Q&A with business champion for older workers Ros Altmann

Hullo, what do you think is the most valuable piece of advice I can give my grandchildren in terms of providing for their own futures and the pensions of the future

thanks.

In financial terms April 2015 is quite close but still the Government has not issued any detail (as far as I am aware) about withdrawing money next April, rather than taking out an annuity. Have you seen any details?

How much can one withdraw before tax is claimed by HMRC? Does the amount of tax paid be dependant on one's pension (s) paid at present?

Also if there is an avalanche of money going out, will companies be allowed to charge what they like for the privilege of us taking our own money?

Thank you

I am interested to read the figures of how long retirement is likely to last these days (ie over double) but it worries me - for those of us of a certain age the provisions were the same as they ever were but we are expected to make it last over a decade longer. What can we (who are already in/approaching our 60s) do? And what should the government be doing to make things better for our children/GC when they reach this age?

Hi Ros, thanks for coming on the site today. I am 56 years old and have been made redundant recently. I am a widow, so money was tight before my redundancy and now the prospect of going for a long period without a job is keeping me up at night. I find that I lose out on opportunities because I'm not terribly good at job searching online, filling in the forms, registering for umpteen different sites. I cant find jobs on the internet the way my daughters can but they are no longer living with me and I can't ask them to spend their lives searching for a job for me. I feel that older people are being let downb by the way that everything is now online. I look in my local papers and see nothing in my field.

My question is - what is being done to ensure that jobs are also open to those who are not online/not very good (me!) at the internet thing? We seem to be missing out on so much there is a library near me but only a couple of compouters and no classes i could take.

There's been much made of rights to flexible working in the last few months - but I am still not convinced about the reality. All we have is the right to ask - which means nothing and for older workers like myself we are often worried about rocking the boat as it is so hard to get new jobs at our age. But it would make a big difference to me so can you advise me on the best and most constructive way to approach an employer a) in terms of getting a result and b) in terms of not damaging the relationship. Thank you in advance

Hello Ros

My husband and I are in our early 50s and both working. We both work for small organisations who do not offer employee pension schemes. I have a pension pot from a previous employer which I paid into for a decade (but obviously don't pay into any more) and that's it. We have been put off making private provision after waves of publicity saying its not worth the while. But now, with ten to fifteen years left (max) of working we are starting to panic and would value any advice you can offer.

Many thanks

Daisy

Hello Ros,

Could you tell me what you think about whether retirees should defer their state pensions (to increase their value) and whether you advocate this?

Also, I am thinking of moving abroad when I am due to retire in 2016 (as a teacher) but am confused about what my rights are in terms of transferring my pension abroad or whether I have to take it in one lump sum. What do you recommend for pensioners living abroad (I would be moving to the South of France).

Thanks very much and congratulations on your appointment as the Older Workers Business Champion!

Neena

Dear Ros Altman , I am sure you are aware of the immoral practice of this and all past UK Governments freezing the pensions of of such a small group of its pensioners. We comprise only a penalised 4% of the 12 million pensioners and include over 1000 stuck in such countries as Zimbabwe.
I note a recent article in the Times, identified 5 reasons this Government practice has to cease;- www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/money/article4104695.ece

Sir Roger Gale with Dame Ann Begg and Sir Peter Bottomley have established an All Party Parliamentary Group APPG to investigate the issue and endeavour to have this offending, unfair regulation repealed.
blogs.independent.co.uk/2014/04/02/mps-join-the-fight-for-justice-for-those-stuck-on-frozen-state-pensions/

How might you help us publicise to the British public our fight for justice please? The Government's attitude is very shortsighted, for it's discouraging thousands of black and ethnic minority people from retiring back to their cultural homelands, which would save £billions in NH services winter power subsidies etc.

This article below was written in YourMoney magazine, after I gave a presentation at a pensions conference in London at end May this year. The author, Lawrence Gosling, found it very difficult to comprehend that the British government has these draconian rules leveled at such a small group of its pensioners especially we now know that the Government spent $11.4 billions on foreign aid this year. www.yourmoney.com/yourmoney/opinion/2349052/blog-the-plight-of-expats-on-frozen-state-pensions.

I have an Aviva Income Bond which I took out in 2007 for £50k. This was to give an extra £300+ a month to boost my pension. Is this the best thing I could have done? I know it's reducing all the time, but is there anything better I could do with the remaining capital? Thanks in advance for your response.

I retired in Dec 2013 and haven't done anything about the small pension from the part-time job I had for 23 years - there was a pension scheme only for the last few years I was there. It's just over £5000. I had hoped to draw it as a lump sum to use for house repairs and maintenance but together with my teacher's pension from the 1970s (from which I receive a monthly sum) it came to over £18000 so I couldn't withdraw it. Can I withdraw it now - or next April? I could do with it. I am 66 and so drawing a state pension.

Thanks in anticipation for your advice.

I am in the same position as Starling. I am 60 and have worked since I was 16. I gave up my last job a year ago because it involved a lot of lifting. I can't claim unemployment benefit because my savings are over the limit. I am living off my savings and won't get my state pension for another 5 years. With so many young people who have never worked wouldn't it make more sense for people of my age to be able to retire to free up jobs for the young? If M.P.s had to do a 'real' day's work, they would not have reached such an unfair decision as to increase the retiremant age.

I've been told that if I defer taking my state pension by (for example)a year, I would receive 10% extra when I do start taking it. Is this correct? And how do I work out whether this is worth doing or not, as of course I would forego receiving a year's pension payments.
Many thanks.

Hi
Good independent financial advice is becoming more critical for those of us with small pension pots as options increase. In my experience financial advisers are not too interested in this market or charge a lot proportionate to the amount involved. Where is the best place to go to find an adviser I can trust
In your opinion should people retiring this year who can do without the income wait until after April next year for more potential rule changes

Hello Ros Altmann - Could you please tell us what action the government is taking to increase employment of people aged over 50 and under state retirement age?

What do you think of the government changing the rules for pension pots?
Do you think pensioners to be will miss out?