Pensions for property

He hasn't thought this through again has he. if grandparents give their pensions to buy homes, how do they pay for their care? (Luckily we'll be pushing up daisies by the time our DGC are looking to buy. )

Pity the lump sums are going to be needed to pay off the mortgaes that the endowment policies aren't going to cover...
This is a load of codswallop isn't it.

Seems a pretty daft idea to me. I suppose it circumvents the obligation to pay capital transfer tax if a parent simply gives the deposit (or more) to an adult child, but it also circumvents the whole raison d'être for a pension pot. I don't really expect to hear any sense from Nick Clegg.

'let me be very clear about this....' Well, that's what he said!

I am beginning to think that nobody should be leader of any political party until they are at least 50. Their youth and inexperience is certainly showing, I also worry about the huge confidence that seems to be instilled in them at school - so much so that they appear to have no healthy self doubt what-so- ever

That's another section of the electorate that the Lib Dems have managed to alienate. I despair!

After Nick Clegg's apology about student fees, and now this - do you think the LDs are trying to get "the youth vote"? He certainly isn't concerned with trying to win me over that's for sure!

He's an idiot! Says the first thing that pops into his empty head and doesn't think things through!

1. How old are kids when they want to move out and buy a house? 24/25-ish? OK 67 (my retirement age)-25 = 42. How many parents have children when they are over 40? Therefore using your pension settlement at 67 to pay off a deposit for a mortgage is likely to be for a grandchild - not one's own offspring. How many Grandchildren do you have? I have 5 currently. Split my lump sum 5 ways and none of my grandchildren would have enough for a deposit. At this point my "universal credit"/old age pension is supposed to kick in. My income will half and I shall have no savings to replace my car, maintain my own house etc.
The only people who can capitalise on their pension savings are exactly the ones who already own multiple properties - all associated with phantom offshore companies!

I have said previously that I think Nick Clegg is out of his depth. He certainly hasn't thought this idea through. I thought his idea was that grandparents could use their pension pot as a guarantee for their grandchilds mortgage. As CaroleB says what if you have more than one grandchild. Can you imagine the guilt the grandchild would feel if the grandparents lost their pension because the grandchild had defaulted on their mortgage, or the pressure grandparents would be under to guarantee a mortgage even if they didn't feel comfortable about it.

I think most grandparents already help their children and grandchildren as much as they are able (at least the ones I know certainly do).

What is not clear to me is whether the pension lump sum would be used to pay the deposit (in which case, that's nothing new, as parents can already do this if they want to) or merely guarantee the mortgage - again nothing new, I know lots of people who have done this for their children.
I don't see that the pension lump sum is any different from any other savings parents might have - except that if you take your lump sum and spend it on anything, whether it's home refurbishment, a holiday, or helping your children, your pension income will be significantly less than if you leave it in your pot.
He is talking about people with a pension pot of £40K which at current rates will provide an income of about £2400 pa if you're lucky.
Presumably it has not occurred to the Lib dems that if people significantly reduce their pension income, they will then qualify for more state benefits like pension credit and housing benefit...........

Bloody cheek. Yes I have paid my mortgage off - as a divorced parent it was at times pretty difficult, but I was determined. Once I pop my clogs I do intend to leave the property to my 2 children. However, if I should need more care then could be coped with at my home, I'll need it. If he can guarantee that my care would be free and really good then I'd consider it. My DS and MIL are already buying their own home and I'd dearly like to give my daughter a decent deposit for her own place. Paying rent is paying someone else's mortgage after all.
Do you know this guy continues to be an absolute idiot, surely the LibDems can get someone better.

dorset, don't bank on it. I've met a fair few Lib Dem MPs - I used to be a candidate assessor - and leadership isn't one of the qualities I'd attribute to most of them.

If you used your pension to fund a child/grandchild's house purchase wouldnt Social Services say that you had deliberately disposed of your money to avoid funding your own care needs and refuse to pay for any care needs you had?

I have long thought that nobody should become an MP under the age 35 and should have to prove that they had held a job outside politics for at least five years to be able to contest a seat. Ministers should be at least 50. With pension age rising to 70 thy would still be in their prime at that age.

As a life long member of the Liberals. Lib Dems in current circumstances I at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I did not vote for Nick Clegg in the last leadership election because i judged him to be exactly what he has turned out to be immature and wet behind the ears.

Neither did I vote for him, Flickety - at the time, Chris Huhne seemed the better candidate and look at him now!

What's sensible in giving a lot of money away to the GC's and then finding that you've nothing left for your care? Let's face it, there's no chance at my age in saving up again to recoup that money, not with the interest rates being dished out today!! Nick Clegg has just apologised for one big demeanor - what is he thinking?? obviously not a lot that makes any sense.

MP's seem really out of touch with us plebs!! simply because they have no experience of surviving in the normal world. My MP is a real jumped up so and so and would not be my choice. There must be better ways of electing them so that we get more plebby candidates - one's who've lived

Well we cannot win them all.

I think a lot of politicians and their "policy wonks" live in a SE bubble in which they think everyone has made lots of money out of property and are sitting pretty.
This is a desperate suggestion isn't.
Even if older family members were guaranteeing the deposit, property is still too darn expensive in much of the country for young people to meet their repayments.
The other factor he is not considering is that middle aged people will, on average, live well into their eighties and will need a nest egg themselves if they are lucky enough to have a lump sum that is not needed to pay off mortgage.