to give up paying into my pension

[laurageordie]

It seems like the rates on return have really gone down. Just had a statement through and it says if I carry on paying into it till I'm 65 and it does averagely well then I will get 3000 a year. Ffs it is impossible to live off that today let alone in 30 odd years time. I earn about the average and put away 5% a month

I would stop paying in, I don't think they will do away with the state pension but I think it will be means tested so anything you get from a private pension will be taken off what you get for the state pension so you will be no better off.

Thanks LilMissSunshine. I contacted them yesterday and it appears pension companies can change the terms and conditions.

That doesn't mean I should sit by and accept it though, I'm not that type of person. As a matter of principle I feel they should honour their side of the agreement unless they can prove that I had notification (and understood it).

"I think it will be means tested so anything you get from a private pension will be taken off what you get for the state pension so you will be no better off"

Perhaps you are right, but what you are describing is 100% opposite to what the government has announced.

Good idea to contact the pension advisory service.

No-one knows what will happen with the state pension esp if you are like me at 30yrs old who knows what type of world we will be living in in 30yrs times so much could change.

I for one have decided not to plan for my retirement factoring in that there will be no state help, that way is one still exists then bonus but if it does not then I will not have to worry. There is already talk in the media/national press that under 35s now should plan retirement with state pension. The Government will never admit it until it is too late.

I am not here to scare anyone but its best to err on the side of caution.

So you are not planning on their being no state help? You assume there will be or did you mean to say the opposite?

These posts get more ridiculous by the page. Pensions are now more attractive than they have ever been. If you pay higher rate tax then they have become almost a no brainer.

Think very hard before you stop paying into a pension.

I am planning my retirement on the assumption that there will be no state help when I retire - that way if that does happen OR the state pension is significantly reduced than I am in a position where I do not have to worry.

However if their still is a decent state pension then I will live that bit more comfortably.

I am just cynical about it because of my mum's situation where she is out of work due to an accident at work and gets no help from the state despite paying her NI for over 30yrs (she is not at retirement age yet either). She cannot go to the job centre to get help finding a job (she is now better and able to work) because she is not collecting jobseekers allowance but despite filling in forms she has been rejected. We have appealed alot but to no effect.

So this is what has influenced my retirement plans.

If you pay LOWER rate tax then are they still a no brainer?
I personally feel they are a good thing, so I am planning to pay more into it so my resulting pension is higher than currently predicted.

still a bargain, and, even better, if you pay NO tax, e.g. you are unemployed, you still get a tax rebate of 20% (up to a low annual limit)

You pay in £2928 and it turns into £3660
(the figures change from time to time)

Personally I wouldn't plan my future on the basis that state pensions will be means tested so you're better off not bothering. Nobody knows what will happen with the state pension 30 or 40 years down the line, that's true. But it could get better or worse, means tested or not, etc etc. Personally I think long term it will get worse unless demographics change. But you're in a better position if you have your own pension as backup than if you don't.

I think we all agree it is wise to save for old age. I don't think doing it through a pension is the best thing for many people but I know that is not the view of a lot of people so each person must take their own decision about that.

The changes in pension rules will ensure people take their money and spend it if there is not much in the pension pot rather than buy a small annuity. They are a very strange change and are almost anti pension. They are like the state saying - pensions don't work at the very time the state is saying you're in auto enrolment (except the very many self employed) unless you opt out.

I think the change is more likely to encourage people to save without feeling they are restricted to buying an annuity which are perceived as poor value -whether accurate or not. I suspect they feel that saving is better than not, and are probably hoping that it will encourage insurance providers to come up with "better " products.