Protecting pensions

WYSPECIAL

Scrudgy said:

Albermarle said:

MrE1 said:

Thrugelmir, the question before regarded if pensions could be insured, but in default of no insurance possible I'm asking if there's a bookie who may accept a bet instead.

If you found a bookie who would lay the bet ( which I presume would be impossible  ) , how would you ensure they were still around when you went to pick up your 'winnings ' ?

I feel this way about funeral plans, who’s to say that business will still be trading in 10-20 years. Are these funeral plans indemnified somehow?

Depends who you take them out with. Be careful who you choose and expect legislation soon.

MrE1

Thanks for the reassurance and comments everyone. I may be overthinking the risks.

Albermarle

WYSPECIAL said:

Scrudgy said:

Albermarle said:

MrE1 said:

Thrugelmir, the question before regarded if pensions could be insured, but in default of no insurance possible I'm asking if there's a bookie who may accept a bet instead.

If you found a bookie who would lay the bet ( which I presume would be impossible  ) , how would you ensure they were still around when you went to pick up your 'winnings ' ?

I feel this way about funeral plans, who’s to say that business will still be trading in 10-20 years. Are these funeral plans indemnified somehow?

Depends who you take them out with. Be careful who you choose and expect legislation soon.

There is a current shake up/new regulation of this sector .

Funeral plans | FCA

dunstonh

MrE1 said:

Thanks for the reassurance and comments everyone. I may be overthinking the risks.

what risks are worrying you?  That bit is still unclear

Thrugelmir

Nebulous2 said:

JoeCrystal said:

Thrugelmir said:

You've asked a similar question before

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6327907/pension-insurance#latest

I would actually argue that LGPS is the safest pension scheme in the country due to their sheer size across the country, their ability to maintain their contributions from their councils and the fact overall, they are pretty much almost 100% funded. Amazing what you can do with actually well funded DB pension schemes really.

Easy to do, if you can convince an employer to contribute what can be North of 20% of salary.......

That % has much to do with funding existing liabilities. 

MrE1

dunstonh said:

MrE1 said:

Thanks for the reassurance and comments everyone. I may be overthinking the risks.

what risks are worrying you?  That bit is still unclear

Dunstonh, my main concern is the government may continue to put the pension age up and up (eg i may never get it if they pushed the pension age up to lets say 85) or change things. Central government has proved themselves to be untrustworthy over the last few years.

Albermarle

Which pension age are you talking about ?

Both the state pension age and the private pension age when you can take it, are creeping up , approx in tandem.
This due to increased life expectancy and in both cases there is a lot of advance warning , transition periods etc .

I think increases in life expectancy are slowing down, so I find it difficult to see the state pension going above 70 and private pension at 60 in the foreseeable future . 

You should base your future plans on realistic assumptions, not on super pessimistic worst case scenarios .

dunstonh

Dunstonh, my main concern is the government may continue to put the pension age up and up (eg i may never get it if they pushed the pension age up to lets say 85) or change things.

If they pushed the minimum personal/occupational age up to 85 then it would mean the state pension age would be 95.    So, that is highly unrealistic.

The current flight path has the state pension age going to 68 between  2044 and 2046.   The expectation is that the personal/occupational minimum age will go to 58 with that.      It is also expected that the change to 68 will be brought forward.  Probably around 7 years.   However, there are no plans to increase it further.

Life expectancy increases have stalled in recent years and actually gone backwards.   That is a factor in the state pension age with each 5 year review.

The average retirement age in the UK is 63.     Very few people can retire in their 50s.    If your planning is on track to retire in your 50s, then you should be using multiple tax wrappers, such as S&S ISA.      So, rather than trying to find someone to bet that the state pension age goes up nearly 30 years in your lifetime, you may be better off focusing on your retirement plan instead.

Albermarle

The average retirement age in the UK is 63.     Very few people can retire in their 50s

Although retiring in your early 50's is more of a dream than a reality for the large majority , I would have thought a reasonable % of people can retire OK in their late Fifties , especially if they have a lowish spend lifestyle or are very well off or get made redundant ?

Nebulous2

Thrugelmir said:

Nebulous2 said:

JoeCrystal said:

Thrugelmir said:

You've asked a similar question before

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6327907/pension-insurance#latest

I would actually argue that LGPS is the safest pension scheme in the country due to their sheer size across the country, their ability to maintain their contributions from their councils and the fact overall, they are pretty much almost 100% funded. Amazing what you can do with actually well funded DB pension schemes really.

Easy to do, if you can convince an employer to contribute what can be North of 20% of salary.......

That % has much to do with funding existing liabilities. 

They will always be funding existing liabilities. They have to keep their money in bonds to pay existing pensioners, they revalue every three years, and if the market has moved against them then the liabilities will have increased, so the contribution from employers will increase.