So, now that Early Retirement or even Retirement at all......

Re: But then of course, when the Asset Tax cometh........

Duncan - you and the rest of your colleagues in the force are exempt from any such retirement critisisms. You do a great and worthwhile job under difficult circumstances - circumstances made more difficult than needs be by self-serving politicians and other civil servant types who are not fit to lace your boots.

I think its the extra army of 683,000 pen-pushers that this thread is having a pop at. And you really cannot criticise the private sector whose pensions have been deliberately destroyed by this government.
 
Re: But then of course, when the Asset Tax cometh........

Even then I find it hard to criticise the individuals...

I have a friend who works as a civilian in the police force in IT.... he works hard and tries his best to do a good job.... he doesn't deserve this kind of directed criticism... he's just doing his job, looking out for his family, and getting on with his life....

So comments should be aimed at the system, not the individuals.... IMHO
 
Re: But then of course, when the Asset Tax cometh........

I think the real criticism is not of the people themselves, but of those who are complaining.

These guys just don't realise just how much their pension is really worth - or perhaps I should say just how poor most private sector pensions will turn out to be now that Blair/Brown have effectively abolished final salary schemes (other than their own of course)
 
Re: But then of course, when the Asset Tax cometh........

[ QUOTE ]
I think its the extra army of 683,000 pen-pushers that this thread is having a pop at. And you really cannot criticise the private sector whose pensions have been deliberately destroyed by this government.

[/ QUOTE ]

To be fair, you cant blame the "pen pushers". They merely took the jobs which were on offer, and you cant blame anyone for that.

The blame lies fairly and squarely with a government who promised not to raise taxes, then stole all our money by calling it something other than tax.

Cant blame only Nu labour here, cause the Tories did it to a degree when they got us to give them money for strategic businesses which we already owned, and which are now gradually falling into the ownership of foreigners over whom we have no control - witness Thames Water i think.

I'm getting the impression that Nu labour have stolen all that they can and are running out of steam. I wonder what the Tories will come up with when they get into power?
 
Re: But then of course, when the Asset Tax cometh........

This is turning out to almost as much fun as the 4x4 debate. Seriously, we've all been shafted, by the government and by employers who have used Gordy's raid on company pensions to get rid of final salary schemes. And didn't I read something in the Evening Standard last night about City bonuses being at an all-time high? One contributor has already made the point that the expensive boats in the marina are not owned by public sect6or workers. We gave up high salaries and bonuses for security and a reliable, (if modest) pension. At the end of a working life in jobs that I suspect most people would not want to do, but which I think did/do benefit all of us, I think I am entitled to having the contract I made honoured by the other side, without the bleatings of those who, if you added the lot up, remuneration and pensions combined, will have earned a whole lot more than me.
 
Re: But then of course, when the Asset Tax cometh........

[ QUOTE ]
I think I am entitled to having the contract I made honoured by the other side, without the bleatings of those who, if you added the lot up, remuneration and pensions combined, will have earned a whole lot more than me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good luck with that. Many in the private sector invested money in pensions under one contract (ie. rules) only to have those changed once the money was locked in. I can't see public sector pensions being immune from change forever - which is part of the reason why I got out of the civil service. I'd rather trust to my own merits, than a promise from any Government - 'cos we all know what their promises are worth...

Rick
 
Re: and YOU know nothing about pensions....

No longer so. Since April of this year most of these limits are abolished. It is now possible to put as much as you like into a pension each year up to full salary (rather than 15%) and no limit on accruals providing your pot is under £1.5M. I'd been rather hoping to take advantage of some of this (paying higher rate tax is now effectively voluntary) but was "early retired" 1 month after the new rules took effect...
 
Re: and YOU know nothing about pensions....

I think you've put your finger on the defining feature of a politician - a completely brazen neck. FWIW I don't think they deliberately set out to be hypocritical, it's just that the sort of person attracted to the job is invariably going to be very thick skinned. And when you're certain of your own righteousness it's easy to dismiss all dissent, so the very idea that they will do more than make a pretence of listening...
 
Re: and YOU know nothing about pensions....

It is the complacency prevalent in this country that amazes me.

A few years ago in the same week politicians announced that pay increases in both the public and private sector should not exceed 2% they gave themselves a 28% pay increase.

A couple of years later they raided pension funds to give to "shareholders", stopped people getting pensions that they have paid into for years and increased their own pensions by 40%.

What happens? Those that have been robbed complain about those that haven't been and want everyone reduced to the new lower level.

Any self respecting country would have had a general strike and a change of government at least - one with a bit of guts might have even had a military coupe!

People have become too used to being shafted in this country, no wonder it is happening on a daily basis.
 
Re: YOU\'re alright then Jack?

[ QUOTE ]
A very high percentage of homeless people are ex services, chucked out of the services and not adapted to civvi street.


[/ QUOTE ]

Then they must be retiring them at age around 25 -35? Thats the average age of our local homeless population. Older men are mostly long term alco's or druggies who would have been unemplyable long before services retirement.
 
Re: and YOU know nothing about pensions....

MP's deserve their 1/40 pension because they are clever and manipulate us.

When we vote we all know they are theives and robbers and will spend our hard earned money badly but we vote for the ones that we wrongley believe will tax the "others" more than ourselves.

Vote for the party that links their MPs salary to a multiple of the national wage and their pensions to a multiple of the OAP - see they would not be that stupid as that would mean they have to be effective in improving the lot of the common man!
 
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