STATE PENSION

[EileenDavid]

Thank you all for your comments. My first pension will be for 2 weeks in arrears of course to get me into the 4 weekly system. Don't see why they can't pay me the 4 weekly on the 7th December 2012. They certainly like to hold onto our money. As I said Dick Turpin wore a mask they don't have to. Eileen

[Stanley]

There are so many small Cunning Wheezes like this in the treasury's systems Eileen. The cumulative savings in terms of the interest must be enormous. Bit like the ploy used by many big companies where they don't pay invoices immediately they are presented. In the last years of Bancroft Shed Courtauld's demanded payment within a month for yarn deliveries but imposed a 3 month interval on payments for cloth they bought.

[EileenDavid]

Well still no joy on the way the pension is worked out. I am too receive 2 weeks pension on Friday the 23.11.2012. When I queried freedom of choice I was told that because of my national insurance number it is deemed by the pensions that I will be paid from Friday 10th although I officially became pensionable on Tuesday the 6th and that my only option is to be paid 4 weekly in arrears on Fridays, so I have lost out on a further 4 days pension due to a number allocated to me over 45 years ago. And to think Dick Turpin had to wear a mask the government don't have too. Eileen

[Wendyf]

I just enjoy having money arriving in my bank account account every month Eileen, and a winter fuel allowance, and my bus pass and Wednesdays at B&Q......

[Stanley]

Eileen will as well Wendy once she has got settled into the system. I can't imagine my life without it and I'm grateful for the heroes who fought right through the 20thC to put it in place.
Private pensions. Tiz knows all about this but an expert on R4 the other day said that this was the worst time to finalise a pension and annuity ever due to the economic prices affecting bond yields. Thank god mine was done and dusted in 2000.

[EileenDavid]

I've got my bus pass I had visions of them cancelling them before I got mine. I have been drawing my works pension since I was 50 so I am used to being pensioned, I just don't like that they have robbed me of another 4 days after I have had to wait an extra 1 year 3 months and 28 days already. Eileen

[Stanley]

I felt the same when they made me take my private pension early Eileen but nothing could be done about it, it was legal to rob me of a year's interest on the capital! Best thing to do is forget it and get on with life.....

[EileenDavid]

Get my first pension tomorrow. 2 weeks to get me into the system. Life's to short and have now got the moaning of the in justices off my chest. Eileen

[Wendyf]

That's good Eileen....but will you get your winter fuel allowance this year?

[Stanley]

Good Eileen... I got notification of the £200 winter fuel allowance yesterday. Very handy and timely, I am grateful for it.

[EileenDavid]

Well my 2 weeks pension landed in my bank yesterday. Wendy I don't get fuel allowance this year but Dave will get it. Next year they will give us a £100 each if they are still giving it. They did say I will qualify for Christmas bonus though. Eileen

[Stanley]

My mind goes back to Ireland in the early years of the 20thC when the old age pension first came in. The qualification was to be 70 years old but there were no birth certificates and the task of checking all the old parish registers was beyond the administration so the question of age was decided by asking whether they remembered the Great Storm of 1839 (LINK), anyone who said they did got the money. They soon realised that there were far too many 'Big Winders' and had to start a reassessment. We comp[lain about pensions but in truth they work well and I for one am grateful.

[Stanley]

My application for Pension Credit was approved and at the moment I am better off but I'm still waiting to see how the increase will affect my other benefits. They promised that any adjustment would not take more than 85% of the extra money. I shall be watching things closely! Small personal pension went up on 14th February by 3%. What a good decision to take the compound interest option in 2000 and such a pity that people arranging annuities today get only half what I got and no option for the annual interest addition. In this respect at least everyone is worse off today compared to 2000. My dad always said that there is a providence that looks after drunken men and idiots, he could have been right!

[plaques]

For anyone who is thinking of living well into their 90's this could be their golden opportunity to make a mint. By paying a lump sum you can guarantee yourself an extra £1 a week. Of course as your total income rises you will have to pay the appropriate amount of tax on the increase.

"The scheme will be available from October 2015 to all those who have reached state pension age by April 2016, including existing pensioners, and the cost of the top-up will be based on the person's age and average life expectancy.

The plans mean that for example, for a 65-year-old, buying an extra £1 of pension each week will cost £890, but for a 75-year-old the contribution rate for the same amount of pension would be £674."

[Bruff]

A part of me thinks that might have been published 1 April.......

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

I'm afraid I had the same thought P. But then again, so many government policies are like jokes (bad ones) these days.

[plaques]

I'm afraid that unless the Guardian and others have got their dates wrong it looks like its true. Normally state pension offers like this take about 14 years to get a pay back. This one appears to be a little over the top. An annuity scam springs to mind.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/a ... e-pensions

[Stanley]

"This top-up scheme looks pretty generous compared to buying an annuity from an insurance company"

This may be true in today's depressed annuity market but in effect I bought a bond when I opted for a lower weekly amount but 3% increase each year. I don't think this latest offer gives anywhere near the same return.

[Stanley]

This topic has lain fallow for almost two years but THIS BBC report on the fears that youngsters today may have to work into their mid seventies before getting a pension got me to thinking about the state pension. There has been a lot of discussion on Woman's Hour of late (I listen to it every day) about the position of women and it's obvious that for many women their pension plans are already in chaos. I do not see any signs of hope in this news and I reckon the odds are that the worst predictions could be right.
That led me to thinking about my own position.... I have often said (about many things) that I have seen the Glory Days. It looks as though it applies to pensions as well! That even applies to my annuity, the terms of which can't be matched today as Tiz will attest. My dad was right, there is a providence that looks after drunken men and idiots and it has worked overtime for me. I feel so sorry for the prospect that so many face and the BBC news item will do nothing to reassure them. Looking back, my advice is don't rely on pension plans as a safe haven for savings. Invest in hard assets like a house or gold bricks in the cellar. Don't for one minute think that the pension providers, whether private or state, are on your side. They aren't, you are a source of income and as soon as you cease to be a cash cow you are expendable and as far as they are concerned you should work until you are completely knackered. Deep Joy!

[plaques]

youngsters today may have to work into their mid seventies before getting a pension

The current way of calculating the average life span until death only starts when you reach the age of 65. If you die before this age you are not included into the average statistics. The logic behind this is that if the base figure goes up ( say 65 to 70) then the average will automatically rise. Taking this to an extreme if the base is raised to 90 then the average life expectancy will be 90+. (lies damned lies and statistics).

[Moh]

We just got notified of our pension increases for this year - the stamp would have cost more than the increase per week.

[Stanley]

The annuity on my small private pension that I stumbled into rose as usual by 3%. Haven't had my state forecast yet.

[chinatyke]

We just got notified of our pension increases for this year - the stamp would have cost more than the increase per week.

Be thankful, Moh. I paid in for years and don't get any increase simply because of where I choose to live. I should have gone to Turkey or Albania...

[Bruff]

Some folk and some politicians are trying to get that situation changed. The list of places where you will get an increase and where you will not appears to make very little sense.

My pension age is now 67. The latest announcement suggests that changes mooted may affect anyone under 55. That’s me. Why does searching for the end of a rainbow come to mind?

Best investment I made was buying a house in London and selling it. Six figures tax free all for sitting on my backside doing nothing at all for that money. Apparently, that’s a good thing.

Richard Broughton

[Tizer]

I wonder if Ossie would dare to tax the profits on the sale of our `main residence'?