In thinking that I may never be allowed to retire.........

[whymumwhymum]

Have worked in public sector for nearly 20 years now and just saw in the news today that they are planning on keeping the pensions for my age group and under back until we are 66 ffs.

That was not what I signed up for when I decided to pay into the scheme!

Thats nearly another 30 years and tbh I don't think i'll survive in this job that long, and thats not taking into account that by the time I'm 50 or older they will probably have pushed the age back further.

I don't feel particularly ' lucky' to be a public sector worker, i worked and studied damn hard for years to get my now reasonably (not by any means highly) paid job. I will never ever get a bonus even if i do twice the 'reasonable' work, will also never get overtime payments. I'll never have a company car or private health care or any other perks.

Many's the night I've lain awake worrying about the people i get paid to look after .

The pension was the one thing that made it 'wothwhile' long term and i am losing faith that I will ever see it, in payments alone i calculat I will have paid in somehwre in the region of 100k over a working life of 45 years not accounting for inplation. Should have just saved the money or better still blown it on stuff I could actually enjoy before i'm six feet under!

66 isn't that old. I used to work in local government and would have been happy to keep going until then. I do intend to live until at least 100 though .

...we had to buy our own milk / tea / coffee and never had xmas parties paid for in the 7 years I was in local government.

I'm amazed at the antagonism shown towards private sector workers on this thread. It's like the OP and others think that when we're not busy rolling in piles of pound notes we're sitting behind our desks working out how to screw over the public sector workers.

As several others have said much more eloquently than I, few from our generation are going to have the retirement our grandparents or parents have. The money is simply not there. I have been saying for the last decade that I don't expect to retire before 70, if at all, so just better suck it up and plan for a second career when I get fed up/can't do my current one any more.

I already pay into a company pension scheme with no guarantee that I will see the money again. On top of that I am saving for retirement as I have no confidence in my pension scheme, need to save to support my parents as they get older as well as saving for my child's education. I'm sure most people on this thread are in the same boat.

Unfortunately public sector pensions are putting a huge additional drain on the finances of our country (and across most of the other EU countries too) and something somewhere has got to give. As has already been said, either reduce pensions/increase contributions or reduce headcount. There aren't a million and one solutions. OP, don't somehow think you're a special case, everyone, private or public sector, is in the same boat.

Yabu. Join the rest of the world. There is a myth that the public sector is the only sector not getting bonuses, overtime etc. I also only get statutory maternity benefits and will go back to work after
three months.

Oh it's a blast in the private sector too. I got made redundant in 2009, had to take a job paying less, less holidays, less pension. Looks like I'll be made redundant again. Never had any paid overtime and worked the weekend and every evening this week.

My aunt, my dad and my neighbour all got made redundant about the same time. All took ages to find a new job and have had to take something paying less.

mdowdall don't worry - nurses are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, stress of the job y'know. People who undertake shift work also have a shorter life span, so don't worry...you won't need to pay for me for thirty years.

Hopefully I'll try and make my retirement short and sweet for you .

'Cos I sure as hell won't be lifting patients, washing people etc when I'm 70.

mdowddall You have a cheek...

What I said was very relevant to the OPs comment...

The nature of threads is that each person will have something to add...a different perspective..and that conversation may take different dimensions.

So no need to be so rude!

There are plenty of low paid, back breaking shift work jobs in the private sector too, with no sick pay, pensions or perks. Why do people seem to think that is purely a public sector preserve?

I wonder how manual workers are going to cope..working until 66....

Forgot to mention that we will no doubt have to contribute towards the bail out of Greece and Spain - amounting to several billions!

Wonder how the Govt will find the money for that...and what will suffer next?! ponders

Thank you for the suggestion WAN. I will spend the last decade of my teaching career stoned, it will cut down on the physical pains, make me more mellow and less cantankerous and with any luck I won't even realise I'm having to work. I can also snore gently through all the new initiatives, Insets and staff meetings.
If I build up enough powerpoint resources, all I'll have to do is point and click and rubberstamp for marking.
Sorted.

