Do pensions go over your head?
May 17, 2011 Leave a comment
My involvement with pensions for employees has been to advise them the company has a scheme and arrange for them to speak to a pensions adviser. I don’t understand pensions – and I think I am not alone here. But I do need to know a little more than what I know now.
Census infomation
Pensions is a subject that has been in the news for some time. We see an ageing population, a government without the funds to sustain us as we age. Here’s some interesting statistics from BBC News in 2004 http://bbc.in/jpJ5NS. This information is from the 2001 Census – “People aged 60 and over already outnumber children under 16 in the UK for the first time”. I wonder what we shall learn in the 2011 Census.
Keep healthy in body and mind
We are advised to eat healthily, do exercise, work longer, learn more to keep fit into our old age (and for younger people too). I agree with all of this and that is another subject for a future blog!
We can’t run away from age
Along with many other people, I saw my pension pot dwindling and started looking at different ways to supplement it for when I want to take it easier. When we are young we don’t think we’ll be old but age is something none of us can run away from. The pensions plans offered at work were not compulsory and I didn’t always understand what was being offered, but I did know that if the company was also making a contribution, it must at least be a form of saving. I have several pension plans from several different companies. I receive notifications which I usually don’t understand. It is such a complex subject.
Never too early to look at options
I thought I should start trying to find out a little bit more and yesterday I met with John Thornton of Cansdales www.cansdales.co.uk and, besides other things, we talked about pensions. We discussed the forthcoming legislation to ensure that employers offer pensions to all, but that employees will have the option to opt-out. At the present time implementation will be rolled out from 2012 through to 2016.
As an employer, when do you need to start thinking about what you need to do? Well, nothing is set in stone yet but it is never too early to start looking at different options. But first, find out when you will need to start implementing and then work backwards to set your ball in motion. You can find out when the legislation will affect you by looking at the HRMC website or – contact me.
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