To think the old style pensions should be capped.

[Blindering]

ok, I am in Ireland so unaware of how UK pensions function but my neighbour who worked as a college lecturer but retired in 2008 in his 70s gets 600 euro a week in pension, equivalent to 513 stg.
This is on top of a 150k pay off he got when he left the job which I believe all civil servants here were getting.

But aibu to think a bachelor living in a house with the mortgage long paid off has no need for over 500stg a week? Like what would one need the money for at that stage in life?

@Pixxie7

What I don’t get OP is you are talking about the old state pension which on paper is less that the new state pension.

She's talking about a private pension that her neighbour paid in to all his working life

@Davros

then how come massive amounts of the younger generations can't afford their own house? What is this obsession with owning a house? It is not a human right you know. And all these 70+ year olds you know without mortgages and all the younger people you know who have managed to buy property - where do you think that is going in the end? It's going to the generations below. There are many more "inheritors" than there used to be from my observation (sadly not me)

Exactly @davros. Owning a home isn’t a right and many earlier generations with final salary pensions had lower % owning their home than now. All the studies compare the boomers to later generations, they don’t take into account the fact that for most working class, home ownership never happened before the boomer generation. The boomers were an outlier being unusually prosperous because it was a post war period of economic boom.

In addition, the housing crisis and high housing costs in the U.K. have nothing to do with pensions. The thread is being derailed into a comparison between two generations - a very lucky one and a not so lucky, but still not very unlucky one.

A pension is a legal contract that a government or a company makes with a worker. It is part of a worker's wages. It is not a good idea to invite governments to break contracts they make with citizens.

his generation got all the cheap housing here.

Probably wasn't cheap when he bought it.

In 30 years your house will be 'cheap' in relation to the house prices then (unless the market collapses).

his generation got all the cheap housing here.

There it iss.

None of your business whst his contract specified as his pension. Plenty of people have final salary schemes from former years.

You sound jealous and bitter and ageist

I've not read the whole thread but I sort of get OPs point. My father was an academic as am I. The reality is that he did get the final salary scheme which I as a contributing member of the USS am paying for at the moment. The problem in the UK is that since 2010 academic salaries have essentially stalled plus our pension contribution is fixed at 9%. So am basically having to pay in at quite a high rate to fund older academics' final salary schemes. Unfortunately, seeing as our pension scheme keeps changing, I actually have absolutely no idea what I will get at the end of it as it's based on defined benfit rather than defined contribution.

So personally - yes, I am annoyed at the current retired academics. Because essentially their generation has been protected but ours those in our 30s/40s are a bit screwed to be honest.

A lot of civil service scheme used to be defined benefits - which have been honoured. It's not linked to how much you've actually put into the system. My father didnt start contirbuting to his uni's pension pot till he was in his mid40s but still got final salary. Defined benefits also means that I have no idea what my actual defined benefit will be when i retired in 30 years time as they keep changing it

Somebody's private pension is none of your business.

Owning your own home matters more now due to the absence of social housing. If you are privately renting and trying to raise a family you face the constant underlying worry that your landlord could decide to sell his flat at any point, leaving you scrambling to find somewhere suitable in your price range, near your kids schools / brownies / friends etc. In the 1980s we had council housing, where you could rent secure in the knowledge that you weren’t going to be turfed out at short notice. It is not unacceptable to expect that if you work hard at school, go to uni, get professional careers that at some point you could afford a 3 bed place with garden in an ok school catchment area. This is no longer attainable in a lot of the UK which is why people are moaning.

@2478dhfbbs

I've not read the whole thread but I sort of get OPs point. My father was an academic as am I. The reality is that he did get the final salary scheme which I as a contributing member of the USS am paying for at the moment. The problem in the UK is that since 2010 academic salaries have essentially stalled plus our pension contribution is fixed at 9%. So am basically having to pay in at quite a high rate to fund older academics' final salary schemes. Unfortunately, seeing as our pension scheme keeps changing, I actually have absolutely no idea what I will get at the end of it as it's based on defined benfit rather than defined contribution.

So personally - yes, I am annoyed at the current retired academics. Because essentially their generation has been protected but ours those in our 30s/40s are a bit screwed to be honest.

A lot of civil service scheme used to be defined benefits - which have been honoured. It's not linked to how much you've actually put into the system. My father didnt start contirbuting to his uni's pension pot till he was in his mid40s but still got final salary. Defined benefits also means that I have no idea what my actual defined benefit will be when i retired in 30 years time as they keep changing it

I had a quick look at the USS scheme - it's currently 95% funded so current contributions aren't going straight out to retirees at all.

@StatisticallyChallenged I know that. And perhaps for me this is more of a personal gripe because my dad basically got a really good deal out of the scheme has not contributed all that much whereas we didn't. Plus when it comes to civil service/academic salaries they have really stalled since he's retired. But am constantly being told how they don't get why my generation is so pissed off at the world while essentially they live in a very expensive house with a really nice pension and we struggle. In addition, it annoys me that I dont really know what my own pension set up is going to be when I leave.

''Probably wasn't cheap when he bought it.

