pensions....

whitewash

whitewash

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on this happy burns night im sat watching some program on tv about busted pensions and how they all go tits up

basically im very wary of them, dont really understand pensions and all i hear about is systems failing and leaving people without pensions.


i get a company contributed pension from work at the moment, the company pay 2% in (the best part of **** all on their part...) and we can if we want to contribute ourselves. its an investment (i think) pension with friends provident. however i dont really plan to be at my work for anything like the next 2 years let alone until they pension me off

would i be wiser just to get a bank account and pay something like £40 a month into it, at a high interest and leave it there to acrue as much interest as possible and have this alongside any pension i end up with to top up my income when im wetting myself and walking slowly.


so really i have 3 options-
a) contribute myself to the friends provident scheme to top up what my company puts in
b) high interest bank account
c) shoot myself aged 65, 70 or whatever the pensionable age is when i get there.


if someone could explain how pensions work (state, private etc) that would also be great.


jamie
 
whitewash said:
on this happy burns night im sat watching some program on tv about busted pensions and how they all go tits up

basically im very wary of them, dont really understand pensions and all i hear about is systems failing and leaving people without pensions.


i get a company contributed pension from work at the moment, the company pay 2% in (the best part of **** all on their part...) and we can if we want to contribute ourselves. its an investment (i think) pension with friends provident. however i dont really plan to be at my work for anything like the next 2 years let alone until they pension me off

would i be wiser just to get a bank account and pay something like £40 a month into it, at a high interest and leave it there to acrue as much interest as possible and have this alongside any pension i end up with to top up my income when im wetting myself and walking slowly.


so really i have 3 options-
a) contribute myself to the friends provident scheme to top up what my company puts in
b) high interest bank account
c) shoot myself aged 65, 70 or whatever the pensionable age is when i get there.


if someone could explain how pensions work (state, private etc) that would also be great.


jamie
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Worked for the Benefits Agency for years. Your state pension is made up of your national insurance contributions that you pay throughout your working life. You dont get back what you pay in - sort of pro-rata. You get back a percentage of what you paid, albeit within the realms of what the current UK pension rate is when you start to get payment.

Far too many variables to predict what you may get now, as you never know what may happen, what the pension age is, if you contribute effectively till retirement age etc.

As for the chestnut of the government getting rid of. Cant ever see that happening. If they did, they would have to think about aboloshing NI on your wage and they will never ever ever do that....if they attempt to get rid of them then I would expect poll tax riots on a massive scale.

Pete.
 
in school general studies and PSE should be used to teach people more about finances, i really dont have a clue about finances in the slightest, luckily my mums clued up as otherwise id be screwed.


instead they teach you all about nothing in these lessons when instead they could be teaching you all about how to survive!
 
I paid a fair chunk of my monthly salary into a company pension for 15years, while I was paying into it, the company was matching it so all was well and had things ambled along at the rate they were i'd have had a decent payout come the day.

BUT........

The pension scheme has been closed :( all the old managers on huge contracts have jumped ship and taken their wedge leaving less money in the pot. The closing statement of the plan was worth 5k a year when I retire in 3 decades time.

Pensions annoy me, the Govt. wants you to join one and save for your retirement, but they also allow and participate in the plundering of the funds.....gits!!
 
There is an option (d)

Spend the lot.

Retire

Sell the house

Spend that

Burn your passport & all ID papers

Get a bus to Dover

Put on a 'strange' accent

Claim asylum

get a house from the goverment

get money from the goverment until they kick you out or until you die .


I'm going for option (d) :D
 
Diego Garcia said:
As for the chestnut of the government getting rid of. Cant ever see that happening. If they did, they would have to think about aboloshing NI on your wage and they will never ever ever do that....if they attempt to get rid of them then I would expect poll tax riots on a massive scale.

Pete.
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It's not a case of getting rid of, more like not having enough to go round. State pensions are liable to be worthless in the future as the amount will be too small. Our government has done away with the upper limit for NI so contributions will always increase but our government would rather waste the money or give it away.
Were you aware they are giving £400Million to Pakistan to make the country a better place. You can be assured they haven't raised that money by having a whip round on the Back benches.
I'd love to know where all our taxes are going. The government introduces more and more stealth taxes but we are no better off.
A sizeable portion of money spent on the NHS ends up as contractors profits.
I'd like to emigrate, any recommendations where my money will be my money without any thieving taxmen trying to get hold of it. The taxman and taxation is a very sore subject with me at the moment.

Back on topic I'm fortunate that my employer has a very good pension scheme, well for longer service employees anyway. people who've started in the past few years have to contribute more to get similar payments to myself.

I'd seek professional independant advice if I were you. My Dad was given investment advice when he retired and with the lump sum he took from his works pension he made a lot of money through his investments. Sadly my Dad has now passed away and it looks like the tax man could be getting himself a nice tidy sum to waste. I think if my Dad had realised how much the taxman was going to be getting his hands on it would have killed him alot sooner.
 
First rule of saving - put it where the government can't touch it. :)

If you haven't used your ISA allowance this year (£3000 for a cash mini-ISA), the best rate at the moment is 5.8% (guaranteed 0.55% above Bank of England rate until April 2008) tax free with National Savings and Investments. You need £1000 opening deposit though. You get another £3000 allowance in April (new tax year 2007-2008).

If you stick your £40 into a normal bank account, then the government gets 22% (basic rate) of the interest earned. If you insist, then probably ICESAVE (Icelandic Bank) is the highest rate instant access savings account at the moment at 5.7% (that I know of, there could be higher rate savings account out there and if you know of one, please share).

