Pensions dc and db

[yellowbelly]

Yellowbelly, if you are in the DC Scheme you can track the value of your pension online through the Zurich Insurance Group. You can also switch your investments in to different risk categories at any time of your choosing, so really if you do not actively watch the progress of your plan and act when there are signs of possible down turns in the stock markets, you can't really blame Royal Mail if the value of your investment falls, particularly as you near your retirement age. Personally I would be very wary of possible down turns as we approach exiting the european market and would be looking to switch my investment in the short term in to a less risk category. If shares do take a downturn you can then switch back into them once they have fallen with the view of making more money once they pick up again. Simple economics of buying and selling shares. Sell high, buy low.

Lincox - well aware of all you've said above, and have indeed switched investments from the default, my point was that there
is a split in the workforce between those who have a DB scheme and those that have a DC scheme and the fact that to some degree the
DB pension has a 'guaranteed' benefit at the end of it (although currently RM are obviously trying to kick that into the long grass)
whereas the DC doesn't.

[anini]

My primary grievance was that the pay and pensions were decoupled. Even a dead person could have realised that once pay had been agreed there would be no appetite for strike action. As to the pension being unaffordable, well firstly the government didn't pay into the pot for God knows how many years and they would have taken on the liabilities just like they did at the time of privatization. If the union didn't decouple the issue we could have made them back down. The civil service pension is never called unaffordable because the government has promised to pay. We were in a similar category but ended up having our pensions downgraded when there was no need.

[Lincox]

Also what most people are unaware is that your pension is a deferment of earnings. Because of the decoupling, the pension was put on the sidelines and one of the impacts of this was that you and me although I am now ex Royal Mail took a massive cut in our overall earnings package. Had Royal Mail hit us with such a massive reduction in our weekly wage, everyone would have taken to the gates and locked themselves there until Royal Mail changed their stance. This is exactly what they are offering you now. A massive reduction in your overall package. On top of no pay rise this will reduce your true overall earnings by far more than what the rate of inflation will do to it.