Do you have a pension?

Creative83

I know this article is about a year old but I doubt the situation has changed much...

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/60-a-week-thats-all-your-pension-will-be-worth-34968732.html

"Just 47pc of those who are in employment save towards a pension."

:eek:

I know things are still though after the recession but that is a scary figure indeed. The State pension may not even be around by time I hit retirement. Won't be enough people paying taxes for it.

I do have a pension... contribute about average but that still probably isn't enough... seems there is a massive crisis looming.

So do you have a private pension?

The Bishop Basher

Yes I do.

I don't rely on other people to support me now and I don't intend to rely on other people to support me when I retire.

__..__

I used to and was a huge proponent of contributing as much as you could to your pension fund.
But I stopped when Michael Noonan raided it.
He set a precedent I just can't live with.
Now I invest my money elsewhere.
A pension fund locks the money away from me, yet the government can just come and take as much as they like at any time they feel like it.
No thanks.
And I know of a lot of people who feel the same way after the raid.

Ulysses Gaze

mini_Sapphire wrote: »

I know this article is about a year old but I doubt the situation has changed much...

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/60-a-week-thats-all-your-pension-will-be-worth-34968732.html

"Just 47pc of those who are in employment save towards a pension."

:eek:

I know things are still though after the recession but that is a scary figure indeed. The State pension may not even be around by time I hit retirement. Won't be enough people paying taxes for it.

I do have a pension... contribute about average but that still probably isn't enough... seems there is a massive crisis looming.

So do you have a private pension?

I have 2. One contributory with work, the other a separate one I put a little extra aside in each month.

c_man

Yes I do. And aside from that I have a long term stocks and shares isa which is not gonna be touched for decades.

I think there's going to be a lot of people our age in great difficulty once they reach the supposed retirement age.

I know lots of people are struggling financially and it's the furthest thing from their mind but equally I know lots of my friends who couldn't give a toss and put away nothing.

VinLieger

c_man wrote: »

Yes I do. And aside from that I have a long term stocks and shares isa which is not gonna be touched for decades.

I think there's going to be a lot of people our age in great difficulty once they reach the supposed retirement age.

I know lots of people are struggling financially and it's the furthest thing from their mind but equally I know lots of my friends who couldn't give a toss and put away nothing.

Many of them are simply clueless about them and are under the impression the state pension will be able to cover their needs when its likely it simply wont exist in 20 years

marvin80

VinLieger wrote: »

Many of them are simply clueless about them and are under the impression the state pension will be able to cover their needs when its likely it simply wont exist in 20 years

The state pension will exist in 20 years, might not be as generous as it is these days but it will exist.

The fact there increasing it slightly this year shows you how important of a voting/election issue it is.

Also, if you reckon there won't be a state pension in 20 years do you think the job seekers allowance etc.. will be gone as well?

Bubbaclaus

__..__ wrote: »

I used to and was a huge proponent of contributing as much as you could to your pension fund.
But I stopped when Michael Noonan raided it.
He set a precedent I just can't live with.
Now I invest my money elsewhere.
A pension fund locks the money away from me, yet the government can just come and take as much as they like at any time they feel like it.
No thanks.
And I know of a lot of people who feel the same way after the raid.

Illogical.

VinLieger

marvin80 wrote: »

The state pension will exist in 20 years, might not be as generous as it is these days but it will exist.

The fact there increasing it slightly this year shows you how important of a voting/election issue it is.

Also, if you reckon there won't be a state pension in 20 years do you think the job seekers allowance etc.. will be gone as well?

How are we going to pay for a state pension in 2040 when the worker to retiree ratio will be 2:1 compared to the 6:1 it is now?

Yes everyone should have one

__..__

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Illogical.

I invest elsewhere where I have full the control.
I can also reallocate when I see the need.
I'll be ok without locking my money away where I can't touch it, but worse, someone else can. thanks.

tomwaterford

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Illogical.

What's to stop government raiding it again??

