http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... nsion.html


It is intriguing that the report does not look at why they cannot save, High debts, high property prices and low incomes for many.

Not to mention the ever so worrysome scandals surrounding private pensions, and that phrase “the value of your investment can go down as well as up”.

when i retire i will have someone look at my entitlements
to ensure that i claim everything that i am entitled to

thats not spongeing (after 50+ years worth of work) thats common sense ...

At the age of 34, I have just started a pension. So hopefully that's 35 years of work left to fill it, and as kids are looking unlikely, I'll have to be self-supporting. Either that or I'm going to have to win the lottery, or be eaten by a lion.

That has been a big factor in why many opted to speculate in property to fund their pensions and now those dreams look even fainter.

One of the biggest factors was GB's smash and grab raid on pension funds thus leading to the demise of the final salary scheme.

I have a pension, which I'm still paying into. I may have to stop it if things don't pick up soon.

One problem is people don't seem to learn to save. In a consumer-led society, the pressures to buy stuff all the time are immense, to get a new car, to buy fancy furniture and unnecessary electronics, to go on expensive holidays and so on. Most people are generally living beyond their income to some extent or other.

I was brought up that if I wanted something, I had to save for it. When I had a decent job, I was saving getting on for £400 a month, because I could, and because I could afford to buy nice stuff with the money I'd saved. I've only ever had a couple of loans in my entire life. I can't afford a mortgage (though luckily, Best Beloved has paid his off so I don't want for a roof over my head). I use my credit card sparingly, and only if I know I can afford to pay the thing off each month in full.

I guess I am a very strange person in this modern world.

I'm one of the luck few who still has a final salary pension, but given that I've still got a few years left, that could all change....

Totally agree

People could if they wanted to save into a pension BUt they would rather have the new TV, PHone, Car, Holiday

I have always looked at the pension being offered when looking for a job. If the company did not have a good pension scheme then I would thik twice about taking a job or want a big pay rise so that I would put a min of 10% of my income to one side. I started my Pension at 21 and have made sure I have kept it up ever since

That was a big one but probably not the biggest. There were a lot of raids on pension funds under Maggie. The biggest one was the limiting of pension fund surpluses to 5%. This could be done through either increased benefits or mandatory pension holidays. Guess which route everyone took? This boosted corporate profits substantially and also gave the government a huge tax windfall. Then add in the pension fund industries excessive fees and poor returns and egregiously optimistic forecasts. These were essential in encouraging people to save which they would not have done if they had known the truth.

Theres a large pinch of that IMO. Basically a lot of the people who are getting into their 50's now were sold an utter pup and are finding that their pension fund managers seem to have made more money out of their pensions than they have. And their kids are looking at what happened to them and thinking 'sod that, I'll have a nice time now thanks'.

Seriously how do you convince someone whose parents had their pension with the Prudential that taking out a private pension scheme is a good idea?

Jon

My parents poured money into their pension and are now about to start taking them. When I look at what they put in compared to what they're getting out, it doesn't tempt me.

I suscribed to my company pension scheme

+1

Pensions are the biggest con ever, my dad had two private pensions (one with the Pru, another with I'm not sure who). He retired about three years ago but the pittance he gets out of them is quite laughable, he may as well have not bothered. I'm 36 and have no pension, though I do save regularly and put the maximum amount I can into a Cash ISA each year, not that it's earning any interest at the moment - in a way, I'm treating that as my pension fund and once it's in there it's not coming out.

I could afford to start a pension, but I just don't trust the pension industry, and I suspect I'm not alone in that opinion.

If I want to buy something, then I save up for it, nothing I "own" is on credit - it's all bought and paid for. That might seem very old fashioned these days, but it's how I was brought up. Not that I don't like to buy the odd luxury item now and then, but I suppose I'm lucky in that I have no dependents and no mortgage - only the rent and bills to worry about.

I've decided my business is my pension and my capital. Any money I make I shall invest myself. Hard to do much of a worse job than some pension providers.