Pensions: 'No one has a clue'

Pensions: 'No one has a clue'

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Simpo Two

Original Poster:

85,603 posts

266 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-36287811?n...

"Conversations with countless experts and independent financial advisers have confirmed for me only one thing - they have no clue either."

Right or wrong, it's not a good state of affairs.

sidicks

25,218 posts

222 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-36287811?n...

"Conversations with countless experts and independent financial advisers have confirmed for me only one thing - they have no clue either."

Right or wrong, it's not a good state of affairs.
Decades of government meddling and moving the goalposts,

Simpo Two

Original Poster:

85,603 posts

266 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
Indeed. I think a new job beckons for you...

LeoSayer

7,310 posts

245 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
I'm sure George Osborne thinks Lifetime ISAs are the answer.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

247 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
Hmmmmm.

IMO it's easy to make pensions seem complicated if you want to - and IMO it has often been in the interests of "advisers" to make it seem as complicated as possible in order to fabricate a case for "added value" from their services.

Ozzie's basics,
  • The global financial system is based on capitalism
  • Capitalism is probably the political system which most accurately reflects human nature
  • The concept of capitalism is transformed into reality by stock markets
  • If you invest prudently in stock markets you should, over time, make money. What is "prudent"? Spreading your risk.
  • If you can make money in a reduced tax environment that must be attractive.
  • Pension investment is therefore attractive.
  • But what if the government changes the rules?
  • Large scale rule changes are unlikely because they are perceived so negatively and the government wants people to save.
  • But what about Gordon Brown's stealth taxes? Precisely, he destroyed good employment pensions at a stroke.
Pensions and ISAs aren't as "tax free" as they used to be. Successive governments have seen to that. But Cameron's dramatic increase of the ISA annual allowance goes some way to offset this, as does the ability to leave pensions to your family free from Inheritance Tax.

Ignore the nay-sayers! They will always find an excuse for their "spend it now" mentality. Fill yer pockets! Or to put it more politely, "Make hay while the sun shines". By the way, the sun is shining....

otherman

2,191 posts

166 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
"Conversations with countless experts and independent financial advisers have confirmed for me only one thing - they have no clue either."
He's wrong, and I don't really see the point he's trying to make. If you take the time, pensions aren't all that complicated, but every time someone spouts this sort of stuff, people use it as an excuse not to save.

Ginge R

4,761 posts

220 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-36287811?n...

"Conversations with countless experts and independent financial advisers have confirmed for me only one thing - they have no clue either."

Right or wrong, it's not a good state of affairs.
His comments surprised me. But hey, he has a unique DB pension, why should he care? If you took the pension in isolation, in its current guise, it's not complicated. Constant meddling complicated things.

He was sacrificing candour for agenda..

Simpo Two

Original Poster:

85,603 posts

266 months

Friday 20th May 2016
quotequote all
It calls to mind a quote from an Apprentice candidate I liked. 'Business is simple but made complicated by idiots' or somesuch.