Found my 60th birthday present.
www.seedsbongspipes.com/images/bongs-roor.jpg

yabu - sorry but why should I pay for you to be able to put your feet up for 20-odd years when I'll be collecting trolleys in Asda to get by?

The public sector will just have to fall into line with what everyone else gets. They pay in a tiny amount for the benefits and it is just not sustainable. I agree with expat this final salary nonsense is now seen as a right it is not realistic and is a relatively new thing. The public sector also get much better sick leave etc and in many cases because of unions they are untouchable in cases is misconduct or just down right laziness. I have seen this 1st hand. If you want a similar level of income in retirement then you need to save like mad and scrimp in the early years not expect the state to pay out at the level it has.

trixy we are discussing public sector pensions being affected...which is probably why people are discussing the impact to the aging public sector worker...as opposed to the private sector one (who may....or may not have to work until such an age).

I'm getting that you don't have much sympathy/empathy towards the public sector worker?

I wasnt been rude. Just pointing out after your post saying average public sector wage was 22k that two posts up I had quoted National Office for Stats saying it was over 23k.

dowdall you can use averages to describe anything you like but they don't always give a true picture. The Govt Dept I used to work in was staffed mainly with lower grades- mostly women. When the NMW came in a lot of staff had to have their wages increased because they earned below that level.

The maximum payscale for the clerical grade when I left there in 2009 was about £17k FT, and you had to have been in the job a long time to be on the max.

The Dept I'm in now has lots of higher grades because there are a lot of tech skills required in the job, so the payscales are higher (and it is mainly men). The higher grades do earn considerably more than everyone else, so this skews the average.

I'm 48 and I've been working since I was 16 yo. My mum retired at 65 and was quite able to do her job. She's now 71 and noticeably less fit/ frailer than she was. Do we really want people working till they drop, while fit young people are kept out of the workforce? It makes no sense at all.

My parents were both private sector & tool retirement in their 50s.

I'm public sector & my pension isn't final salary and aims for me to retire at 65 at the moment. I've been in this scheme for 14 years so it's not a new one. I'm currently on maternity leave on stat pay and returning to work soon on a pay cut and massive redundancies.oh and the compulsory car in my contract will now be funded by 28p a mile
Dh left the public sector last year after burning out and now has two
jobs at approx min wage both with much more perks than either of us have had. Mileage is double mine, free parking, his equipment is provided rather than buying his own.

ffs sausagesandmarmelade can you not see that this is all interlinked? What do you think pays for these public sector pensions? Go on, have a think.

So how do you think manual workers is the private sector are going to cope with having to work through all of their retirement because they have bugger all pension then sausages?

It is relevant because times are very tough for the private sector which creates the wealth to pay for the public sector. It seems grossly unfair for the public sector pensions to continue as they are when the private sector has seen pensions slashed.

Im losing patience with this thread. People are questioning the average wage figures quoted from the Office for National Statistics now. Far easier to listen to the emotive argument of one over-worked public sector nurse to try win your argument than look at the wider picture.

No we don't want people working till they drop....it's potentially dangerous (for one thing) and could adversely affect people's health. It's ridiculous.

People should have a choice....to retire at 60 if they want to....or work longer if they are fit enough to do so and are capable of effectively carrying out their work.

I have sympathy for our whole generation and our children's as we are all fucked when it comes to retirement. And everyone has every right to moan about it. But why should the section of society that is paid for by the private sector have their pension rights preserved when it doesn't apply to the rest of us?

sausagesandmarmelade - WHO AND WHAT IS GOING TO PAY FOR PEOPLE TO RETIRE AT 60?

I agree sausages, BUT IT IS JUST NOT AFFORDABLE!! For anyone in the private or public sector. The fact is people are living longer so we are ALL going to have to work longer.