Occupational pensions
Pensions – A complex issue spanning all parts of society - And not going away any time soon
When we started sketching out our Thought Leadership project in early 2008, the world was a different place. By late 2007 Britain had seen its first bank run in a century as Northern Rock collapsed but that the entire global financial system would go into meltdown in late 2008 was still unimaginable. Soft landing certainly, recession perhaps, deepest crisis in living memory, never…
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A measured approach to public sector pension reform is the right way forward
- Lord Hutton’s interim report into the state of public sector pensions in the UK seems measured. This contrasts with the emotionally-charged debate that came before it.
- There is much to commend, from the principles with which to assess reform options to rejecting a “race to the bottom” in which the public sector follows the private sector.
- Getting this
Can there be anything as safe as houses?
- According to a survey by Liverpool Victoria, more parents would advise their children to buy a property rather than invest in a pension as the best way to prepare financially for retirement. This advice says a lot about the state of pensions in the UK.
- Over the last few decades, buying a property has turned out to be an excellent “investment” from an individual’s point of
Pensioners have done relatively well over the last three decades but will this continue?
- Pensioners have generally done relatively well over the last three decades. While disposable income of retired households remains below that of non-retired households, the gap is now smaller than it was 30 years ago.
- This relative improvement is due to the steady increase in income derived from occupational pensions and annuities. As a proportion of total income for
Total financial reward higher in the public than private sector? It is scandalous but not for the obvious reasons…
- Median weekly pay for full-time employees in the public sector was around 15 per cent higher in 2009 than in the private sector. Median total financial reward, which also captures employer pension contributions, was nearly 30 per cent higher.
- The wider gap for total financial reward does not necessarily reflect higher public sector pension contributions but is due to fact that