Pensions

[rosamundjohn]

I have paid more than 30 years contributions and now i not entitled to a pension until I am over 66!
I still keep paying! Am I stupid?
Promises not kept.
I will probably never get one. Comments please.
Yes born in 54!

[ubasses]

A lot will depend on the pension scheme you pay into.

[Sgt.Rock]

Promises broken left right and centre.Enough money in the pot to increase benefits by 5.2% even though the country is "broke".

[rosamundjohn]

benefits increasing by WHAT? You must be joking!

[Maydup]

Are you refering to NI payments Rosa or private pension?

I'm similar to you and feel like i'll never get a damn pension yet there is no choice about paying the NI. Private pension can be drawn earlier so we are slightly more in control of that but I do wonder if we should put the money under the mattress instead!

[Sgt.Rock]

You couldn't make it up, could you?

[welshlibranr]

it's a very sad joke!......they want us working till we die!.............will they!....I think not!...........

[Sgt.Rock]

They want us to die before we get a pension,helps reduce the deficit.

[barney15c]

One thing that sickens me are the number of economic migrants over here who can claim a state pension without ever putting a penny into the system!!!

[Old_Geezer]

Yes we are all stupid. Especially the goernment who insists keeping job positions filled with those who are due to retire, thus preventing the young unemployed from getting work, is a good idea. How and why does it society work out like this ?

[welshlibranr]

I'm with Sgt. Rock and barney on this one!.......it's disgusting, we have paid in for so many years, just to be told in a round about way that they don't want to give us a pension!.......they're hoping we die before we can claim, and make no mistake, lots of us will do just that!...........I'm appalled!..........

[lcg]

so does this mean everybody supports the strike tomorrow on behalf of nurses? we are the poorest paid front line staff, have demanding jobs (some of us do work hard, put in unpaid overtime and go 'the extra mile'), put up with unbelievable levels of abuse (today i got hit by a patient, sworn at, called a c*** etc.) and are also now expected to retire at 65 (and that will just keep going up and up!). does anybody really think that i'll be in any shape to be a mental health nurse on an acute ward (with 25+ very unwell patients) at that age and pay extraordinary amounts towards my pension out of my already paltry salary for the rest of my natural? no - most of you have already said here that it is getting unbearable...but please remember that is the reality for most of the workers going out tomorrow AND the first time that nurses have agreed to strike in a long time (even tho it's a god-given right others take for granted). no pay rise for two years, 1% for the next two....and we still get called selfish and irresponsible. i give up...

[welshlibranr]

Icg, I support you wholeheartedly!........I really appreciate how hard your job is!.........

[lcg]

thanks welsh....and that's just a normal day at the 'office'! sometimes it can get really interesting - like saturday when someone tried to burn the hospital down! x

[Maydup]

who's "god given right" to what lcg?

I'm not a public sector worker and therefore have none of the protections offered to them. Its time for a bit more equality. Equal pensions for all, thats what we should have.

[lcg]

the right to withdraw labour in protest...other public sectors have done this loads of times over the last few decades, but nurses (mostly the unions which represent them) have so far kept their heads in the sand about the crepe we've had to put up with. and those who work in the private sector get different pay/rights/conditions that reflect not being chained to the government (which isn't always such a great larf, really).

[Old_Geezer]

Equal basic government supplied pensions yes. Additional pension depend on what was agreed as part of your employment deal, and/or what you can started and contributed for yourself.

Waiting for folk to die doesn't do a lot to reduce the deficit. Unless the assumption is that you died earlier than you would otherwise. Whilst you are still around the government still pays out one thing, either welfare to another if they've misunderstood the situation, or pension to yourself if they saw the larger picture and did the right thing.

[venator]

The UK Government is running a glorious Ponzi scheme, pocketing NI contributions and paying pensions out of current income.

Private pension funds invest the money to produce income to pay pensions, and are subject to legal requirements to ensure there are sufficient funds.

If thr Government was a business, they would all be jailed.

And quite right too <]:-)

[lcg]

also, currently being a public sector worker, i don't feel i have much 'protection'. i am having to reapply for the job i have done for the last 9 years and others have already lost theirs due to being 'incompetent' (according to a weird interview process based on a 1 hour behavioural assessment) but not having any issues brought up in supervision/appraisal etc. over the course of their employment. my friend has lost her job because it is the only one available in a 'reshuffle' that is being allocated to a pregnant woman - god forbid her own rights, but we musn't sack someone who is pregnant and has lost their job because the unit she works in is closing. everybody is losing their jobs/pensions/pay...and we're no different. i'm just mystified as to how my trust are getting away with such flagrant disregard for their employees and their rights. we are not happy bunnies...

[annie0000]

lgc - nurses the poorest paid front line workers? I beg to differ, do you know what an ambulance care assistant gets paid??? ...even then, I am sure there are other front line staff that get paid less, home care assistants perhaps?

[Old_Geezer]

I'm unsure the comparison with a Ponzi scheme is really justified. In a Ponzi scheme you have to keep getting more & more folk convinced to invest in order to pay the existing investors. But for the country it's not like there is a choice and one might find no investors, we all have to pay taxes whether we like it or not. The important issue is that at any point in time those generating wealth generate enough to cover the present costs. Naturally it's nice if there is a large kitty having been built up over the years, so there is some flexibility in the system, but one can manage without it. And besides, collect money in advance and invest it, and it may be lost before it is needed to cover the bills.