Statements

[Rumple]

Would £50 a week for 20 years make much difference?

[milly]

Don't expect your Pension to do much in the future, I believe most of it is invested in debt instruments and we are in the greatest debt bubble in human history.
The Pound is pretty much Toilet paper.

It's designed to increase with inflation each year, up to a max of 5% and always has been.

It's a final/career average salary scheme and is no different to other such schemes – they all do basically the same thing.

I'm not sure anyone expects the RMSPS or RMPP schemes to do something they're not designed to do?

Everyone has the choice to transfer out their RMPP benefits to DC if they want to(assuming you can find a friendly IFA). That may be a better option for some, it may not be for others.

And what happens if the Pensions assets lose value?

1. It's up to the trustees to amend the investments so they go back up in value. It's a long term thing, there doesn't necessarily have to be enough in the pot all the time.
2. The company pay more in, although I doubt they'd be too willing to do that.

The RMPP is actually in pretty good shape at the moment and has been since 2012.

You have no worries about our Pension being heavily invested in Debt instruments?

[RobertT]

Would £50 a week for 20 years make much difference?

It's all relative!

It might make a massive difference for some, but less so for others.

It would also depend to a large degree where it's invested and increasing contributions along with at least inflation is an ideal.

To put it in a bit of context, I paid into Flexiplan for about 24 years. My lowest weekly gross payment was £4 when I first started in the 90's and my largest was £65. But factoring in tax relief and latterly PSE, the net amounts were lower.
With the total net figure being around £35k and the gross about £44k.

I think I'm somewhere in the middle as far as attitude to risk is concerned.
So add on the investment growth and I'm currently sitting on a total of about £100k. Meaning the money that I've put in myself has nearly tripled!
Although it was more than that before the recent stock market falls!

If I'd gone the most risky route, I'd probably have more. If I'd stayed safe, it would be less. You make your choices and end up with what you end up with!

[RobertT]

You have no worries about our Pension being heavily invested in Debt instruments?

Not excessively, no!

There's nothing I can do about where they invest the money. There's risks in whatever it's invested in. That's the same for them as it is for me with my own money.

There's no point in worrying about something you've got no control over, and that has so far delivered what it's supposed to do.

There's also the insurance policy of the Pensions Protection Fund, should the worst happen.

Getting a CETV and transferring out my RMPP and managing that myself to provide similar, or better, benefits would be more of a worry for me.

[Hyrrokkin]

And as suggested before - I still find it unsatisfactory that we have multiple pension statements from multiple sources.

It is.
But as the PSC and Capita seem unable to work together to provide one statement, the only way it's going to change for NRA60 & NRA65 benefits, is if the Cabinet Office award the RMSPS contract back to the PSC, which is due for renewal in 2024 I think.

I agree - it is pathetic
I also do not trust Capita at all - i have to hope my figures are correct

As a side note
The amount of people who have never even heard of AVC's - never mind paying into them is frightening
You have to make your own choices - no-one else is going to do it for you

[RobertT]

As a side note
The amount of people who have never even heard of AVC's - never mind paying into them is frightening
You have to make your own choices - no-one else is going to do it for you

I totally agree!

There seems to be lots if posties who moan about the pension, but not many who actually try and improve it.

AVC's have been in place for many years and haven't been utilised by anywhere near enough people.

[milly]

You have no worries about our Pension being heavily invested in Debt instruments?

Not excessively, no!

There's nothing I can do about where they invest the money. There's risks in whatever it's invested in. That's the same for them as it is for me with my own money.

There's no point in worrying about something you've got no control over, and that has so far delivered what it's supposed to do.

There's also the insurance policy of the Pensions Protection Fund, should the worst happen.

Getting a CETV and transferring out my RMPP and managing that myself to provide similar, or better, benefits would be more of a worry for me.

I doubt the Pension Protection Fund will be of any help as anyone in a company Pension Scheme will be in the same boat if the debt markets collapse.

[Stef]

I have received my RMPP Squirrel illustration. My Age 60 Final Salary Pension addition is £4, while the Age 60 supplement addition is £0. What is that all about? Surely that can't be right

[RobertT]

I doubt the Pension Protection Fund will be of any help as anyone in a company Pension Scheme will be in the same boat if the debt markets collapse.

The PPF is only for DB schemes, but yes if WWIII broke out they wouldn't be able to fulfil all liabilities. Although every scheme wouldn't necessarily fail.

All financial markets have their ups and downs and there are casualties along the way, but in my opinion you're thinking far too short term.
Just because one investment class might falter, doesn't mean others aren't capable of making up for it.

The RMPP will be paying out it's pensions for at least another 40-50 years, assuming the prophets of doom are wrong and it doesn't go totally t!ts up. That's plenty of time for any crash to be corrected.

In years to come there may even be a insurance policy arrangement to pay our benefits, similar to what's happened with the Post Office section of the RMPP.

Everyone has opinions. Ultimately, only time will tell what happens.

