Saturday, Jan 26, 2008
Here we go again! We will die on poverty!
FT: UK company pension schemes in £15bn reversal
Yet again the money purchase pension schemes, that so many of us depend upon, are heading for trouble. Still rest assured Gordon pension is safe!! Or is it? Should we not start demanding that MP pensions be changed from the inflation proofed, final salary scheme, to a money purchase scheme? This would then make the MP behave in a sensible manner. Of course we will also have to limit their pay rise to CPI (not RPI) and limit their expense claims to say 10,000 quid/annum! Oh and Gordon I have not forgotten that to date you have stolen 100billion quid from the pension funds!
Posted by who stole my pension? @ 06:55 AM (464 views) Add Comment
11 Comments
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1. lvmreader said...
And yet our PM and former Chancellor couldn't see this coming?
2. Northern Lad said...
New Liebour...who voted them in???????
3. su said...
"Oh and Gordon I have not forgotten that to date you have stolen 100billion quid from the pension funds!"
Apologies for my ignorance - When and how did this happen?
4. bystander said...
"The National Association of Pension Funds said that the average scheme was now 55 per cent invested in equities, down from 60 per cent in 2006 and 61 per cent in 2005."
How much have these schemes pumped into housing, rather tha equities, over the past few years? Looks like the pension schemes either way are looking more and more fragile - will GB and Darling dip their hands into the british taxpayers pockets to bail this missmanagement out?
5. who stole my pension? said...
Su see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1596819.ece for an explanation. It was a stealth tax! They often quote 5billion per annum however, this stealth tax has been going for so many years now that the cost is over 100billion total.
6. drewster said...
As the stockmarket and wider economy continue to stumble, a lot of people's dreams of early retirement will vanish too. Somehow we've been led to believe that if we all saved enough in our pensions then we could all retire early. However more savings push down the average returns. This means people can't retire as early or with as much income as planned. The bottom line is that we'll all have to work for longer, just as they do in Japan.
7. enuii said...
Drewster, a lot of people hopes of any sort of comfortable retirement will go up in smoke especially when you look at the return on annuities, this is partly what stoked BTL.
Anyone know what the next 'boost yer pension quick' scheme will be?
8. su said...
wsmp. Wow, that is pretty heavy! No wonder you guys don't like GB. Why on earth did TB let him remain chancellor for so long?
9. Will said...
@su: Apologies for my ignorance - When and how did this happen?
Labour changed the rules on pension dividend payments, probably amongst other things. Hardly stealing, as they now resemble the rules on non-pension holdings (you get taxed on cash earnings). Before the system was skewed in favour of paying out large dividends (avoiding tax), now the skew doesn't exist for shares with large pension holdings.
Clearly it has made a difference to pension holdings, but when the rule changed people knew. To wait 10 years and then look around like they didn't realise is just moronic. Shares go up and down. People/companies under contribute to pensions. That is life. They never take responsibility themselves, someone else is always to blame.
Yes, the taxes could have come from somewhere else, but getting tax relief on pension holdings at point of entry (which advantages the richer more) should really be enough for anyone. It is one of the best investments you could ever make, assuming you have enough money. The real scandals are some of the people that run these funds, charging huge fees every year and generally investing hugely in asset bubbles (thus the huge swings from surplus to deficit, seemingly every year).
10. jack c said...
Have a look at this link - www.gordonclown.com/category/pensions/
11. su said...
Thanks Jack C. You and WSMP have given me a lot to think about.