Reform of Public Pension

[ladylush]

Knew it was coming but what do we think of the proposals?

1. Raising employee contributions
2. Raising retirement age from 60 (e.g nurses) to 65
3. Altering final salary schemes - talk of hybrid scheme
4. Capping pensions below £50k

lego - I dont understand your logic.

Pensions and wages are begining to fall all over the world. To stay competitive, pensions and wages have to fall in all countries at the same rate (adjusting for currency). The job you do, makes no difference. If all pensions and wages fall say 25% then all jobs would still have the same relative value and you would carry on doing it as long as it exceeded the value of the benefits you could get - and those will fall as well. Therefore there is no reason to stop working.

If the pension and wage of only your job fell then of course you would go and look for a higher paying job.

Has everyone done the email the Gov about suggestions to save money in public sector? Doubt they'll listen to logic but worth a go.

Will link later from computer unless anyone beats me to it

Fedup - by my calculation, the salary restriction for a Cdr on the top pay band is £512 already pre tax, assuming the salary restriction is 8%, which I think it was the last time I attended an AFPRB visit.

Dh has 3.5 years to go before he has to leave. I would be happy for him to stay in, if they raised the retirement age in line with the RAF and the Army, but the RN gets shafted again.

Sorry - that is £512 per month towards the pension; we can't do another £300 as we are saving for ds at Uni and to be debt free by the time dh retires.

lego I agree with your sentiments - that's exactly how I feel. I am a mental health nurse with 15 years continuous service in the NHS (though could only afford to start paying into the pension when I qualified in 2002). Imo the pension formed part of the terms and conditions of my employment when I accepted the job offer. I knew I'd never be paid loads, wouldn't get rises (not worth much after tax and usually staggered anyway), had to put up with being screwed over by Agenda for Change...........but the prospect of a pension at the end of it was a bit of a motivator. What will be the draw for public sector nursing/teaching jobs etc. when there is no financial incentive whatsoever? The pension in equivalent jobs may be poor but the pay is much better.
hester sorry to hear about your situation My friend is a civil servant and is worried as well, though she is not the main earner cos she works part-time. It must be very stressful for you. Hope things work out ok.
I agree that some people seem to be taking a perverse pleasure in seeing private sector workers suffer. Nice
Sharon I agree - how could you continue in a job like that for more than 30 years? I don't really want to be rolling around on the floor (trying to restrain) with a psychotic violent man either when I'm pushing 60 let alone beyond that. In fact, I don't much enjoy it now But I accept it is part of the job. There aren't really desk jobs for nurses so feck knows what they'll expect of us when we hit 60 and still have to work.

I hope when Samantha Cameron has her baby on the NHS she gets some elderly midwife in her 60s who can't afford to retire and has bad arthirtis in her knees. So if Sam Cam wants an active birth she'll be told she can't have one as the m/w can't kneel and she'll be told to get on her back on the bed.

Unfortunately it won't happen as midwives that age at the moment are in a good final salary pension. I started my NHS career in May 2008 and missed out on a final salary scheme by 6 weeks.

I won't get a state pension till I'm 68, God knows how crap my nhs pension will be by then. How can I do such a physically demanding job at 68?

The pay for a newly qualfied midwife is worse that the pay stacking the shelves at Tesco on a night shift. I always thought a decent pension scheme was one of the perks of a not so decent wage.

Do you really think Sam Cam will have her baby in an NHS hospital? If she does, I bet she'll be a private patient.

I'm not sure that private versus public sniping is helpful to anyone; at the end of the day, most people are working hard in each sector to earn a decent wage and have a decent standard of living, both now and in retirement.

The sad thing is that the demise of all final salary defined benefit schemes seems to be inevitable, with private companies and the government all seeking to reduce the long-term risk inherent in such a system. Private and public sectors are supportig each other in this, by making the same unpopular changes at a time of surplus labour in the market i.e. when they can get away with it.

The scary thing is that both private and public sector employees and employer are contributing pretty miserable amounts into defined contribution pensions schemes across the board, which could never hope to approach the final salary scheme levels that they are replaing. The standard of living to which we've become accustomed just ain't going to be there for many of us in old age...

I think people forget that public servants do just that - serve the public. I work with some brilliant people, very clever mainly from Cambridge. I am sure they could have made a fortune in the private sector but chose instead to serve their country. I do really believe that.

I on the other hand am not near as clever but i have worked in the public sector for 20 years and have certainly served this country.

nymphadora - I completed a Nursing Times survey. If you find the link you mention I'll do that one as well.

spending challenge

I do think that Sam Cam will have her baby on the NHS as there would be an outcry otherwise. Saying that she won't exactly get the real experience, she will have an allocated m/w for a/n care, one to one care in labour, consultant on standby, etc. No hanging about in waiting rooms for an hour while clinics overun etc.

Well then Stripey - she may as well be a private patient

Nymphadora - thanks for link. Will do it later today.

stripey - that is the level of care DW got in the Chelsea & Westminster 10 years ago on the NHS. Depending on medical history it is possible.

I had one to one in labour and a consultant on standby, and an allocated m/w, in Cornwall in 1995 on the NHS.

Echoing Scary here - I've had excellent care on the NHS, although my ante-natal has been a bit patchy this time around but I'm not so bothered because it's my third.

I've had a private room each time, two elective ceasarians, and the same consultant for all three pregnancies. No complaints here.

I had my last baby in 2005 - private room with own bathroon and kitchen, midwife who delivered teh baby was the one I'd seen all through pregnancy. And she had been trying to get me to have a homebirth. All NHS. Was great.

I guess as a mw i,m used to looking after 2, 3 women in labour at once. Last week we had to shut labour ward as full. I had labouring women on antenatal ward, gave one poor lady the entenox and told her to buzz if needing to push. She was desperate for epidural. Csnt see that happening to sam Cam