What I find hard to understand is that most people think the state pension is a benefit like unemployment benefit or child benefit. It isn't. I started work at 15 and worked for nigh on 45 years in which time I paid for my pension through the PAYE system - I had no choice to do otherwise as it was automatically taken from my wages. The resulting generous 'gift' for my contributions is less than 10k and one of the meanest state pensions in Western Europe.
Thank heaven that I also have a career pension which isn't that great and is - naturally - taxed - mustn't let the oiks have too much. When retirement comes be prepared to be seen as second class citizens who contribute nothing and dare to take money from the state.
What I find hard to understand is that most people think the state pension is a benefit like unemployment benefit or child benefit. It isn't. I started work at 15 and worked for nigh on 45 years in which time I paid for my pension through the PAYE system - I had no choice to do otherwise as it was automatically taken from my wages. The resulting generous 'gift' for my contributions is less than 10k and one of the meanest state pensions in Western Europe.
Totally agree with what you have written Allan, I too started work at fifteen on the grand sum of £5 a week fortunately accommodation/food was provided, working in a hotel and did not start paying taxes until I was 16 years old. However, my state pension is well below 10k and although I have my two company pensions they do not in any way bring in a good retirement sum. Firstly when working in haulage I had an accident which was not my fault but due to injuries I was off work for two and a half years operations and physio then forced into a career change and had a total of another three and a half years in retraining and temporary work so that was six years of lost company pension then was forced into voluntary redundancy due to my disability which again I lost yet another 3 years local authority pension which totals 9 years loss of private pension. True I get State Pension but not the full amount, even after paying 50 years into it as they have taken into account that when I transferred into SERPS I would be getting a big enough pension from my company. Like bl**dy hell I am!!
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
Nigel, If your shortfall in State pension is greater than the money you receive from the company pension you were in, whilst being "contracted out", then seek advice, as its a legal requirement that the pension provider makes up this shortfall. What happens if the company pension scheme goes bust, aka Robert Maxwell, I don't know, but its worth checking.
I was contracted out for 6 or 7 years and I receive a reduced State pension. I did hope that the new state pension would wipe the slate clean, as I turned 65 just after it started. No such luck! But on the other hand, the serps pension more than makes up for the shortfall. I was also lucky that the last company pension was a final salary scheme, which I was able to take when I was made redundant at 55. The year after I left, the scheme was changed to a stakeholder, with much reduced benefits.
Dale
Nigel, If your shortfall in State pension is greater than the money you receive from the company pension you were in, whilst being "contracted out", then seek advice, as its a legal requirement that the pension provider makes up this shortfall. What happens if the company pension scheme goes bust, aka Robert Maxwell, I don't know, but its worth checking.
I was contracted out for 6 or 7 years and I receive a reduced State pension. I did hope that the new state pension would wipe the slate clean, as I turned 65 just after it started. No such luck! But on the other hand, the serps pension more than makes up for the shortfall. I was also lucky that the last company pension was a final salary scheme, which I was able to take when I was made redundant at 55. The year after I left, the scheme was changed to a stakeholder, with much reduced benefits.
Dale
My late wife's pension fund went bust. In fact made to go bust when a certain caring financial firm put her company into administration. The people still working got their pensions, at a reduced pay out, paid for by us the taxpayer through the Financial Services Authority. Now I am a widower I will get some payments from them as well. By the way when the boss of this certain caring firm was asked about what they had done and didn't he owe any loyalty to his employees he stated no only to his shareholders. I hope to meet him one day.
Simon
'The trouble with the speed of light is it gets here too early in the morning!' Alfred. E. Neuman
Hi Dale, I don't really get that much from DHL (which is now my pension company) as I only worked for Tankfreight for a total of 11 years until my accident but what I have been able to find out is that all my contributions since I started paying tax at sixteen until the time I was pensioned off from Tankfreight had been transferred into SERPS, I think what I should have done was to have transferred the whole lot over to my local authority and had it added to that pension but at the time I was still getting an ill-health retirement from Tankfreight which was not much at all until I retired and then went up once I had hit 65 with what I had previously paid into before SERPS.
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
I was a few years into working at a paper converting factory when they started up a Serps scheme and I became contracted out. This continued until 1984 when I started a new job with the Co-op, when I became contracted back in. Staying that way until I took my pension 3 years ago. I am about £20 week short, but as I said the pension from the paper converter more than covers that.
I met my wife at the paper factory and she was in the same scheme. Again being contracted out from when she started 1980 until finishing work 6 years later to have our first daughter. A couple of years ago, she had a letter from Work and pensions, saying she was short on Nat ins payments, and that she would not get a full state pension, but could make up the payments over the next few years ( around £2500) we have made the payments so Wendy will get the full state pension.
7 years to go if they don't increase the age further.
Dale
I met my wife at the paper factory and she was in the same scheme. Again being contracted out from when she started 1980 until finishing work 6 years later to have our first daughter. A couple of years ago, she had a letter from Work and pensions, saying she was short on Nat ins payments, and that she would not get a full state pension, but could make up the payments over the next few years ( around £2500) we have made the payments so Wendy will get the full state pension.
Dale, if my thinking is right your wifes' pension should be credited with the time she stopped working to look after her child.
Thank for that Nigel. I will double check. We are waiting for a statement from Works and pensions after the last payment we made a few months ago. I am fairly sure we are only missing the 6 years whilst at Modo. Wendy didn't return to "proper" work until no2 daughter had started in secondary school (2001) and finished work altogether when her last employer went bust a couple of years ago
Dale