In 30 years your house will be 'cheap' in relation to the house prices then (unless the market collapses).''

no he bought in the 70s when it was 3 times your wage.yes interest rates were higher but the house was still much cheaper and the comparison is still massive but I am sure somebody will come along and dispute this, tell the younger generation to stop being bitter or to stop spending on the latest gadgets and trips to Hawaii.

''I've not read the whole thread but I sort of get OPs point. ''

then prepare to be slaughtered xx

Meanwhile the same posters think that landlords are fair game for being ''greedy'' and should be hung but the older generation who worked so hard must be revered.

People who received good pensions are not responsible for what is happening now.

Do people really not understand that?!

It is not unacceptable to expect that if you work hard at school, go to uni, get professional careers that at some point you could afford a 3 bed place with garden in an ok school catchment area. This is no longer attainable in a lot of the UK which is why people are moaning

It must be attainable or nobody would be buying those houses. This summer the houses you describe were being snapped up at prices over asking as soon as they went on the market. Someone’s buying them.

You cannot change pension rules (or tax rules) retrospectively. Just imagine trying to administer it...

When in the private sector I paid the maximum possible from when I started work aged 21 into my DC pensions; now I have rolled them all up into one SIPP and I manage this for growth, as I still have 15+ years until I hope to draw from it.

Now in the public sector I have a career average pension, calculated annually, which to my mind is absurdly generous - however I pay a relatively large % in (but still get vastly more out in return as and when I come to claim it). But I get paid about 30% less in public than I would in private, for doing the same job.

All pensions are taxed based on the income tax rules prevailing at the time. Some of the benefits e.g. winter fuel, free TV license could be removed for those earning over £x (or else an equivalent tax charge applied through HMRC based on ages and thresholds).

However, to penalise someone (other than through normal income tax thresholds) because they have made the decision to prioritise pension contributions over and above other financial decisions is ridiculous.

Those 'old people' could be donating their 'excess income' to charity, their children / grandchildren, the local dogs' home etc etc (gifts out of income are entirely allowable and not taken into account for IHT or care purposes). They could also be saving that 'excess income' against their future care needs, to avoid this cost being paid for by the government.

Everyone should have a basic financial education at school and continuing to ensure that they actually understand how pensions work and the different types available, in addition to the range of state benefits, which are completely different.

''Somebody's private pension is none of your business.''

again he paid into it because he could afford to with his high wages paid by the govt and yes in Ireland govt pay college lecturers, he was state paid, he said himself.

Younger generations don't have his chance but you know fuck the younger generation as long as the older ones are fine.xx

''They could also be saving that 'excess income' against their future care needs, to avoid this cost being paid for by the government.''

and despite mumsnet's obsession with care the stats show the vast majority of people in uk never need care.

[quote 2478dhfbbs]@StatisticallyChallenged I know that. And perhaps for me this is more of a personal gripe because my dad basically got a really good deal out of the scheme has not contributed all that much whereas we didn't. Plus when it comes to civil service/academic salaries they have really stalled since he's retired. But am constantly being told how they don't get why my generation is so pissed off at the world while essentially they live in a very expensive house with a really nice pension and we struggle. In addition, it annoys me that I dont really know what my own pension set up is going to be when I leave.[/quote]
Sorry, when you said "The reality is that he did get the final salary scheme which I as a contributing member of the USS am paying for at the moment." it sounded like you thought your contributions were paying his pension. A few others have said similar things and for most cases it's not accurate so thought it was worth mentioning

I'm your generation btw, so I get the pissed off feeling. No change of any sort of DB scheme for me, it's all down to stock market performance!

I don't think it helps when people come out with the "we scrimped and saved to buy" type chat because for a lot of younger people the scrimping is basically pointless - house prices and deposit requirements are accelerating faster than their salaries or ability to save. No amount of avocado ditching will help that in many cases.

''People who received good pensions are not responsible for what is happening now.

Do people really not understand that?!''

yes they are as it is deluded to think those getting 500 a week paid into it all, that's inaccurate as other posters pointed out.

again he paid into it because he could afford to with his high wages paid by the govt and yes in Ireland govt pay college lecturers, he was state paid, he said himself.

But that's not his fault. He was paid to do a job and while doing that job he paid into a pension. Which he is now accessing. 🤷🏼‍♀️

''It must be attainable or nobody would be buying those houses. This summer the houses you describe were being snapped up at prices over asking as soon as they went on the market. Someone’s buying them.''

the other potters means for the majority it is not attainable.

The tone of your post is incredibly ageist. One day you'll be old yourself, if you're lucky, and somebody may have the same dismissive attitude towards you.

''But that's not his fault. He was paid to do a job and while doing that job he paid into a pension. Which he is now accessing. 🤷🏼‍♀️''

and yet umpteen posts on this thread said the young generation have years to save like him too which I am saying is complete bullshit.

it is deluded to think those getting 500 a week paid into it all, that's inaccurate as other posters pointed out

You really don’t understand how pension funds and investment work, do you?

''The tone of your post is incredibly ageist. One day you'll be old yourself, if you're lucky, and somebody may have the same dismissive attitude towards you.''

but when I am old my old counterparts and myself will not have the 3 bed houses in the suburbs, many will be still renting and few will have good pensions no matter how hard we saved.