....don't see how it's illogical....seems prudent if anything to me

s3rtvdbwfj81ch

no, I'm not a pensioner :cool:

sbsquarepants

__..__ wrote: »

I used to and was a huge proponent of contributing as much as you could to your pension fund.
But I stopped when Michael Noonan raided it.
He set a precedent I just can't live with.

I have one but I was always distrustful of it, moreso that the Ferrari driving pension fund administrator my job saw fit to deal with would rather spend my money on Ferrari maintenance than invest it wisely on my behalf, so I never really threw money at it. He's gone now and we deal with zurich, so I feel a little safer, but only a little!
The governments sticky fingers was just one more reason to distrust the whole scenario - I do still have a very modest one though - just in case it doesn't all go wrong!
I have an apartment which I view as my de-facto pension. When I retire i'll flog that off and take my chances.

They way I look at it Leo (and whoever comes after him - they're all the same in everything but name) is a lot more concerned about his own pension and the public sector pensions that can buy him votes and stability, than he is about mine.
They already have - and I reckon quite likely will again, rob me to suit them. And on the off chance that they don't - someone else probably will -both the government and the whole finance industry is full of charlatans and con men. I don't trust either of them one iota.

marvin80

VinLieger wrote: »

How are we going to pay for a state pension in 2040 when the worker to retiree ratio will be 2:1 compared to the 6:1 it is now?

True but it's going to be a very brave Finance Minister telling pensioners and future pensioners that it's gone!!

VinLieger

tomwaterford wrote: »

What's to stop government raiding it again??

....don't see how it's illogical....seems prudent if anything to me

Indeed future governments will definitely go after it, like Sinn Fein have promised to double the cost of them

BillyBobBS

Nope can't afford one.

sbsquarepants

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Illogical.

You think it's illogical to be suspicious of someone who has already robbed you?

Now that is illogical!

seamus

At 35 I finally started one because I got an employer who actually helped with it.

Before that it always just seemed like an insane amount of money to put away that I couldn't afford.

The impending pension crisis will be handled by simply abolishing mandatory retirement. You will able to choose to retire at 67/68 if you wish but your employer will not be permitted to force you to leave. Private pension pots will let you withdraw while you're earning, but the state pension will insist that you are not working in order to draw it down.

Eventually the state pension will just become an extension of the dole and most people will keep working until they're physically incapable or until they have enough in their private pension to retire.

NIMAN

You do know that money you are saving now in pension schemes isn't the money that you'll get in the future?

your investments now are paying pensioners now. And likewise your pension when you retire will be paid by those paying tax and saving money then. That's worrying.

Swanner

Swanner wrote: »

Yes I do.

I don't rely on other people to support me now and I don't intend to rely on other people to support me when I retire.

What abject nonsense. This is one of the great delusions of rightwingers: the "self-made man". You'd have no roads, schools, hospitals or anything else unless there were loads of people supporting each other through taxation. Even your private hospitals depend upon people helping each other - unless you're rich enough to own a private hospital with consultants and surgeons at the ready just for you. Private healthcare, like private pensions, depend on a form of socialism operating between the community who pay it. You get sick, the rest of the people help you out, and vice versa.

And what do you think your state pension will come out of? Answer: the current taxation of a future generation. And if you have a private pension with one of those huge financial corporations, what are the odds of public money being used to prop that up come the next crash? Perhaps you haven't noticed the pattern of public wealth being used to bail out these supposedly "self-made" private corporations?

And, for the record, I've a private pension and AVCs topping it up and private health insurance. It's not exactly a sign of success or independence anywhere except on After Hours. It could all be taken from me by not merely my own actions but by the actions of other people in society - e.g. politicians, regulators etc - if they don't pull their weight. Likewise with everybody else here. Perhaps we need another crash to bring these notions down to earth again.

Drumpot

__..__ wrote: »

I used to and was a huge proponent of contributing as much as you could to your pension fund.
But I stopped when Michael Noonan raided it.
He set a precedent I just can't live with.
Now I invest my money elsewhere.
A pension fund locks the money away from me, yet the government can just come and take as much as they like at any time they feel like it.
No thanks.
And I know of a lot of people who feel the same way after the raid.

