Government access to pensions

geelamch

Is recent legislation to allow access to pensions a good thing?
In all honesty it won't affect me personally as I am db scheme however I see a trend towards people with pots £50000 and under intending to cash in / drawdown etc. I know the circumstances are different for all but that £40 -£50 extra could make a difference to their weekly budget.
Initially I thought people would be more cautious towards the spend now mentality.
The benefits associated with some of these pots can easily be blindsided by the thought of cash in the bank.

warwicktiger

Simple answer, no.

Thirty years in the finance industry in the UK, we all know that large numbers of the great British public will simply spend the fund quickly that was meant to keep them in their old age and expect the state to pick up the tab, but no matter, it will be the next generations problem.

kidmugsy

warwicktiger wrote: »

and expect the state to pick up the tab

The taxpayer, not "the state" - the state is a legal fiction: the taxpayer is a consumer whose consumption will be depressed by his having money coerced from him and lavished on the freel0aders.

warwicktiger

kidmugsy wrote: »

The taxpayer, not "the state" - the state is a legal fiction: the taxpayer is a consumer whose consumption will be depressed by his having money coerced from him and lavished on the freel0aders.

Quite right, "the state" has no money, only that which it calls tax on those who work or save.

nearlyrich

Having worked to ensure I have a pot of money in my retirement I can't see why I would just spend it stupidly in my retirement, some of us are quite sensible with money.

System

All good points, but what have they got to do with "Government access to pensions" ?

atush

nearlyrich wrote: »

Having worked to ensure I have a pot of money in my retirement I can't see why I would just spend it stupidly in my retirement, some of us are quite sensible with money.

And some want their pensions to give to their children, and to pay off their mtg.

Leaving nothing for retirement.

How do I know this? The daily questions about doing so?

boliston

atush wrote: »

And some want their pensions to give to their children, and to pay off their mtg.

Leaving nothing for retirement.

How do I know this? The daily questions about doing so?

Some people regard paying off their mortgage as a form of saving for retirement as they can then sell the property and use the proceeds to retire on, either by renting or down-sizing.

brewerdave

If annuity rates currently,were much higher then I'd agree that the new freedoms would be unecessary/potentially "disastrous"...but having looked at the relative monthly pittance that my 4 DC pensions would have given me, I'd much rather control the pot myself.

atush

boliston wrote: »

Some people regard paying off their mortgage as a form of saving for retirement as they can then sell the property and use the proceeds to retire on, either by renting or down-sizing.

Last I saw, you could sell your house w/o paying off a mtg?

At todays low rates, paying it off doesn't make sense. By all means, if they spiked again- then pay it off- with the money you have set aside from your pension.

princeofpounds

Freedom to manage your own assets is generally a good thing. But I do agree that in the case of pensions it's typically the case that a majority of people simply cannot plan for such long term liabilities effectively.


If I had been in charge, I would have done things differently, so that up to a certain minimum income it would have been been compulsory to buy an annuity or cap the annual drawdown. But anything over that minimum quite happy for people to do what they want with.