In common with a fair few of us on here, I’d imagine, I’ve ended up working for a fair few companies, and agencies, and as a result I won’t have much of a private pension.
Add to that the fact that I’ll already have to work till I’m 66 before I get state pension; I decided a couple of years ago that I’d probably work till I’m 70. So long as I keep me health, that doesn’t really bother me; the job’s a lot less physically demanding than it was, I don’t do nights out any more with my current employer, and hopefully this job should see me out. Plus my missus is 20 years younger than me so there isn’t an issue about us retiring together, unless those six numbers come up!
One thing that I would like to see change, though, is the requirement for an annual medical after age 65. It’s pretty much a given that we now survive, and stay healthy and fit, for far longer than we did when that restriction was first introduced. I suggest it should be increased in line with state pension age, or moved in one jump to 70.
I think it’s probably the case that the vast majority of drivers have made no provision whatsoever for their old age. In some respects that may have been the right decision. If you only have the state pension to live on then you qualify for other benefits which can boost your income to much the same level as someone who invested in a pension. From next year it looks as if everyone will get £140 a week (£7200 pa). I deferred my pension for two and a half years which added £35 a week - that’s only profitable if I live for another 10 years at least.
Low returns on endowments mean that you would need a pension pot of nearly £250,000 to get a pension of £10,000 a year. Not many of us could put that much away. IMHO the only pensions worth having are occupational pensions where the employer adds a good deal to the pot.
I was very fortunate to have an index linked final salary pension as well.
I went on the road straight after leaving the army in '68 because it was the easiest,(only) job I couldn get.
After leaving the forces as a tank driving instructor,heavy metal was nothing new to me.
My good lady and me did ot have much money back then but we went out on a limb and bought a new bungalow for £3,000,blimey,those were the days!
We had to buy a few sticks of furniture out of every weeks wage,no endless credit in this house,if you can’t afford to buy it,you don’t have it!
After 5 years tramping I got onto the middle east and I thought I’d hit the jackpot,finished paying off the mortgage in 14 years.
After 12 years m/e the shine went off the job and the money was getting less and less so gave it up and came off the road,at age 42.
Went into engineering with my brother and my wife was accounts manager.
Wifey started private pensions for us both and put me on this SERPES thing that I didn’t really understand at the time.
Kept up my HGV every time it came around as there was no knowing how long the job would last,but my wife had everything planned for me to retire at 60.
Up till the day I retired I was grafting 6 and 7 days a week so when retirement came I thought I’d be glad of the rest.
But after 2 weeks at home,I was bored stiff,went down to an agency and got signed up,changed the agency after a few months for the one I’m with now and at 68 I’m still working doing two night trunks a week and loving it.
Between the age of 60 and 65 we were living on our private pensions plus what I’m earning driving.
My state pension now pays me £170 per week,my wife gets about £90,then my hourly paid driving job,being as I prefer the long runs,two 13 or 14 hour shifts,Saturdays and Sundays rate,I pay an awful lot of tax,but I do the job because I enjoy it more than the money it’s bringing in.
Having said that,with our joint incomes plus the interest on our saving,we have more coming in now that at the time we retired 8 years ago.
I feel a little better off than truckboy may feel living darn sarf,up here the cost of living is much more reasonable and I feel very well off.
With regard to us retired drivers still working and taking up positions needed by younger drivers,read through my earlier post: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=68950
Now that’s not the case.
The reason most firms use for not taking on newly qualified drivers is the so called insurance risk.
If I thought for one minute I was denying a younger driver his dream to become a trucker,I’d willingly step aside and give him my job.
The truth is though that although my firm took over the agency that used to supply it’s drivers to cut out the overheads,we are now all employed as zero hours casual drivers,we are still using drivers from outside agencies because we cannot get enough class 1 drivers!
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