Very short sighted approach to take. Noonan shouldn’t of done what he did but it doesn’t warrant this drastic reaction.

You get €20 to €40 income tax relief for every €100 you put into your pension and You get tax free growth. Those two things alone are enough to justify continuing on with a pension over putting after tax income into savings with or without the levy.

To put it into perspective, if you are on the higher rate of tax it could cost you up to €200 in income to be able to put €100 into a deposit account in the bank. If that deposit makes 10% , you have to pay DIRT tax on those gains.

Whereas with a pension it would at most cost €115 (usc +prsi) to invest €100 and a 10% gain would not be taxed. Over 20 to 40!years the compounded effects are just massive. The levy doesn’t even scratch the overriding benefits of doing it this way.

sbsquarepants

NIMAN wrote: »

You do know that money you are saving now in pension schemes isn't the money that you'll get in the future?

your investments now are paying pensioners now. And likewise your pension when you retire will be paid by those paying tax and saving money then. That's worrying.

They call those things pyramid schemes don't they.
Certainly is worrying - they tend to all end the same way!

gazzer

I have been paying into a pension since I was 20. 26 years paid into it so far. The amount of my friends who are the same age as me and have no private pension is scary.

VinLieger

NIMAN wrote: »

You do know that money you are saving now in pension schemes isn't the money that you'll get in the future?

your investments now are paying pensioners now. And likewise your pension when you retire will be paid by those paying tax and saving money then. That's worrying.

You are talking about the state pension, it is completely different to a private pension scheme.

Don't peddle false stuff like this, its one of the reason's we have so few people investing in private pensions because there's so much confusing and conflicting information out there.

super_furry

Been paying into one since I was 25. Got a decent bit squirrelled away but will need to up my contribuations soon

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

valoren

The best long term return on investment is stocks and shares (and their dividends reinvested).
We need tax free equivalent products of the UK's ISA accounts in this country asap, we are not an stock/share investment-centric country at all.

You can invest up to a maximum amount annually (investing with money that has already been taxed anyway) and any capital gain or dividends is allowed to grow tax free. The key part is that the money can be taken out whenever needed and it will not be taxed. The money is not locked in for decades (which for me is the major drawback of a pension, it's like a financial black hole). That flexibility would be more attractive.

Anyone turning say 21, should open an account, whether you pay into it or not is your own choice.
And you also have the option of it being a self directed ISA, to invest in any fungible asset imaginable or a managed one with an approved fund and their fee's (ideally Vanguard and their low cost funds)

__..__

Drumpot wrote: »

Very short sighted approach to take. Noonan shouldn’t of done what he did but it doesn’t warrant this drastic reaction.

You get €20 to €40 income tax relief for every €100 you put into your pension and You get tax free growth. Those two things alone are enough to justify continuing on with a pension over putting after tax income into savings with or without the levy.

To put it into perspective, if you are on the higher rate of tax it could cost you up to €200 in income to be able to put €100 into a deposit account in the bank. If that deposit makes 10% , you have to pay DIRT tax on those gains.

Whereas with a pension it would at most cost €115 (usc +prsi) to invest €100 and a 10% gain would not be taxed. Over 20 to 40!years the compounded effects are just massive. The levy doesn’t even scratch the overriding benefits of doing it this way.

Nope. I have a very long term view of my investments thankyou.

Agent Smith

People relying on just the state pension?

Dravokivich

Can't afford to.

Drumpot

__..__ wrote: »

Nope. I have a very long term view of my investments thankyou.

Its more tax efficient and financially savy to save long term in a Pension. Having a long term view changes nothing on that point.

Creative83

Dravokivich wrote: »

Can't afford to.

Have you spoken to your employer? A lot of employers match your contribution... could start off small... you put in 2% & they put in 2%... ask about their pension scheme if you haven't already

mariaalice

Dravokivich wrote: »

Can't afford to.

Auto enrollmemt is comming you will not have a choice

NIMAN

Is it not now compulsory to have a pension set up?

hawkwind23

Swanner wrote: »

Yes I do.