The "attractive" thing about pensions is that you get to claim back your tax paid on it. So for every 78p you pay into a pension, the government pays 22p in for you. Basically, that's like 22% interest... sort of. :clap: Or if you're a higher rate payer, then every 60p you put in will get a 40p donation from the government. Problem is, most people don't know what the hell their pension plan is doing with their money! My company has switched to Norwich Union and we are able to select our own investment funds and stuff, but that sounds like it's going to be disaster in my hands! 2% from your company is really quite rubbish I'm afraid.

Finally, moneysavingexpert.com is your best friend. :) Especially the "Savings and Investments" section.
 
Just when you think it isn't possible for Gordon Brown to trash personal pensions any more - he goes and dreams up another rape and pillage scheme. This corrupt and deceitful government will tell people they should save more and be responsible for their own future (didn't Maggie get slated for telling us this?) whilst putting into place mechanisms to mug the responsible and thrifty.

Don't expect any meaningful help from the state - and expect to work way beyond 65. Unless, that is, you are in the fortunate position of being able to put away £10k plus per year from your late twenties.

My advice would be to find multiple streams of income. A conventional personal pension, other forms of investment including property and be prepared to work in some capacity later in life.

Or you can find a form of 'work' that is easy, fun, very rewarding and can be continued long into your retirement. Look in my sig for my own personal 'pension'. ;)

Have a nice day and don't let the politicians get you down.
 
Sad thing about personal pensions...

Unless the fund does fantastically well (4+% above inflation compound), and unless you pay in for over 30 years (unlikely again these days), then the future value figure when adjusted for inflation means -

If you want a pension of equivalent of £100 a week in today's money, you need to put away £100 a week now

If the fund does do well AND you pay in for above 35 years, 40 better, you may double your money - i.e. pay in £100 a week now, get £200 (adjusted) a week after age 65

Crap isn't it.

I work with IFAs and a couple of years ago was told that for a £30,000pa pension, a pension fund would need to have over £750,000 in it!!!!!!!!! That takes some saving

Basic advice seems to be to put in as much as you can afford and buy property (preferably several of) if at all possible

Or,

Smoke like a chimney, drink like a fish and perhaps you won't last long enough to be a OAP pauper
 
The good thing about the personal pension funds is that even if the company goes under the money is still yours and they can't touch it. My company matches me up to 8% so that is what I put in. Plus I have a couple other investment funds with a bit higher risk that will hopefully pan out in the next 20 years or so. The only thing I can tell you is that at least you don't have to worry about health care like the Americans. Not only do they have crap pensions but they have to pay for health care on top as Medicare is paying less and less especially as far as medicines is concerned. Doesn't really help you but it does let you know that others are worse off!
 
kamion said:
First rule of saving - put it where the government can't touch it. :)
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that would be under my bed then.... or in a jam jar in the cupboard!


i fully intend to emigrate anyway, im ****ing sick of this country, as english people we have a government that is attempting to **** us as hard and fast as possible and any rights we have as "english" are being deminished. i want to go somewhere else, canada looks good, but i dunno what it like financially!
 
A personal pension is your money and you can take it with you if you swap jobs or just freeze it when you get another company pension.

At the last count I think I had 7 frozen ones plus the current one in which the company puts in 4% net and I put in another 6.5% gross.


It may sound a good idea to but property, unless you retire just as the market crashes as in the 80's.

Also you government pension will be paid to you if you emigrate to certain countrys. You get 2 pension from the government, Old Aged Pension and State Earnings Related Pension. Everyone get Old Aged Pension but only workers who have paid in via NI get SERPs.




As for Gordon Brown the Pension Pincher, well say no more. There is a black hole in pensions because Brown has so far stolen £60 BILLION out of company and private pensions
 
hes a **** isnt he.....

no way do i want brown as the PM, hes so out of touch with reality.... just like blair and the torys to boot!


TS-064XL.GIF
 
Heh heh! I prefer this one which is very popular in the equine community.....


nebbshir.jpg
 
Youre right Colin.....here is one of my shots from a year or so ago!

Huntshirt.jpg
 
whiteflyer said:
As for Gordon Brown the Pension Pincher, well say no more. There is a black hole in pensions because Brown has so far stolen £60 BILLION out of company and private pensions
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Brown is thieving everything and still wants more. The threshold before you have to pay Inheritance tax should be at £450,000, but the government haven't increased it along with inflation or taken into account the average price of houses. The 40% income tax band should be around £45,000 but this hasn't been raised along with inflation thus trapping more people into the 40% tax band. The abolishment of the maximum payable on NI contributions has meant we all have to try to earn more just so that we can have the same amount of money at the end of the week or month.
Brown latest quest for more money is that there is currently approximately £400Million unclaimed in bank accounts. Funnily enough the same amount he is giving away to Pakistan. Why.
I'm seriously considering emigrating now.
 
I had/have a personal pension with a company called Abbey Life, they went bust a few years ago now but my pension is safe. I cannot contribute to it any more but the money I have paid in is in seperate funds and continues to grow (thankfully).

Oddly enough I'm considering joining my current employers pansion fund atmo, still checking it out though.
 
nilagin said:
Brown latest quest for more money is that there is currently approximately £400Million unclaimed in bank accounts. .
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I wonder what will happen when some far off relative of mine dies and I do a house clearance and find a 50 year bank book that I have inherited. Who will give me the money Brown or the Bank, because it will be MY money.

The unclaimed bank accounts belong to somebody somewhere and not to that ****** Brown.

On another note I guess this will only apply to English bank accounts and not Scottish or Welsh ones.
 
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