Mel B Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 Seeing as this thread was about the 'joy' of my being able to leave work soon, and absolutely NOTHING to do with what has turned out to be the contentious issue of public sector pensions etc, could I suggest that if you wish to continue along those lines, you start another post so that others can easily see from the thread title what it is actually about and can contribute if they feel the need. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 You as a long time contributor should know that is the nature of these threads, they tend to go off in other directions. I wish you well despite my comments, just wish it was a level playing field for us all. I did 50 years slogging it in common with millions, your "Hubby" what is his name exactly, by your own admission did around around 30, lets leave it at that. Nice work if you can get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Agreed, Mel, it has been an unedifying, and rather unpleasant, digression. I'm out. All I would wish to add is that no, I do not miss onefoot's point, but think he exaggerates to extent of early retirement etc in the public sector. I know some are fiddles, and do not condone those, but others are for genuine reasons, as are some early retirements on health grounds from the private sector. It is not all a one-way street, and I do think he is suffering from reading too many deliberately exaggerated Daily Mail style scare stories. Clearly he has issues with his local council, which seems to be acting in a very questionable manner. Not all are the same - unfair again - and our council tax has been remarkably consistent for a number of years, and static for the past two. Sorry if that sounds like me gloating over my good fortune: it is not, it is mere fact, and no, I didn't move here twenty years ago because I knew that would be the outcome after I retired. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 The next time I hear about the average bloke working in the private sector being able to retire at 48 with no worries about how he'll pay the bills the week after is when I think we have got an equitable system, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-10-22 7:18 PMThe next time I hear about the average bloke working in the private sector being able to retire at 48 with no worries about how he'll pay the bills the week after is when I think we have got an equitable system, that's all.Does semi retired at 46 count?:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 pelmetman - 2011-10-22 7:23 PM 1footinthegrave - 2011-10-22 7:18 PMThe next time I hear about the average bloke working in the private sector being able to retire at 48 with no worries about how he'll pay the bills the week after is when I think we have got an equitable system, that's all.Does semi retired at 46 count?:D No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-10-22 7:18 PM The next time I hear about the average bloke working in the private sector being able to retire at 48 with no worries about how he'll pay the bills the week after is when I think we have got an equitable system, that's all. I am able to 'leave' work due to OUR OWN SAVING AND PLANNING OVER MANY, MANY YEARS. We will NOT be getting any form of regular income until we start to draw our work pension from 60 if we wish, and a reduced level - not a big fat one which you seem to think everyone gets, but enough for us to manage. I was going to be leaving work anyway and due to our efforts this has finally become possible. The fact that I am getting some money from work has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that I was going to leave anyway which I was going to do very shortly, all it has done is to give me a cushion that I didn't expect which ISN'T funded by you! Take it or leave it, that's the truth, if you want to keep banging on about you paying for my leaving and how badly done by you were that's fine. Oh, just one more thing, the 'average bloke' CAN do what we have and I am fed up of hearing how hard up they are or hard done by, we haven't had massive wages, we're just 'plebs' and no different to people doing the same jobs we have, for the same wages, in the private sector so we are average too, regardless of where we work/have worked and I object to you trying to make out that we are anything but or undermine the intelligence of the 'average bloke' .... When I see people around me at work, many of them on much, much better wages than me spending on this and that, never being able to save and constantly being desparate for month end when they'll get money in their mitts again ... not to spend on necessities and bills, but to fund their chosen way of life, it makes me feel genuinely sad. Why? Because I'd love them to be able to do what we are doing, but they know what they are doing with their money, and willingly spend it as they do. Their choice totally which they accept and not one of them has ever come across as spiteful and bitter about what I am able to do, to my face or behind my back. We decided a long time ago on a lifestyle that would hopefully enable us to get to a point where we could do what we are now, and thankfully we have made it ... I intend to enjoy myself as much a possible for as long as I can. :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Good for you, hope you and "hubby" enjoy. Sorry I missed his name, not Brian by any chance ? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Good luck, enjoy your retirement Mel. Most negativity comes from jealousy. I am jealous too and want to go full time but wish you luck Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Yes you may well have a point, probably the reason most people were up in arms at the MPs expenses fiddles as well, or bankers bonuses that we all pay for, just driven by jealousy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I dont think that Mel B retiring is in the same league as the MP's expenses fiddles or the bankers bonuses!! My Dad worked down the pit all his life and died at the age of 71. My Mother in Law worked all her life too and died at 68. They did not get a chance to enjoy their retirement. My Dad refused to let me go down the pit so I joined the forces and did 27 years. I fought in the Falklands and went to the Gulf. Spent over half of my married life away and yes I have a pension. This is what I signed up for. If anyone says to me that I am lucky as I have a pension, then my reply to them is that I came into the world with nowt and I made my life from nowt. The choices I made in life have got me to where I am now. These are the same choices that everyone else has had. My Dad chose to go down the pit not in the forces. He said that I made the right choice. He didnt have money for motorhomes or anything of the like and if my dad could have retired early he would have. One thing my Dad would never do is begrudge anyone a chance to better themeselves or anyone who has worked hard the choice of early retirement. He was never bitter and twisted. Mel. Sorry that sharing your good news with everyone else has led to some unkind comments from people who really know nothing of you or your circumstances. I am pleased for you. