oldbadger
Skanky Old Mongrel!
My Dad worked for a big company. When he retired his pension was so valuable! He could choose a lump sum payment and generous half pension, or just stick with full payouts each month. 50 years ago, private pensions were succulent! 
If you're a star and working for a very rich company you could still get a great pension, but for all average folks, like me, you might need to hedge your bets, somewhat.
And then it all went wrong!
I knew work colleagues who were paying in to pension companies and expecting to retire in luxury at 50yrs, and then they lost the lot. True.
And 30 years ago, if you had saved a lump sum in your own bank the interest alone could pay you a massive amount back every month.... but today you will get nothing from it unless you have risked it all in some risky/dodgy investment.
So... what to do to give best chance of an income when you're old and daft, like me? Back in the 80's when the 'it' thing to do was to bail out of the government's meagre pension plan and invest in private pension schemes my mates were pulling their funds from the State and stuffing them in to 'joe Bloggs fat Pensions Ltd' or whatever. I stayed with the standard State pension plan and back then would buy 'National Insurance' stamps each month to stick on a card. Yep! And then IT came along and it happened in some wonderful intangible way.
I decided to have a little private pension as well, and saved my loose pounds coins in a jar each evening; at every month's end I would empty the jar, gather any gear that I wanted to sell and then take the lot to a second hand and pawn shop to get a deal for a gold coin. I could often obtain a sovereign at month's end, but sometimes only a half sovereign. One bad month all I could get was a 1/10 of a kruger-rand. Way back then a sovereign would cost about £40, then in the late 90's it rose to £50......... and then..... !! Today a little sovereign is valued at about £330. They go up and down..... I couldn't care less now. I have never needed to sell one of those coins, ever, probably never will, but my wife will probably live on for decades after I'm gone and she will have better chances because of our private pension fund.
Our best investment ever was to discover that we needed very little in our lives to be happy and content.
Now. What are you doing for the future? Paper money is at risk. Too many companies have gone bust and nicked employee's pensions (Daily Mirror!) . IT wealth is intangible like willow-the-wisp. What is there that could help you when you're old?
If you're a star and working for a very rich company you could still get a great pension, but for all average folks, like me, you might need to hedge your bets, somewhat.
And then it all went wrong!
I knew work colleagues who were paying in to pension companies and expecting to retire in luxury at 50yrs, and then they lost the lot. True.
And 30 years ago, if you had saved a lump sum in your own bank the interest alone could pay you a massive amount back every month.... but today you will get nothing from it unless you have risked it all in some risky/dodgy investment.
So... what to do to give best chance of an income when you're old and daft, like me? Back in the 80's when the 'it' thing to do was to bail out of the government's meagre pension plan and invest in private pension schemes my mates were pulling their funds from the State and stuffing them in to 'joe Bloggs fat Pensions Ltd' or whatever. I stayed with the standard State pension plan and back then would buy 'National Insurance' stamps each month to stick on a card. Yep! And then IT came along and it happened in some wonderful intangible way.
I decided to have a little private pension as well, and saved my loose pounds coins in a jar each evening; at every month's end I would empty the jar, gather any gear that I wanted to sell and then take the lot to a second hand and pawn shop to get a deal for a gold coin. I could often obtain a sovereign at month's end, but sometimes only a half sovereign. One bad month all I could get was a 1/10 of a kruger-rand. Way back then a sovereign would cost about £40, then in the late 90's it rose to £50......... and then..... !! Today a little sovereign is valued at about £330. They go up and down..... I couldn't care less now. I have never needed to sell one of those coins, ever, probably never will, but my wife will probably live on for decades after I'm gone and she will have better chances because of our private pension fund.
Our best investment ever was to discover that we needed very little in our lives to be happy and content.
Now. What are you doing for the future? Paper money is at risk. Too many companies have gone bust and nicked employee's pensions (Daily Mirror!) . IT wealth is intangible like willow-the-wisp. What is there that could help you when you're old?
