Why do posters here have disproportionately higher than average pension funds...

strawb_shortcake

I've not known anyone travel 1st class for years, some flights may be premium economy where someone is expected to get off an 8 hour flight, and drive straight to a meeting so hardly glam. And yes we too have take economy even if a higher class comes out cheaper as it wouldn't pass the daily mail/doris test.
I've been approached to apply for a job in the private sector, same level but £11k more per year. My line manager was offered about £18k extra for a similar role again in the private sector. Pick the right company and you can get a decent pension to boot.

But a lot of us have loyalty to the department, we love our jobs and the work we do, how we help and support the country in ways not many will ever give a second thought to or how it some things just happen. We take the pay knowing we could be paid more elsewhere (though I'm pretty content with my pay). We take the constant flack from the Mail and the Dorises of the world as we know we actually do a good job as do our "customers", and most of us know and appreciate we have decent pensions.

thickasabrick

doris540 said:

They say the truth hurts enjoy your smug l "Im alrite jack" retirement ......................oh and ive got a life thanks for asking as a matter of interest can you tell us how much in percentage your employer contributes towards your pension so we can get a clearer picture .

If you want a similar level of income at retirement as a civil servant or teacher, then you need to contribute a similar percentage of your income during your working life in the private sector. It has nothing to do with gold plated pensions provided by the taxpayer, as they only exist in your head.
Looking at the current civil service pension contributions for this year on an average salary of say £29,600
Employee 5.45% Employer 27.1%
Assuming that 10% of the employers contribution is going towards current liabilities (government budgeting and spending is NOT the same as individuals and corporate). 
That gives a target contribution of 22.55% for people in the private sector.  That is very achievable. 3% employer, 5 % employee net wage a month £1,882.15, 3% employer  19.55% employee net wage a month £1595.03 , a difference of £287.12 per month. That's a massive £482.23 contribution a month (£676.79 if you add in HMRC and employer).  
The Which article "How much will you need to retire?" estimates a couple needs to save £352 a month from age 30 if they have no pensions savings for a comfortable retirement so I think if you were hitting the 22.55% then you would have a luxurious retirement.

Anonymous101

kangoora said:

Whilst I agree to an extent that local government pensions are a form of compensation for accepting lower pay I think it is disingenuous to accept this as a rule across the country. There are large swathes of the country where local government salaries are on a par, if not outright better, than 'most' private sector salaries with approximately the same responsibilities/roles. Maybe in the London/Southern Counties/South East bubble this isn't the case but I'd hazard a guess that anyone working in Local Government above say, Birmingham, that the LG salaries are reasonably comparable to their private sector counterparts (excluding specific affluent areas possibly e.g. Manchester?). You could also probably exclude people employed by 'National' companies who have reasonably defined pay scales wherever you live.

I spent a year working on a contract for an LG in NE England and was seriously thinking of applying for some of the internal vacancies that I got to see due to me seeing the salaries as 'on par' for similar roles in the local area. I eventually got a job with BT (that also has standardised pay scales for roles across the country) and did do a lot better. However, I was hugely better off financially earning £60k+ with BT in North Yorkshire than my peers living in Maidenhead on the same salary (even just looking at mortgage costs alone). The London Weighting allowance does not even come close to equalising costs between London and cheaper areas of the country.

Similarly, teachers in London are probably not THAT well paid at circa £35k after some annual increments compared to jobs in that area they could reasonably have expected to have done if they'd chosen a different career path. However, a teacher on a similar salary in North Yorkshire is actually doing pretty well when compared to the local jobs market.

Having lower pay and higher pension is a great argument where people are lower paid than their private counterparts but doesn't wash in areas where the differential is not so pronounced. Note I have no idea how to 'fix' this, just pointing out the anomaly.

I agree there's huge variance over the country and its difficult to come up with a straightforward system which would iron out all the regional factors. I'd group local government / nhs / public services in with your national employers. I don't think its their responsibility to ensure "fair" pay across the country. They pay what they determine they have to labour market dictating?

Perhaps is unfair of me to place all the responsibility of choice at the feet of the employee's? I believe that everyone should take responsibility for their own position. The information on incomes and pensions etc is readily available and everything in life is a trade off. If the jobs market locally isn't as good as elsewhere then there's a simple choice. Either move, accept the market locally or perhaps even start your own enterprise to provide what you need? 

shinytop

When I was working in the private sector I used to 'face off' to people in the public sector who had similar jobs and responsibilities. We knew what they were paid since civil service pay is published. I'd say we were earning 25-35% more than they were; more than enough to make up the pensions disparity.     

davidr1964

At my public sector organisation, we are not allowed to go first class by rail - even when the price is cheaper than second class.

And we have been unable to fly within the UK for several years. This now means the ferry to Northern Ireland if I had to go there.

Silvertabby

davidr1964 said:

At my public sector organisation, we are not allowed to go first class by rail - even when the price is cheaper than second class.

And we have been unable to fly within the UK for several years. This now means the ferry to Northern Ireland if I had to go there.

The last time I flew in the RAF was in the back of a Herc.  The only loo was a portapotty, behind a canvas screen - and I had been forewarned that aircrew liked to play a joke on female passengers by throwing the aircraft into a steep bank when they knew one of us was on the loo.  The trick was to hang on tight and grip the canvas between your boots, to stop it from flying up. 

davidr1964

Blimey. Sounds awful.

Silvertabby

davidr1964 said:

Blimey. Sounds awful.

Well, we were on a duty-free run to Germany (aka training flight) so the rewards were good !

ratechaser

doris540 said:

Nice to see that there are guidelines as to who can travel first class ........................give me strength as in international travel and such Shouldnt these be rules rather than guidelines 

In the interests of balance, I shall be enjoying my comfortable privately funded retirement without making recourse to anything other than my state pension, if I'm spared that long. Yet I will be flying in economy this weekend. 

(Because business class travel within Europe is pants when you have airline status anyway. Hopefully that doesn't invalidate my point too much  )

Nice thread hijack by the way...

TBC15

Silvertabby said:

davidr1964 said:

At my public sector organisation, we are not allowed to go first class by rail - even when the price is cheaper than second class.

And we have been unable to fly within the UK for several years. This now means the ferry to Northern Ireland if I had to go there.

The last time I flew in the RAF was in the back of a Herc.  The only loo was a portapotty, behind a canvas screen - and I had been forewarned that aircrew liked to play a joke on female passengers by throwing the aircraft into a steep bank when they knew one of us was on the loo.  The trick was to hang on tight and grip the canvas between your boots, to stop it from flying up. 

You must have been pre cling film gag.