Pensions in the private sector - an impossible goal

[Newmeagain]

I am feeling quite depressed about my pension and it seems to me that for most people in the private sector it is impossible to accumulate a decent pension.

it feels like we have three categories of people: people in the public sector who get really good pensions; people in the private sector with very high paying jobs; and then people in the private sector with less well paying jobs and it is this last group that have no hope.

I currently have a well paying job but for many years my pay was lower and I could not increase my contributions because I was a lone parent and had to prioritise living costs. I am in my early 50s and my pot is £135k. My googling indicates that even a £400k pot (which seems like an impossible goal) would only give me a very modest annual pension. I am single, so no one to share costs with.

Did he get it?

What a ridiculous post. Are you saying that all those Oxbridge educated people are going to have jobs that pay less than 31K a year after 20 years of being in said job,plus those jobs will not have a decent pension scheme?

That is not great advertising for Oxbridge!

As for your attitude to that supposed LA worker,it's probably best to not comment of that.

It does seem wrong when you think that their counterpart working in Tesco’s collecting the trolleys will leave the work until they drop dead. Or live in poverty

Have you ever had the thought that perhaps this person had a learning disability? Or some kind of learning need such as dyslexia?

What a horrible person you are.

This from the off was a bash public pension thread. Can tell from a mile away.

Couple of things. When the private sector was doing very nicely indeed nobody gave a stuff about public sector pensions. Whose lack of increase in salary was part of the pay talks. The finger always pointed to the pension. No, you cannot have more than 0.5 % to 1% again because of your pension.

A pension that has repeatedly been changed over the years.
People talk about gold plated pensions are so very out of date. They don’t really know what they are talking about I think.
They have been changed, and changed again.
The majority of public sector workers do not get massive pensions. I think the average is in single figures. Largely due to the fact the public sector employs many women who work part time.

Many private sector workers when things are going well earn bonuses, extras. Things can go up and down finance wise. Peaks and troughs. Public sector workers have no peaks. No extras.

I dare say at some point the private sector good times will roll in once again. And people will forget about the public sector pension once they do.
Bear in mind though. If you get rid of it you will need to pay the market rate for the public sector. No offsetting anymore by pointing to a pension when they want a pay rise. That could be very expensive indeed.

Nobody who failed all their GSCE’s would be employed by the public sector. Whilst I agree, the standard required has dropped , and far too low in my view, someone has no qualifications would not be recruited.

This person had done some really quite awful things in addition to being incompetent and thick. Including but not exclusive causing somebody to kill themselves. Whilst in their role.

Well, that’s absolutely not true. I spent a great deal of time with this person and they got onto an apprenticeship with no GCSEs.

one of the big problems at the moment (in the private sector) is the number of people being made redundant who are over 50 and then finding it almost impossible to get another job (meaning another delay in pension saving)

and of course women are the worst affected if we take out years to have our kids - on average women have far lower pensions than men

Mmm, we have a manager like that. Sadly, very difficult to get rid of incompetent people in the public sector. One thing the private sector is better at I guess. Also, on the whole, salaries and opportunities for progression seem better in the private sector.

Quite a drip feed

Maybe mention that rather than their intellect then?

This individual had accused their manager of rape that cost the council nearly £200,000 in investigation and legal fees and then was decided to be no further action by both of the police and the council.
Both people are still in situ 😳
As I mentioned earlier directly told a mental health patient to go and kill themselves
So they did
Anybody with sympathy is misguided although I appreciate you didn’t know the whole story I did say take my word for it.

I think one is very directly linked to the other

Pretty sure it's been shown that there's barely any difference between public and private sector pay now.

I take from your spelling of calibre you are American.

Well, I don’t think they have the local government pension scheme in America so no, I’m not. Any spelling errors or as a result of using the microphone on my phone rather than typing in full.
Do you want me to write them out again 10 times to make sure they are learnt?

I didn’t say you were posting from America.

I work privately and in public sector - my income is double in the private sector which is probably the reason people do it. There’s pros and cons to both sides but if you’re convinced public sector pays incredibly well with super conditions, why don’t you apply for a job?

Right OP you need to make a plan. The last thing you should do is nothing because it’s too late to save enough. How long are you planning to work for? Can you afford to put extra into your pension than you currently do? Do you get bonuses at work?

The gap between wages in the public and private sector can be jaw dropping.
The gap between flexibility can be jaw dropping.
The gap between pay for overtime can be jaw dropping.
Pension is one of the factors keeping some of us working in the public sector.
And, as is often said to people complaining about public sector jobs working conditions on here - you can always get a job in a different sector!

If you are a lower earner you are better off in the public sector. Higher earners will earn more privately.

Every current public sector worker should be moved to a defined contribution scheme immediately. Even that’s the tip of the iceberg.

Yep, exactly that. If it looks so great, go and do it. But I’d agree, I’ve recently been applying for a new job, and salaries in the private sector are huge compared to the public sector equivalent

Sadly not. He is 63 so it was a bit of a long shot anyway