoy cycling and swimming at quiet times of the day (rather than swimming at peak hours when pool crowded and cycling to commute which is just a battle).

Incidentally, a pension is just part of the plan - housing, inheritance, redundancy, and ISAs are likely to play a part. The pensions are just one of a number of tools, nothing much special about them.

I also think that worrying too much about it when you are young can overtake the joy of actually living for the present.

Worrying is different to planning. Generally, the more planning you do, the less worrying you do.

I suppose that my point is, that the people who tell you how important it is to plan for your retirement as early as possible are also the people who stand to gain most from getting your money in their hands nice and early - and they won't be losing as much as you will when it all goes t*ts up.

Depends on aims and ambitions. One of the best returning strategies for retirement is "spend it all and rent" - ensuring maximum return from Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. But many will prefer to smooth their consumption, for which planning will help immensely.

kidmugsy

[QUOTE=dunstonh;60738075
I disagree. A lot came from it. Indeed, thanks to Eq Life and the changes that followed, the insurers were largely able to come through the credit crunch without the solvency problems that the banks had.

Eq Life may have been a fine, old company but it wasn't the people sales reps or advisers that caused it to fail. It was miscalculation by the management of that not-so-fine company.

[/QUOTE]

It's not often that you miss the point twice, Dunstonh. One of my points was exactly that the management were to blame, as "take command" might have told you. When the fools should have been thinking like actuaries they were thinking like salesmen.

My other point was that there was no lesson as profound as "... there are forces so much greater than ourselves at work". The forces were all too much like ourselves, the lessons not profound but entirely commonplace.