I took out a personal pension with Equitable Life, and look what happened to them. Regulated, my posterior!!! The FSA can fine companies because someone might manage to launder some money through an account; that fine being around £1 million, but they can’t pay compensation to people like me for falling down on the job they were set up for. Add to that Gordon Brown creaming £5 Billion a year out of the pension companies; my advice is don’t bother. Watch where you park any money, cos as soon as the pot is big enough, Brown will raid that (thinking ISAs and things here) 
My wife gets my works pesion if i’m not about to collect it. It is payable immediately on death also; she doesn’t have to wait until I or she is pension age.
That does give me a bit of an uneasy feeling sometimes!!
The above came with the job but what bugs me is if some one was conscienciuos enough to set up a private pension then the chances are they won’t get any state pension even though they’ve spent years paying taxes, NI, etc. Just because they have made ‘extra’ arrangements they should still be entitled to the state element.
The current system just discourages folk from making more effort to look after themselves in later life.
And don’t get me onto the greatest tax rip-off of all: Inheritance Tax!!!
And don’t get me onto the greatest tax rip-off of all: Inheritance Tax!!!
what about this tax 
Happy birthday Neil and I hope you have had a good day 
.
Totally agree with you Neil in that spend it today and don’t worry
about tomorrow.
marcustandy:
My wife gets my works pesion if i’m not about to collect it. It is payable immediately on death also; she doesn’t have to wait until I or she is pension age.That does give me a bit of an uneasy feeling sometimes!!
The above came with the job but what bugs me is if some one was conscienciuos enough to set up a private pension then the chances are they won’t get any state pension even though they’ve spent years paying taxes, NI, etc. Just because they have made ‘extra’ arrangements they should still be entitled to the state element.
The current system just discourages folk from making more effort to look after themselves in later life.
And don’t get me onto the greatest tax rip-off of all: Inheritance Tax!!!
That is why we have been paying Income Tax AND National Insurance Stamps for many years. In my case 31 years
convoy:
Totally agree with you Neil in that spend it today and don’t worry about tomorrow.
Trouble is I spent it all yesterday and have nothing left for today. 
a couple of weeks ago there was a piece in the sunday papers about
pensions, apparently if your working and paying national insurance and dont have a private pension they deduct so much of your n i and put it in to a fund called s 2 p(state 2nd pension) this is the number to find out if you qualify 0845 915 0150 i’ve got a cutting from the news paper some where i’ll try and dig it out.
Vince:
If I wanted to retire on a pension equal to half my salary, I would have to put £250,000 into the fund over the next 20 years until I retire. £12,500 per year.Vince
Only trouble is when it comes up to maturity you’re only get £1.75 