Col's last day

[Ron_dK]

....plus some other benefits

Shaken not stirred I presume ?

 

[Brianwarnock]

To get any benefits, including Job seekers, one has to be either

a) Broke - no savings and only enough income to live on bread and water.

b) An immigrant - they seem to be able to get alsorts

c) Have loads a kids

d) be registered disabled, my wife qualifies here.

Even the extra personal tax allowance for over 65s soon disappears with a decent pension as they reduce it by £1 for every £2 one gets over something like £20K.

Brian

 

[GaryPanic]

Some of the guys on this forum - went down how much is required to retire at set ages
I am 39
state retirement age 66-67 (bastards moved the goal post)
anyway
not being part of a final salary my pension pot needs to be between 250,000 and 400,000
given that annunities (?typo) are around 5-6 % on 250k thats 12,500 PA
about £1000 per month + state pansion (If anything is left) on 400k thats £1,600 per month + state benefit
this has been on the assumption of 5% return - you can get better deals out there but assume the worst .

now costs come in to play
Pox tax (or whatever ) in my area £1,200 PA - eats into your pension very quickly.living costs probably eat into at leat half of whats left - so pocket money would be around 200-300 per month on this basis


So currently someone 38-42 probably needs at least 250 k and to be free of morgage at retirement
those 42 -50 probably need 200 -300 k those over 50 ( I am afraid you are in deep stum..unless you ahve a decent pension, you will be reliant upon the state - and you will probably need to downsize , possible event emigrate to Spain/Turkey/Baltic states as the cost of living there is relatively cheap(but rising) failing that you will prpbably have to get a part time job at B&Q or soemthng to increase you income (Sorry , but its the truth there are a lot of grey people out there having to work to make ends meet)
those lucky enough to be under 38 need to give this some serious thought

a guide to how much you should be putting into your pension
is 50% of your age when you start , so if you start at 20 then 10 of your salary should be towards your pension 22 then 11% etc - this is a general guid eand not to be taken as gospel.. also th4ere are other alternative to pensions - (slight more risky -such as buying houses or wine etc) but these are not for the foolhardy and need some serious thoughts . etc

 

[Len Boorman]

I wouldn't know.

But you have the advantage of still being young whilst I am er um older shall we say


L

 

[Len Boorman]

Col's last day seems to have a) Gone on for longer than he was employeD (kidding really) and b) become a pensions advice bureau. No bad thing at all

Interested in Brian's comment re allowances.

I am planning retirement for Dec 2008 and it looks as if I will fail to qualify for any sort of allowance on all counts.

Damn.

 

[GaryPanic]

Col's last day seems to have a) Gone on for longer than he was employeD (kidding really) and b) become a pensions advice bureau. No bad thing at all

Interested in Brian's comment re allowances.

I am planning retirement for Dec 2008 and it looks as if I will fail to qualify for any sort of allowance on all counts.

Damn.

If you really want to mess the system up , go and claim your benefits - when they ask you to fill in a form - say you cannot read or write...bedlam
they have to fill the forms in for you and they have to ensure that you get all the benefits you are entitled to - if you fill it in , they will not volenteer any other information accross that may give you more benefit ..
so sometimes its beniefical to be stupid

 

[Len Boorman]

sounds a good idea

But must admit that I do not tell anybody anything about my personal circumstances unless it is essential. prefer to know what the limits are and then if I am above limits I say nothing.

L

 

[Rabbie]

Col's last day seems to have a) Gone on for longer than he was employeD (kidding really) and b) become a pensions advice bureau. No bad thing at all

Interested in Brian's comment re allowances.

I am planning retirement for Dec 2008 and it looks as if I will fail to qualify for any sort of allowance on all counts.

Damn.

Being of a similar vintage (but slightly older) than Len, I too have to start planning for retirement. Unfortunately my dear wife has so much for me do then that I will have to stay on at work in order not to kill myself through overwork. I suppose I could always start an Access bureau if I need some spare cash. (Pause for sympathy).

Still growing old isn't so bad if you consider the alternative(death)

 

[GaryPanic]

Guys you are a bit late in your retirement plans

Ideally you should start to finalise your retirement 3 years b4 you go .

cutting down on hours worked etc instead of 5 days do 4 , then down to 3 then mornings only (Not always possible I know)
then plan what you are going to do .. so many just stop working and keel over .. - plan ahead, get involved with something - whether it be swinging or badger spotting anything to keep you mobile - and enjoy life ..

g

 

[Rabbie]

Guys you are a bit late in your retirement plans

Ideally you should start to finalise your retirement 3 years b4 you go .

cutting down on hours worked etc instead of 5 days do 4 , then down to 3 then mornings only (Not always possible I know)
then plan what you are going to do .. so many just stop working and keel over .. - plan ahead, get involved with something - whether it be swinging or badger spotting anything to keep you mobile - and enjoy life ..

g

No Panic Gary. I have already cut down to 4 days a week. Mainly though so I can keep on top of the admin side for my wife's business. Luckily I have a great Access system to help me with that.

