UNISONActive is an unofficial blog produced by UNISON activists for UNISON activists. Bringing news, briefings and events from a progressive left perspective.

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Pensions are less than half the minimum standard of living‏

Here is all the evidence we need to start to fightback over pensions and make sure we keep the benefits paid out by the NHS and Local Government pension schemes. Pension pots of workers have continued to shrink alarmingly in the past month, leaving 65-year-olds with half the amount they need for an adequate standard of living in retirement, analysts said yesterday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/pensions-less-than-half-the-minimum-standard-of-living-2054418.html

The latest falls in pension incomes will leave the average 65-year-old with just £7,666 a year, a fall of £259 over the month, the employee benefits company Aon Consultancy calculated. For the first time, this has fallen to half the £14,400 income that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation recommends for an adequate standard of living for a pensioner.

These pension pots have replaced the 'final salary' provision that employers used to offer, most in the private and third sector have switched to 'defined contribution' this is where the employee has a pot of money supplied by the employer and employee contribution. The invesments made by this pot generally perform badly because they are individual small pots of money.