Have you thought about your pension?
It is becoming more and more apparent that the gap between the haves and the have-nots is set to grow dramatically in the UK over the next few years. Already we have seen signs that those with assets will need to downsize and dispose of some of these assets to fund their retirement, while those who have relied upon the state for many years will still be supported in the future. So have you thought about your pension?
Those who are neither rich nor in the low-income bracket are the ones who potentially have most to lose with many expecting the state pension to be means tested at some stage. This despite the fact that many millions of people in the UK have been regularly contributing to the UK tax pot in the hope that they will one day "receive their fair share". When you reflect upon the public sector pension arrangements and the private sector pension arrangements, yet again it seems that taxpayers will forever and a day be funding public sector pension arrangements - which are still of the final salary variety.
At a time when public sector final salary pension schemes appear to be rocksteady, effectively guaranteed by UK taxpayers, the number of private sector final salary pension schemes has plummeted of late.
Share this..
Related stories
Why have the authorities ignored pensioners for so long?
Even though the Labour government is currently under renewed pressure regarding its treatment of pensioners in the UK, the truth is that the older generation have been ignored by numerous governments over the years. Quite why this sector of the UK population has been ignored is a mystery to many because they are served their time in the UK economy, contributed to society and paid their taxes. T...
Read MoreFSA concerned about pensions advice in the UK
The FSA is currently following up on reports produced in 2008 which drew the attention of regulators to the UK pension market and potentially detrimental pension switching advice. The FSA has found a number of cases whereby pension fund members have been advised to switch out of company pension schemes with the short-term benefits often negated by long-term consequences. It is believed that the...
Read MoreTypes of Pension
The type of pension scheme you end up with will broadly depend on your situation and your goals for retirement. There are a number of different schemes available, and you can have more than on e at any one time.
Below is a bit of detail about the most common types of pension, and how you can go about starting a scheme.
Company / Occupational Pension
This type...
Read MoreRise of the "Sandwich Generation" highlighted by Norwich Union
"Dual carers" are increasing in number thanks to the UK's ageing population, a new survey has indicated.Norwich Union released the study, showing that middle-aged people are becoming the "Sandwich Generation" - caring for both elderly parents and their children.As a consequence, one in four were found to either be struggling to meet their own essential costs or dipping in to their pension savings...
Read MoreRoyal Bank of Scotland pension scheme set for £800m injection
The multibillion pound bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland by the UK taxpayer has seen £800 million of this funding set aside to cover a growing deficit with the company's final salary pension scheme. There was more outrage today when the gold plated pension scheme operated by the company was confirmed to be just under £2 billion in deficit as opposed to a small surplus just 12 months ago. However...
Read More