 

[Len Boorman]

Guys you are a bit late in your retirement plans

Ideally you should start to finalise your retirement 3 years b4 you go .


g

I started the planning 35 years ago.

Last year I started to bring the plans together

Unfortunately it costs a company nearly the same to employ a part timer as it does a full timer

Think us "senior" Access guys could start an Advice bureau where we all work say 3 days a week just to keep us away from the "to do" lists

L

 

[MrsGorilla]

The point of all this, is that obviously we have worked it [the money] all out very carefully - we'll be fine, in fact, I should have more disposable income when it all shakes down than when I was working full time. (unless I got the Excel spreadsheet wrong)

Col

Well, that's good news anyway. Most places here in the States don't even have pensions any longer, it's up to you to save your own money in a 401K plan, although most companies will match your donations to the 401K plan up to a certain percentage. Then you have to rely on your savings and Social Security when you retire.

Since I'm working for the government I do have a pension, provided I work here long enough to get it.

 

[MrsGorilla]

But you have the advantage of still being young whilst I am er um older shall we say


L

It would still be nice. We're planning on moving to a different school district (and a bigger house) within the next year though, so we won't have our mortgage paid off anytime soon.

 

[GaryPanic]

401 plan
sounds simliar to UK company pensions

a good company will put into your pension plan 10% of yur salary as long as you put in5% or more percent (Goverent has capped the actual total amount percentage wise you can put in according to age), under 35 then 17.5% is the max over this but under 50 then its 20% over 50 as much as you want (the ages might be slightly out,but you get the gist of it)

State pensions will start at 65to 68 years old - they are midway through changing the state retirment age , women used to retire at 60, men at 65 - couple of year ago women were increased to 63 , then the full 65, (otherwse sex discrimination) and now depending on your age you have to work extra years

THe Goveremnt here is trying to move people from the state pension/benefits to private(company pensions) or personal pensions
slowly

it used to be that over 50% were relaint on the state for pension/benfiets, that has changed to just under 50%, there will always be some who need the goverment to step in.

There was also a debate about goverment pensions on the radio today(I missed it) , but a vast amount of tax goes to pensions of civl servants and there has been a discussion on whether goverment employees shouldhave"Stakeholder pensions" - a type of indivivdaul pension that is transferable ,rather than rely on the civil servant (goverment funded pension)

did hear it , but the arguement is, it would reduce tax's in the long run- not 100% sure how, but i got the feeling that you put into the pot and paymetns come out of the pot , when the pots gone , then you had it .the goverment will not bail you out - and saving wuld be made as civil servants pensions are pretty good its moving the burden of pensions from the goverment on to a pension company,(This i do agree with, Goverments will nbe tempted to use this money for todays project and worry about tomorrows pension tomorrow - which is kinda whats happening inthe UK- both labour and conservative are guilty on this , Cons slighty less to blame as its been there idioliology(?) that if you can remove the burden from the goverment ,and pass it to the individual, then do so. and it allows lower tax's , etc....
whether this is a good idea or not is what politicis is all about and new labour are kinda following this old conserative value and rebranding there idea ..

 

[GaryPanic]

Cindy, show around on your morgages - its different Stateside I know but saving a few bucks and if your morgage company will allow over payments can reduce your morgage by a couple of years..

Seek local advise on this - state side is a bit wacky for us brits when it comes to morgages -different terms /phrases - and different views

see if any of the morgage brokers do a muslim morgage (I forget the name of what they are called properly ) but this might be a alternative option..
the muslim morgages are done on an ethical basis - as muslims see the lending of money and interest on this loan as being"iffy" and against some of there views the morgages that they arrange seem to get round this ..
mihgt be interesting to see if it save a few dollars..
g

 

[Tay]

Congratulations! I'm not entirely sure how Rich will cope on his own with teaching our neighbours about how things should be done, politically. But, I am sure that you must be able to find time to drop in to give him some advice. If not, I am about to become a student again (in Geordie-land), so will endeavour to participate more often here.

 

[ColinEssex]

I'm still here - much to the annoyance of many posters. Good luck in geordie land. They talk funny up there.

Now where's that Martini?

Col

 

[Brianwarnock]

Now where's that Martini?

Col

At 11:28 pm? I'd have thought it was time for a good Malt nightcap.

Brian

 

[Rich]

At 11:28 pm? I'd have thought it was time for a good Malt nightcap.

Brian

And they are carrying out research to look for a drug to cure insomnia

 

[ColinEssex]

At 11:28 pm? I'd have thought it was time for a good Malt nightcap.

Brian

Not malt - vodka and lime thanks - get through a fair bit of that

Col