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 To be fair I may have misread the situation, her and hubby will apparently not have any regular income for the next 12 years, so they must be very thrifty folk indeed. Lets leave it at that, except I doubt your Dad would say he had a choice, more that like most of his generation it was a case of getting some bread and butter on the table any way he could, just like my old man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 One major point missed here is that most employees, even outside of the boardroom, were in the same type of Pension arrangement as Mel if they belonged to a Company Pension Scheme in the eighties. That is to say pensions used to all be Defined Benefit schemes based on years of service at a rate of either 1 X 60TH OR 1 X 40TH of your salary for every year earned, depending on the rules of the scheme. This meant anybody leaving work at whatever age could take their accrued pension in line with the scheme at whatever age the scheme paid out bearing in mind Inland Revenue rules. This changed during Mrs .Thatchers time when interest rates rates meant annuities were very lucrative and you could at the peak receive in excess of 12/13000 k for a 100,000k pension pot.Lots of people outside of the public sector did very well during this period, If that situation would have continued Mels pension would have been a lot lot worse than it is now and I can bet her pension is nowhere as high as most people out there are assuming. Unfortunately, the private sector transferred to defined contribution schemes which means ultimately that you now get very little for your 100,000k. hence pushing ability to retire with a good standard of living that bit further away. Not Mels fault. Seems to me that we have two camps here, one jealous of Mels pension and I believe another camp that appear to be jealous of the life choice she has made. She has told us that sacrifices have and will have to be made to achieve this so I say good luck to her,give it a go,and if it does not work out or she cannot afford it then she may have to return to work. No doubt this may please some contributors but not me. Give it a go Mel and good luck. cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 For the final time,it has NOTHING to do with jealousy, and it now appears in MelB's case she will have zero income until retirement, I'm assuming the same for her spouse. It's about fairness, many people in the public sector whom for the most part enjoy very many perks to boot can go out at a far earlier age ( 55 ) in the case of the police for example, and others get out on sometimes dubious "ill health" retirement as did a friend of mine at a far earlier age ( he's fitter than me as it happens but he just did what so many of his work colleagues did), then you me and every other tax payer picks up the tab, whilst those in the private sector do not have that tax payer funded privilege. Forgot the employment choice thing, I simply pose the question is that an equitable system, most right minded folk would see it is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Just to clarify a point. My son is a public servant, he is in the Fire and Rescue Service and will be able to retire early on a pension. Unlike the Private sector, his employer contributes ZERO towards his pension and like all other Firemen, he pays considerably more into his pension pot. I will receive very little in private pension but I was always convinced that most of them were poor value for money and made my own arrangements. I will be 65 next April and by then will have already enjoyed 3 years of retirement (without pay). Why anyone should be jealous of anything someone else has is beyond me. Public service workers traditionally had lower wages but more security of employment. They did not expect to be in a superior position to anyone else at retirement and it is wrong to blame them for that. I would like it made compulsory that the members of this forum provide their photo as an avatar. Then I could avoid certain ones if I ever bump into them. 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Perhaps you should make a start with your suggestion replacing the dog picture, or is that you, as I doubt the average dog has the intelligence to understand or read the points I and some others have made which could explain why yet again I have to say it is not jealousy. It's about creating a level playing field. But I now realise I'm swimming against the tide after discovering the public sector employs approx 67% of the population, that explains why our economy like that of Greece, and the rest is in such a state. But I'll never win the argument with those sort of figures against me so lets just leave it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Mel, I bet you wish you had never started this thread in the first place now. I'm with you, if you can by your past thrift, retire early, then darned well done and b*llocks to the bleeding hearts of the small minded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 747 - 2011-10-23 8:57 PM...............................I would like it made compulsory that the members of this forum provide their photo as an avatar. Then I could avoid certain ones if I ever bump into them. 8-) My dear chap, I am so sorry. When we argued over trivia in the past I had not realised you were so disfigured. It must be a terrible burden to you having to explain that while you closely resemble a dog, you are in fact human. My humble apologies. