Pensions raid > End of private sector pensions > Mother of all stockmarket crashes

[DodgyAgent]

Is the "Oh dear!" brand still going?

George Osborne plots £7bn pensions 'raid' on better off - Telegraph

"Some Conservative MPs expect the axing of higher-rate relief to be merely the first stage in a more extensive and radical plan which would end up with all tax relief – including on contributions made by people paying the basic 20p rate of income tax – being abolished, saving £22 billion a year in total."

This would kill off private pensions. Who would bother to contribute out of their net income, knowing that the pension income would be taxed when they eventually retire and draw that income? (Double taxation... lovely!).

If this were to happen, would the following be a realistic scenario?....

1) Government removes all tax relief on contributions, leading to...

2) ...everyone stops contributing to private pensions, leading to...

3) ...private pension funds have to close & liquidate, leading to...

4) ...the mother of all stockmarket crashes, making the late 90's dot-com boom and the more recent credit-crunch look like minor hiccups, as funds race to sell huge shareholdings before the price falls further.

I can't believe the government would be so foolish as to go down this route? Would they?

Dooooooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!

Logic!!!

[PAH]

This would kill off private pensions.

Maybe that's the plan. They make it law that everyone earning an income has to put their money only in a safe government backed public pension, which they can then use to pay all the public sector workers on their generous final salary schemes.

You'd trust the government with your money wouldn't you? If you have an NS&I investment you've already answered yes!

[shaunbhoy]

I found the place so depressing I didn't even get a semi.

I once had a full-on stiffy in Reading, but only whilst watching a sweaty, panting Patti Smith on stage in 1978!!
And in my defence, I did have a fair cargo of beer aboard!

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Maybe that's the plan. They make it law that everyone earning an income has to put their money only in a safe government backed public pension, which they can then use to pay all the public sector workers on their generous final salary schemes.

You'd trust the government with your money wouldn't you? If you have an NS&I investment you've already answered yes!

I think they may be one step ahead of you there PAH - comes into force next year:

The Pensions Bill is the next step in helping millions save for their retirement in a workplace pension.

At present employers do not have to contribute into a pension scheme for their employees and many choose not to. As a result, as a country we are under-saving for retirement.

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said:

"This Bill will radically transform the pensions landscape in this country. Millions of people, who currently have little or nothing put by for their retirement will, from 2012, find themselves enrolled in a workplace pension – setting them on the road to a more secure future."

From 2012 employers will be required to automatically enrol eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme. The measures included in the Bill will take forward the recommendations of the recent independent review of auto-enrolment to ensure that there is a balance between costs and benefits for individuals and a more proportionate impact on employers.

Middle earners after the reforms could be gaining well over the equivalent of a year’s pay if they chose to save in a workplace pension. Based on employer contributions of 3 %, people earning an average income could gain an extra £650 a year – or around £30,000 over their working life by contributing to their pension.

Lord Freud said:

"We know that the younger people start to save, the better off they will be in retirement and that’s why automatic enrolment will be so crucial. The measures in this Bill will provide a fair deal for workers in retirement, ease the burden on business and provide a sure foundation for pensions for generations to come."

The Pensions Bill will implement measures in the Making Automatic Enrolment Work review and the Command Paper ‘A sustainable State Pension: when the State Pension age will increase to 66’. It builds on reforms set out in the Pensions Act 2008 and Pensions Act 2007.

The Pensions Bill will bring forward the rise in the State Pension age for men and women to 66 by 2020 so that the State Pension remains sustainable and fair for the future, given rising rates of longevity.

Some key measures in the Bill include:

Aligning the earnings threshold for automatic enrolment with the personal allowance for income tax
Introducing an optional waiting period of up to three months before employees need to be automatically enrolled
Simplifying the process for employers to certify their money purchase schemes meet requirements for automatic enrolment
Providing greater flexibility for employers regarding re-enrolment dates
Bringing forward the increase in State Pension age to 66 by 2020 and bringing women’s State Pension age in line with men’s to 65 by 2018
Allow contributions to be taken towards the cost of providing personal pension benefits to current judicial pensions scheme members

[Sysman]

I think they may be one step ahead of you there PAH - comes into force next year:

The Pensions Bill is the next step in helping millions save for their retirement in a workplace pension.

FT: Pension changes heading for ‘car crash’

Government plans requiring employers to start enrolling their employees automatically into a pension scheme are heading for a “car crash”, a leading firm of actuaries and pension consultants has warned.

A survey of finance and human resources directors at some of Britain’s biggest companies – the ones which will have to start auto-enrolment in October next year – shows that 40 per cent of finance directors are not aware of the deadline.

[DimPrawn]

This will just increase the number of companies hiring Bobs, since they will not be counted as employees no doubt.

Another brilliant Lib Dem "idea" forced on the Tories to hold this bag-o-tulipe coalition together no doubt.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

This will just increase the number of companies hiring Bobs, since they will not be counted as employees no doubt.

Another brilliant Lib Dem "idea" forced on the Tories to hold this bag-o-tulipe coalition together no doubt.

Agency workers will be covered in the pensions bill as well - from Oct 2012

[PAH]

What about real contactors (i.e. us!), not temps employed by the agency?

Maybe companies will start using more 'short term' contractors that are operating on a B2B basis, not disguised employees.