TV Programme Looking For Pension People

MSE_Martin

The following is from the tonight with Trevor Mac Programme

Do you have a Sainsburys final salary/ defined benefit pension? Or is your pension with WH Smith, Marks & Spencer or British Airways? Or do you have a public sector pension perhaps with the NHS? or maybe you have a private pension that you bought off the shelf....if this is you, Tonight with Trevor McDonald would like to hear from you for a programme exploring the safety of pension schemes -

e-mail [email]Ross.Charnock@granadamedia.com [/email]

Pal

Trevor: "And now our report on pensions."

<Cue picture of weeping family.>

"This is the Smith family. Mr Smith worked for 39 years and lost his entire pension when his employer went bust. Let's watch pictures of his family crying for 20 minutes...."

"It is their daughter's birthday tomorrow, but the family is now so poor, she is unlikely to get any presents, apart from this second hand box her father found in a skip. He can't even afford to wrap it."

"Tomorrow the family dog is being put down as they can't afford dog food, and the cat has been put in a sack ready for a trip to the canal once the children are in bed."

<Cue pictures of crying children for five minutes.>

Trevor: "We'll be back after this break with more on the UK's pension crisis."

Milarky

Someone said that MPS have agreed to not discuss their very generous and copper-bottomed pension arrangements...

Why not suggest to Trevor that they do a programme lifting the lid on executive-type pension arrangements..

Does the Queen have an annuity? [is she even in the the state pension?] Would she [interesting question] be 'required' to comtirbute to a private pension should complusion be introduced [Huhh! bet they hadn't thought of that one!] ;D

Pal

I am not sure that Trevor could find enough sob stories to get the required footage of executives and their families crying into their cornflakes because of their pensions.

"When Mr F Cat was fired for almost collapsing the company he was running, he lost over £10m in potential stock options and lost almost half of the £8m of pension benefits he would have received had he been competant. He and his family have had to resort to putting down their dog while they go skiing for a month, rather than housing it in a kennel."

<Cue 10 minutes of little girl in ski-wear attempting to flush the dog down the toilet so that she can rush out the door to the airport.>

The Queen has been receiving an annuity since she was crowned. It is called "The Civil List".

dunstonh

Or what about some coverage of the forthcoming (2006) limits that are imposed on individuals making pension contributions. At least all individuals apart from Judges, MPS and top civil servents who are exempt.

Milarky

Or what about some coverage of the forthcoming (2006) limits that are imposed on individuals making pension contributions.   At least all individuals apart from Judges, MPS and top civil servants who are exempt.

...meaning the 'lifetime limit' of £1.5million I suppose? If they were limited in this way then their pensions could be more than 1/20th [£75,000] as I understand it?

Pal

I don't know the specifics but I think it is the annual £200,000 contribution limit that is unlimited for select groups of individuals, on the basis that they earn their pensions so fast that the value could increase at a rate that exceeds the annual limit. No doubt DD could confirm whether the £1.5m still applies.

In practice the £1.5m is not actually a limit, you just have to pay additional tax on pensions earned over that amount.