No pay rise? Blame the baby boomers' gilded pension pots

PlymouthMaid

The new pension came into my workplace last month and will hardly make any difference as 1% from me and 1% from my employer (going uo to 5% eventually) will only amount to a teeny tiny pot of beans over the 14 years til I retire. I can't actually afford that now really and am unlikely to get pay rises in the next few years to account for the rise in contributions given that we have only had about 2% over the past 4 years.

Aberdeenangarse

ruggedtoast wrote: »

There are boomers who retiring now who will still be living it up on their bumper inflation adjusted pensions when I retire, on a fraction of what they have awarded themselves.

Not all bad news then?

lessonlearned

ruggedtoast wrote: »

There are boomers who retiring now who will still be living it up on their bumper inflation adjusted pensions when I retire, on a fraction of what they have awarded themselves.

The point is that you are young enough to make provision and prepare for your retirement.

change your reading habits and start learning how to make the money you do have work for you. ...Learn about compound interest. If you are in your twenties and thirties now you have time on your side. Even if you have debt you can have time to clear it and start saving.

Read Mr Moneymoustache, The Rules of Wealth, The Millionaire Next Door - they are all good starting points. Look at Simple Living Blogs and embrace minimalism.

Start now and reap the benefits in years to come.......

I'm retired and I don't have a huge pension pot, my income is modest but I dress well, travel, run a car, have a small but comfortable home and eat like royalty - all on less than £10k a year.

It's about being creative and using your imagination, being thrifty and embracing the simple things in life.

You don't need a fortune - you just need knowledge, skills and imagination and a sense of adventure - something most Boomers have in abundance.

MPD

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

The new pension came into my workplace last month and will hardly make any difference as 1% from me and 1% from my employer (going uo to 5% eventually) will only amount to a teeny tiny pot of beans over the 14 years til I retire. I can't actually afford that now really and am unlikely to get pay rises in the next few years to account for the rise in contributions given that we have only had about 2% over the past 4 years.

Any chance of promotion, changing job or retraining?

CLAPTON

BobQ wrote: »

When I was a civil servant in the late 70s, the employer's contribution to the civil service pension was 7%. It has now risen as you say.

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/employers/employer-contribution-rates/

It is of particular value to the higher paid. Or to put it another way it is a good recruitment and retention aid when you chose to pay low salaries for professional level staff.

how does the employers' contribution make any difference?
the tax payers make the actual pension payments

Conrad

Bob Q got me thinking, my Dad died last year aged 70 from a condition caused by years of inhaling chemicals at work (when he was in his 20s and 30s) and his Father before died of very similar disease bought on buy work chemical inhalation in the RAF.

Yes in some ways they had it good, in others not. I would think today's youth would not be able to conceive how much tougher some aspects of life were.

Thrugelmir

Conrad wrote: »

Bob Q got me thinking, my Dad died last year aged 70 from a condition caused by years of inhaling chemicals at work (when he was in his 20s and 30s) and his Father before died of very similar disease bought on buy work chemical inhalation in the RAF.

Yes in some ways they had it good, in others not. I would think today's youth would not be able to conceive how much tougher some aspects of life were.

The thousands who worked in the munitions factories during WW2. Suffered all sorts of ailments. Not least the very real risk of losing a limb if what they were making detonated. People now sit in front of computer screens and holiday in the sun. Yet still complain endlessly about their lot. Little do they know.

BobQ

CLAPTON wrote: »

how does the employers' contribution make any difference?
the tax payers make the actual pension payments

Governments have always had an actuarial model for CS pensions in which they had a nominal employee and employer contribution. Governments took this one step further, deciding not to maintain an investment fund as a private sector firm had to do. They paid pensions from taxation. This worked well for years, they chose to pay CS less than the market rate and did not have the costs of administering huge fund. The employees had no choice in the matter.

So while strictly you are correct it is tax funded, it is fairer to say that Government has failed to set aside funding to pay CS pensions because they chose not to have a fund. Many private sector firms did a similar thing by failing to invest in corporate pension funds to reflect the liabilities they had.

chucknorris

ruggedtoast wrote: »

There are boomers who retiring now who will still be living it up on their bumper inflation adjusted pensions when I retire, on a fraction of what they have awarded themselves.

It shouldn't matter what other people have got! You should focus on what you want/need and plan your finances in order to achieve that goal, by spending less, earning more, investing more, or a combination of the above. One of my friends has far more wealth than I have, good luck to him, why should that bother me? Be thankful for what you have, and if it isn't enough for what you want or need, do something about it, other than whining on and on, like you always do. If someone has more than you, so what if they do?

chris_m

chucknorris wrote: »

It shouldn't matter what other people have got!

Is common sense allowed on this forum?