[milly]

I doubt the Pension Protection Fund will be of any help as anyone in a company Pension Scheme will be in the same boat if the debt markets collapse.

The PPF is only for DB schemes, but yes if WWIII broke out they wouldn't be able to fulfil all liabilities. Although every scheme wouldn't necessarily fail.

All financial markets have their ups and downs and there are casualties along the way, but in my opinion you're thinking far too short term.
Just because one investment class might falter, doesn't mean others aren't capable of making up for it.

The RMPP will be paying out it's pensions for at least another 40-50 years, assuming the prophets of doom are wrong and it doesn't go totally t!ts up. That's plenty of time for any crash to be corrected.

In years to come there may even be a insurance policy arrangement to pay our benefits, similar to what's happened with the Post Office section of the RMPP.

Everyone has opinions. Ultimately, only time will tell what happens.

On the contrary I haven't been thinking short term as this current financial disaster started in 2008 and I have positioned myself into inflation loving assets sometime ago.
My Royal Mail Pension that is apparently invested in "safe" investments concerns me the most.

[Hyrrokkin]

I doubt the Pension Protection Fund will be of any help as anyone in a company Pension Scheme will be in the same boat if the debt markets collapse.

The PPF is only for DB schemes, but yes if WWIII broke out they wouldn't be able to fulfil all liabilities. Although every scheme wouldn't necessarily fail.

All financial markets have their ups and downs and there are casualties along the way, but in my opinion you're thinking far too short term.
Just because one investment class might falter, doesn't mean others aren't capable of making up for it.

The RMPP will be paying out it's pensions for at least another 40-50 years, assuming the prophets of doom are wrong and it doesn't go totally t!ts up. That's plenty of time for any crash to be corrected.

In years to come there may even be a insurance policy arrangement to pay our benefits, similar to what's happened with the Post Office section of the RMPP.

Everyone has opinions. Ultimately, only time will tell what happens.

On the contrary I haven't been thinking short term as this current financial disaster started in 2008 and I have positioned myself into inflation loving assets sometime ago.
My Royal Mail Pension that is apparently invested in "safe" investments concerns me the most.

The markets recovered since 2008 - funds etc have been doing well until the last few months due to x,y and z
Up and down has always been the case and always will be - there will always be another disaster,crisis round the corner
I am no expert (actually the opposite) but the RMPP Pension scheme is actually in a good place at the moment

[milly]

I doubt the Pension Protection Fund will be of any help as anyone in a company Pension Scheme will be in the same boat if the debt markets collapse.

The PPF is only for DB schemes, but yes if WWIII broke out they wouldn't be able to fulfil all liabilities. Although every scheme wouldn't necessarily fail.

All financial markets have their ups and downs and there are casualties along the way, but in my opinion you're thinking far too short term.
Just because one investment class might falter, doesn't mean others aren't capable of making up for it.

The RMPP will be paying out it's pensions for at least another 40-50 years, assuming the prophets of doom are wrong and it doesn't go totally t!ts up. That's plenty of time for any crash to be corrected.

In years to come there may even be a insurance policy arrangement to pay our benefits, similar to what's happened with the Post Office section of the RMPP.

Everyone has opinions. Ultimately, only time will tell what happens.

On the contrary I haven't been thinking short term as this current financial disaster started in 2008 and I have positioned myself into inflation loving assets sometime ago.
My Royal Mail Pension that is apparently invested in "safe" investments concerns me the most.

The markets recovered since 2008 - funds etc have been doing well until the last few months due to x,y and z
Up and down has always been the case and always will be - there will always be another disaster,crisis round the corner
I am no expert (actually the opposite) but the RMPP Pension scheme is actually in a good place at the moment

This is the biggest debt bubble in human history, to quote Hugh Hendry "I suggest you panic".

[milly]

The Bank of England had to step in today to help out Pension Funds due to the sharp drop in Bond prices.
It doesn't look good does it?
Prepare for another Pension haircut!

[Jefferson Starfish]

The Bank of England had to step in today to help out Pension Funds due to the sharp drop in Bond prices.
It doesn't look good does it?
Prepare for another Pension haircut!

It's not good, but I agree with other posters on here, you're thinking too short term as far as the RMPP is concerned.

Just because the s**t has hit the fan recently, doesn't mean things can't be recovered over the longer term.

[milly]

The Bank of England had to step in today to help out Pension Funds due to the sharp drop in Bond prices.
It doesn't look good does it?
Prepare for another Pension haircut!

It's not good, but I agree with other posters on here, you're thinking too short term as far as the RMPP is concerned.

Just because the s**t has hit the fan recently, doesn't mean things can't be recovered over the longer term.

No chance of any recovery we are heading for a systematic failure, the Government has monetised the whole welfare budget for the past 10 years, i.e we haven't been taking in enough tax to cover our liabilities.
Too many people taking out of the system and not enough paying in, this means will will have a total collapse of the financial system.