Drum: ENTERPRISE
Who knows, maybe there is another way? Maybe
the Government has some grand plan to dig us
out of a hole which it may not have created, but
has done precious little to resolve.
“The time to act
is NOW! ”
The major findings of the Turner report are due
out later this year…but almost certainly not until
after the election. Blair has a bit of breathing
space – a few months to make hopeful noises
about the possible findings of a report that is yet
to be published, and to placate the electorate
before revealing that, in actual fact, the only way
to solve the problem is to force us to work longer
after all.
Take an interest in your pension scheme. Diversify
if you possibly can – avoid putting all your eggs
in one basket, as you run the risk of losing
everything should you fall victim to the next
Mirror Group / Allders style disaster.
Even though the crisis is most imminent
for those in their 50s, rapidly
approaching retirement age, there
are still things that can be done.
And for those young enough to
have time on their side, the time
to act is NOW! Face it: no-one’s
going to do it for you…
your financial position in the present is
the best way to safeguard the future.
• Make saving a habit – ISAs are a good
option, and allow you to keep your
cash accessible, and your options
open.
• As difficult as it may be, don’t make
passing on money to your kids a
priority. Th is simply may not be an
option in the future, and they would
want you to be comfortable in the
retirement you have earned.
• Think about developing skills or
making plans that will allow you to
make a living when you are older. If the
Government is going to make it
compulsory for us to work later, we
may as well be prepared.
IT’S NOT TOO LATE! IF YOU ARE...
• You have the option of joining a
company pension scheme. More than
likely your employer will be contributing
to it too – not taking advantage of this
is voluntarily forfeiting money that you
are entitled to.
• The accepted rule of thumb is that the
percentage of your income you should
aim to pay into your pension fund
should be about half your age when you
start. For instance, if you start at 20, aim
to contribute 10% ; 15% if you start at
30 and so on.
• Make sure you understand
the terms of your pension. If it
isn’t entirely transparent it is
the pension provider’s fault.
But it’s your responsibility to
put yourself in the know.
UNDER 40
If we can learn anything from the present
situation, it’s that we are going to have to get
ourselves out of this mess. And easy as it may
be to try to lay all the blame at the door of
government and big business, pensions are our
responsibility. The ‘moral contract’ is a thing of
the past. We are going to have to stand alone
in the future.
• Try to start paying off debt: improving
OVER 40
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