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

marlot

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.

A very wise woman once advised not think of the people who have more than us, but instead to think of those who have less, and what we can do for them.

There will always be people who get more money than you. Whether they are people who were fortunate enough to have a DB pension, or people who work in a very lucrative field like banking or who had a talent like football.

I've been a lot happier since I stopped comparing myself with everyone else, and just got on with living. I have a schoolfriend who gets paid several million a year, and another who is probably on £20k. The friend on the higher wage has more choices and an extravagant lifestyle. Doesn't actually make him any happier though.

chucknorris

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.

The thing is though, even though it isn't much, it is still free money from your employer being paid into your pension, and your employer's contribution will eventually increase to 5%, that is a reasonable amount. I think the new pensions are a very good idea, especially if it wakes some people up to investing for their future. It seems to have woken you up enough to realise that currently your pension contributions won't add up to that much, so it has at least got you thinking about your income in retirement, which everyone should be doing.

PlymouthMaid

"any chance of promotion, retraining or changing job" ... fair questions but on the whole no, not really. I am already a qualified teacher, am almost 53 and there are few jobs around here to apply for and none that pay more really in my field I am in a professional role already but there is no actual promotion to be had and in my small company payrises are seriously thin on the ground. I dont think retraining is really an option at my age aside from the fact that there is no way I could afford it. To be honest down here there seem to be very few jobs to apply for which pay more unless you are something like a nuclear scientist.

Sapphire

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

I dont think retraining is really an option at my age

I know someone who was a graphic designer for many years (in book publishing). In her early fifties she decided to do a degree relevant to counselling (while she was still working). That took several years. She now has two jobs simultaneously in her profession, one as a teacher and the other as a counsellor (to individuals), and has more than enough work to occupy her.

I don't think you are actually ever too old to learn. You just need to have enough drive and enthusiasm for a subject to start up things on your own initiative if you want to change careers.

PlymouthMaid

I agree you are never too old to learn but I am not aware of any lucrative careers I could train for after work (would have to be cheap or free and not too taxing as my job is exhausting enough already - am pretty brain dead after teaching all day) which would pay more than I get now and take me on when aged over 55 as a newbie. I look at job ads regularly and don't really see any jobs which I could actually train as an improvement as they are all pretty much in the same league as where I am already.

Anyway, don't want to derail the thread entirely but it is an interesting question - what are the well paid careers an older person should try to get into which are crying out for workers and so worth retraning in?

chucknorris

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

I agree you are never too old to learn but I am not aware of any careers I could train for after work (would have to be cheap or free and not too taxing as my job is exhausting enough already - am pretty brain dead after teaching all day) which would pay more than I get now and take me on when aged over 55 as a newbie. I look at job ads regularly and don't really see any jobs which I could actually train as an improvement as they are all pretty much in the same league as where I am already.

Are you not eligible to join the TPS? (teachers pension scheme for the benefit of those that don't know).

PlymouthMaid

No, was in TPS when I worked briefly in schools, than as a supply teacher was not allowed to contribute to it and now work for a private training agency. I have a tiny pot in the TPS.

MPD

Teaching would seem a way to a reasonable pension but I can understand very well if you don't want to go down that route again.

How about a support role in a school, you could get something around 20-25k and would be eligible to join the LGPS in most cases. 10 years of that would be guaranteed £4.5k pa with CPI uprating. Add that to TPS and state pension and that should be a reasonable amount.

PlymouthMaid

Thanks all - thing is I do still teach and like to think I am good at at but, unless in a school, with the pension etc, the pay is so poor. TA jobs don't pay as much as 20-25K as the are term time only and it would be hard to be 'support' when normally the teacher. I used to be a TA before my teacher training so also have a tiny local gov pension. Anyway, sorry to turn the thread into a 'me show' - just wanted to make the point really that a person can be pretty well qualified and in a responsible job but still not have a decent pension as the 'work harder at school and do well' argument isn't always right.

Sapphire

PlymouthMaid wrote: »

just wanted to make the point really that a person can be pretty well qualified and in a responsible job but still not have a decent pension as the 'work harder at school and do well' argument isn't always right.

That's true. Sometimes people opt for professions they find interesting (and perhaps have a vocation for), like some in publishing and in the academic world. However, often the most interesting professions don't have good pension provisions, unless you are at the top, when the job can become somewhat less interesting. In my case, I kept being jumped up and started to go into the corporate side of things at senior managerial level when a company I was working for became bigger. :eek: I skipped off that course pretty sharpish, swapping it for freelance work plus studies.