But lets not forget that he had to work for the RM for 26 years! People get less for murder.

Spainboy.
Gordon and the Morons will soon be history so pensions will return to mathematical rather than political calculations.
There is a trade-off between security and opportunity. Your brother made a calculated and sensible decision. Good luck to him. He is to be congratulated.
You made a different decision, you took the world on and tried new things. Your journey is not yet complete. You may make your fortune next year, or just keep trying like the rest of us.
Bloody good luck to you.
People like you are the reason we don't live in caves any more.
I am sorry to shout but HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH.

I seem to remember it was Maggie that split the state pension from linked to average earnings to linked to inflation, thereby considerably reducing its value. Even if the Tories get in I wouldn't expect that pensions in general will necessarily be insulated from politics.

Cape Blue.
The detail is true but wake up. I assume you are a a pension holder. This is a very dangerous time when reality bites. Hard
Do NOT assume Government pensions are inviolate. Gordon occupies three of the four bottom places of the worst chancellor in history and you really do need to protect yourself against the whirlwind.

Wake up for what? I pointed out that Tories were just as able to mess with peoples pensions as Labour have.

I understand that many people in the UK don't like Gordon Brown, it is a normal situation at the end of a long period under one party/premier (as GB was chancellor before PM he's been in the frame for most of the time). What I don't understand is the irrational "worst chancellor in history" bit - since 1995 the UK economy has done pretty well when you compare it to similar countries like France, German, Italy, Japan - its been this strength that allowed many expats to generate enough wealth to move up a level when they moved country.

Lets not stray too far off topic, eh
Although I realise pensions do have a place in why people are leavving

But a UK pension ain't gonna go any further in the UK than it does in Spain, surely? Unless we are now arguing that the daily cost of living for pensioners in the UK is now lower than in Spain?

No, I think my badly made point was cautionary really. To repeat, do not assume Government pensions are inviolate , especially those not yet in payment. "Put not your faith in princes".

More generally, most of us are taking long term decisions, and should try not to be swayed by short term events. The collapse in sterling is painful in the extreme, but it will not last forever. The decline can go further, but these levels will look overdone in a year or two. So if you can, stick it out, take a step back and see what you really want to do.
I appreciate that that is hard on a fixed income, but the situation IMO is not as dire as some say.

BUT a UK pension doesn't suffer from exchange rates if spent in UK. A friend of mine gets 1400 sterling monthly, this only got him 1000 euros last month.

1400 sterling buys a lot more in UK than 1000 euros in Spain ( I would imagine).

[QUOTE=Hillybilly;7199472]But a UK pension ain't gonna go any further in the UK than it does in Spain, surely? Unless we are now arguing that the daily cost of living for pensioners in the UK is now lower than in Spain?[/QUOTE]

Surely A Uk Pension would go furhter in the UK than over here or am I missing the point?
My Parents are of pensionable age and they are entitled to free travel anywhere in the uk(although my dad is very much capable of driving and wishes to do so) plus the price of food has come down dramatically too and I will still stand by the fact that I think the prices NOW are cheaper than what they are in Spain.
My parents don't pull in great pensions, infact my mum only gets £70 a week basically because she was a house mum all her life and chose to stay at home and look after 3 kids so the jobs she has had were never lucrative.

Can I ask what is cheaper over here for a pension?

You mean sterling is down to 70 cents?

Im finding that very hard to believe too.

When has £1400 been 1000 euros.????????

The rate has NEVER been that low. £1400 is about 1450 euros!!!!

The rate I saw was 1.08 a day or so ago, though you'd get less than that on exchange....

Today it is 1.04 in the exchange places for the tourist rate. The exchange went up slightly last week but has dropped again.
The lowest its been here is 1euro- £1.


Im not sure where Snikpoh got the figures that £1400 would buy 1000euros unless she got seriously ripped off in one of those dodgy exchange places that are knocking around.

Hi folks, sorry to intrude on your thread, and It may seem like a bit of a silly question to all of you living out there, but could you advise me if it's easier ( or should i say better ) to change £ for euro's here in the UK before an holiday or to exchange in Spain when we get there.
I have had conflicting advice about this in the past, but i figure that you guy's will know probably better than anyone.