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 peter - 2011-10-23 9:55 PM Mel, I bet you wish you had never started this thread in the first place now. I'm with you, if you can by your past thrift, retire early, then darned well done and b*llocks to the bleeding hearts of the small minded. I'd make a bet that most of you guys are or have been employed in the public sector pushing bits of paper around doing some non job that this country is groaning under the weight of, otherwise you would get it. Most of you think I'm bitter and twisted for holding the views I do, do you know what, I could not give a monkeys, now lets leave it shall we. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 1footinthegrave - 2011-10-23 9:54 PM Perhaps you should make a start with your suggestion replacing the dog picture, or is that you, as I doubt the average dog has the intelligence to understand or read the points I and some others have made which could explain why yet again I have to say it is not jealousy. It's about creating a level playing field. But I now realise I'm swimming against the tide after discovering the public sector employs approx 67% of the population, that explains why our economy like that of Greece, and the rest is in such a state. But I'll never win the argument with those sort of figures against me so lets just leave it at that. I said I was out but it all carried on so, with all due apologies to Mel, what the hell! :-) I think the only reason I, and a number of others, have construed your comments as motivated by jealousy, is because that is the way they come across. You say it is not so, so I believe you, but you could improve understanding no end if you were to choose your words rather better. However, I really don't understand how your intention, as I now understand it, to debate the inequalities of of public sector employment terms vis a vis those in the private sector, relates in any reasonable way to Mel's original string. Added to this, you do seem to have a most unfortunate tendency to make premature judgements about others, based on very little proper knowledge, as you have now discovered in Mel's case. Your response to 747 merely continues that trend. Possibly time to stop and think for a bit? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 747 - 2011-10-23 8:57 PM I would like it made compulsory that the members of this forum provide their photo as an avatar. Then I could avoid certain ones if I ever bump into them. 8-) Perhaps you might like to lead by example. Good luck Mel, screw what others might think, they would do the same given half the chance, I know I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Brian I was going to leave it, but despite that, and the acknowledgement I made in Melb's that I may have got the wrong end of the stick, I must live in a bubble as it seems no one on here objects to their hard earned cash going to the public sector for all the benefits, creation of non jobs, and the general unaccountability about how mine and others bloody hard earned cash gets frittered away, that's all, nothing more nothing less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 But that merely stems from another assumption on your part. That was never the topic of this string and, as you eventually discovered, it was not relevant to Mel's circumstances either. If you want to explore that as a topic, why not start a string to do so? I think you will find that many do agree with you - though I think you'd need to moderate the tone if you wanted to get genuine opinions, and not just another slanging match. With that proviso, I'll play. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Brian I've just re-read my original first reply in this thread, for clarity I repeat it below. You know what, I think my point was a valid one on further reflection, whether folk on here agree or not I really could not care less. But I will be un-subscribing to this thread now,so save your typing finger I started work at 15, and retired at 65, just like my father before me who was still climbing gantry cranes right up to the time he retired at 65 as well. Not for us the luxury of "being given some dosh to go" more a case of being paid to turn up day in day out for 50 years, and with just a final weeks pay packet at the end, hard slog, you really don't know the meaning of the word like most in the public sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhorsf Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 747 - 2011-10-23 8:57 PM Just to clarify a point. My son is a public servant, he is in the Fire and Rescue Service and will be able to retire early on a pension. Unlike the Private sector, his employer contributes ZERO towards his pension and like all other Firemen, he pays considerably more into his pension pot. I will receive very little in private pension but I was always convinced that most of them were poor value for money and made my own arrangements. I will be 65 next April and by then will have already enjoyed 3 years of retirement (without pay). Why anyone should be jealous of anything someone else has is beyond me. Public service workers traditionally had lower wages but more security of employment. They did not expect to be in a superior position to anyone else at retirement and it is wrong to blame them for that. I would like it made compulsory that the members of this forum provide their photo as an avatar. Then I could avoid certain ones if I ever bump into them. 8-) 747 I think you may have got things badly wrong saying firefighters pensions are not contributed to by employer How much does the employer (the Fire and Rescue Authority) pay? And will they pay more as well? The rate the employer pays depends on which pension scheme you are in. For the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, employers currently pay 21.3 per cent, with a one-off illhealth charge of 5.2 per cent. For the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, employers currently contribute 11 per cent, with an ill-health charge of 3.2 per cent. the public sector contributions are about 32billion to pensions by the government ! for more info http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firerescueservice/firefighterpensions/ good luck with your early retirement Mel well done in being thrifty enough to be able to finish early enjoy life whilst your young and healthy :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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