bats

After 7 years working here i am going to get $104 a month from CPP. Can't wait to start frittering it away. Still at least i get something at 60, bloody UK has stolen 7 yesrs money from me by making me wait until i am 67 before i get my OAP.

scrubbedexpat091

Makes me wonder now, if I'd get anything from social security in the US, but I only worked there from 16 to 24, so may not have been enough time.

I should look into it..

Dulciusexasperis

For those who qualify for a UK state pension there may be some bad news on the way.

The changes being made to go to a flat rate pension also include changes to the 'married couple pension'. In fact it will no longer exist at all.

So where a married couple could expect to get 110/week plus 66/week, total 176 per week (current figures), they may only get 144 per week if one spouse has never worked in the UK for at least 7 years or more.

Originally intended to provide a pension to a housewife who never worked, it is being done away with entirely beginning in April 2016.

It sounds like you are now retired montreal mike. Do you claim the Married Couple Pension? If you already do then you will continue to receive it but for those who will retire in a few years, it's a loss.

Fortunately, my wife and I will claim next year before the cut-off date. So we will be fine but if we were eligible one year later we would lose out.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/201...arried-couples

montreal mike

i never worked while there

i left after my A levels were done, aged 19, in 1962

it was along long time ago

tweed_wearer

Some excellent replies here, thank you. I think the sensible ing to do would be to assume that there is no pension scheme,unless told otherwise and to view any employer contributions, ever one or two percent as an incredibly generous gift.

Is it true that if your employer goes bump, you lose your occupational pension; that is there is no government guarantee?

It seems that the uk and canada have the same problem in common, with folk living longer and the younger generation saving nothing towards their retirement. It seems that the two countries are diverging in how they deal with the issue; the uk is more hands on with workplace pensions and auto enrolment and canada is much more hands off.

I'm not qualified to say which approach is better but certainly it is not safe to assume that pensions are the same in the uk and in canada

montreal mike

if the company goes belly up you may have to kiss your pension goodbye

it has happened over and over again

but if you work for government then you can sleep well at night

and if the company survives there is nothing to say the plan is properly funded

tweed_wearer

I imagine that the gulf we have in the uk between private and public pensions is nothing in comparison to the position in canada. Private company pensions underfunded, unprotected or non-existent and on the other hand Ontario teachers pension plan has the GDP of Brazil

dbd33

I recently met someone who lives "next to the African Lion Safari" (that's in rural Ontario, it's shown on maps). Later in the conversation I said that I'd worked at 700 University Ave in Toronto.

"Oh" she said "my husband works there".

"How?" I wondered.

"He drives to Aldershot GO station, takes the train, then the subway. On a good day it's an hour and three-quarters each way".

"Whatever for?"

"He has a defined benefit pension plan. He can't leave his job".

scrubbedexpat091

No type of government guarantee on pensions? I think even the US has some basic insurance/program to cover some % of pension from failed companies/bankrupt companies etc.

montreal mike

i left england at age 19 in 1962 so i am not up to date

but I figure there is not much regulation in this county over private pension plans. I have little faith in such pension schemes, they are a pleasant 'bonus', if anything

i certainly would not rely on them

putting money aside into an rrsp makes more sense to me

take care of yourself, do not rely on others

montreal mike

i do not think so but if i am wrong someone please tell me

scrubbedexpat091

That's why my dad has been in his job for 35 years now, he works in the public sector for a school district, but no private company could ever match his pay and benefits these days. (he never went to college, so any job in the private sector would be very low pay, but now his job requires a bachelors degree and pays less, they have 2 pay scales, and the new scale sucks.)

montreal mike

yes that is the attraction for govt. employ

but even that has lost its appeal

nowhere as good as it used to be

scrubbedexpat091

Nope it's not. Even the government (in the US anyhow) is starting to outsource more and more.

montreal mike

there used to be a time when i was your age that when working for govt., as long as you showed up for work on time, managed to stay awake and tried to look busy, and kept as low profile, and left on time, you could expect a lifetime of job security

those were the good old days