I don't rely on other people to support me now and I don't intend to rely on other people to support me when I retire.

Oh please F U C K off

The Bishop Basher

Deleted User wrote: »

What abject nonsense. This is one of the great delusions of rightwingers: the "self-made man". You'd have no roads, schools, hospitals or anything else unless there were loads of people supporting each other through taxation. Even your private hospitals depend upon people helping each other - unless you're rich enough to own a private hospital with consultants and surgeons at the ready just for you. Private healthcare, like private pensions, depend on a form of socialism operating between the community who pay it. You get sick, the rest of the people help you out, and vice versa.

And what do you think your state pension will come out of? Answer: the current taxation of a future generation. And if you have a private pension with one of those huge financial corporations, what are the odds of public money being used to prop that up come the next crash? Perhaps you haven't noticed the pattern of public wealth being used to bail out these supposedly "self-made" private corporations?

Pedantic much ?

It was pretty obvious what I meant..

The Bishop Basher

hawkwind23 wrote: »

Oh please F U C K off

Ooops..

Did I hit a nerve ?

Oh and no, I won't F U C K off..

hawkwind23

Swanner wrote: »

Ooops..

Did I hit a nerve ?

Oh and no, I won't F U C K off..

No you wont , your type rarely do unfortunately.

Dravokivich

mini_Sapphire wrote: »

Have you spoken to your employer? A lot of employers match your contribution... could start off small... you put in 2% & they put in 2%... ask about their pension scheme if you haven't already

There is one. i still can't afford to. I'm going paycheck to paycheck.

mariaalice wrote: »

Auto enrollmemt is comming you will not have a choice

Then I'll be onto a community welfare officer looking for more than the FIS I already get, because I can't afford one.

VinLieger

NIMAN wrote: »

Is it not now compulsory to have a pension set up?

Nope, i really think you are confused between the state pension and private pension schemes

The Bishop Basher

hawkwind23 wrote: »

No you wont , your type rarely do unfortunately.

Not sure what "my type" is but you seem very angry..

It's bad for your health..

You really should try and calm down

__..__

Drumpot wrote: »

Its more tax efficient and financially savy to save long term in a Pension. Having a long term view changes nothing on that point.

Not for me it's not.
And I consider myself very financially savy as well if you don't mind.

sbsquarepants

mariaalice wrote: »

Auto enrollmemt is comming you will not have a choice

AFAIK auto enrolment will still have an opt out, the only difference is you will by default be put into the scheme and actually have to opt out should you want to. That's the way it works in any of the other examples I've seen anyway.

razorblunt

I save quite aggressively into mine, which in turn is helped by my employer matching.
It would be just my luck that I'll pop my clogs early and never get to retire with it, but at least the family will get it.
I'm retiring at 60 too, that's the plan. Just another 28 years to go!

Pac1Man

Haven't saved a cent. My fondness for chickpeas has grown lately so I'd say the state pension will do me.

sbsquarepants

They are delicious alright, especially if you cook them in the ham water - don't get used to that though, no ham for you on the state pension I'm afraid:eek:

buck65

__..__ wrote: »

I invest elsewhere where I have full the control.
I can also reallocate when I see the need.
I'll be ok without locking my money away where I can't touch it, but worse, someone else can. thanks.

Is it as tax beneficial though on withdrawal??

rustynutz

Swanner wrote: »

Yes I do.

I don't rely on other people to support me now and I don't intend to rely on other people to support me when I retire.

Your prsi contribution throughout your 45 odd years working is supposed to fund the state pension, not exactly other people supporting you

buck65

sbsquarepants wrote: »

They call those things pyramid schemes don't they.
Certainly is worrying - they tend to all end the same way!

Are you two guys for real?

srsly78

rustynutz wrote: »

Your prsi contribution throughout your 45 odd years working is supposed to fund the state pension, not exactly other people supporting you

Most people pay basically zero prsi, how is that supposed to fund their state pension? Also people that don't even make this basic contribution get a non-contributory pension state pension.