One of the main aims of the Great Reset and the pandemic is to make more people totally dependent upton the State, with the World Economic Forum famously declaring `you will own nothing, you will be happy.’ It seems that could be the net result for many older workers who are unable to set aside more cash from their wages to fund a decent private pension after the age of 60-67.
Most of the over-50s affected negatively by the pandemic are working in the private sector, or self-employed, as most public sector employees have not been impacted financially by the lockdowns and trend towards WFH – in fact for those in the public sector who can isolate at home and still receive full wages and pension scheme payments from their employer, it has saved them about 3K a year on commuting costs.
Recent changes to the NI tax levels also mean that self employed directors of small businesses will face extra costs next year, as the tax on dividends will increase, thus reducing their ability to put money into private pension schemes. The Conservative government in the UK are definitely against private enterprise and for public sector employment or benefits dependency, judging by their pandemic response so far.
Here’s some news from Legal & General;
Over 50s workers in the UK could have a £5.3 billion hole in their collective pension pot due to cutbacks on retirement savings over the course of the pandemic, according to new research from Legal & General Retail Retirement (LGRR).
The new findings, released as part of Pension Awareness Week, estimate that approximately 10% of pre-retired over 50s – 1.4 million people – are continuing to save less every month when compared to before the pandemic. At present, those over 50 saving less have reduced their monthly savings by £155 a month, however at the peak of the pandemic this was an average of £219 less a month. Overall, over 50s saving less towards retirement will have contributed £3,283 less on average over the course of the pandemic than they otherwise would have.
Over 50s workers who are continuing to save less are doing so for a variety of reasons, such as pay decreases (39%), redundancies or job losses (22%) and the impact of being furloughed (13%). One in five over 50s saving less (20%) have also had to reduce their retirement contributions in order to provide more monetary support to their loved ones.
Retirement planning course with The Open University
To help those approaching retirement understand their options – and manage their financial affairs better in later life – Legal & General has a free online course with The Open University, setting out a series of stepping stones to a financially secure retirement.
The introductory 4-hour course combines guidance, short videos and tools and covers various aspects of retirement planning, from how to budget for retirement, how different types of pensions work and what to do if pension income is at risk of falling short.
Emma Byron, MD at L&G Retirement Solutions said;
“It’s completely understandable that those who have faced financial hardship as a result of the pandemic may have looked for opportunities to cut back on their outgoings. However, as our research shows, saving less, particularly for those in their 50s, could have a significant impact on retirement prospects and planning. Our own analysis suggests that those who have saved less would, based on the median average, need to bring their contributions back to pre-pandemic levels, then pay an additional £41 per month to make good on their shortfall.”
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