Petition for Pension Reform

[Ronanr]

There should be a universal state pension with all workers contributing an equal percentage of their income, with allowances for low-paid workers/those on minimum wage.

All should get the same percentage of their salary or a minimum payment, whichever is the higher amount.

Those who can afford to risk extra money on private pension schemes could do so.

I do not think any Public Sector workers would have a huge problem with such a scheme, in theory.

However on P.ie all you see is critics of the PS demanding that the PS should be made PAY (and SUFFER!) for the fact that the have a decent pension.

I mean, the website of the OP goes on about pension equality, but mainly it seems to be much more angry at the fact that the Public sector get a half-decent pension than that the Private sector worker gets a rubbish one.

When you think that for most normal people the focus of the anger would be the other way round.

I really wonder about the bona fides of some of the posters here.

Are they on a retainer from IBEC I sometimes wonder?

[Conor]

Are they on a retainer from IBEC I sometimes wonder?

If so, IBEC should look for their money back.

[Ronanr]

If so, IBEC should look for their money back.

Indeed.

The funny part of it is he ends the blog by sketching out a system that seems actually quite socialist, and if there was any possibility of it being implemented IBEC would be fighting it tooth and nail. (The Public Service would probably adjust to it quite easily).

But he seems to think that the public service are the enemy...

It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

[bloggydew]

On the point of pre 1995 public servants not receiving the state pension, this and this say otherwise. But if thats incorrect then fair enough, and I've updated what I wrote to state this may not be the case.

On the point of interest, I intentionally did not include interest because of the uncertainty over what the fund would gain or lose, but its true that in all likelihood, even taking this into account, the value of the fund would be more than the inflation adjusted sum of what was deposited. So instead of putting concrete figures on the value of a particular DC fund, ive amended what I wrote to just state that the value of such a pension is uncertain, and the estimates of what it would cost for a private sector employee to provide a pension equivalent to a public sector pension, based on this and this.

The point of the petition is simply this:

- Most private sector workers have no occupational pension, and rely solely on the state pension.
- Those in the private sector that do have occupational pensions, most have inferior defined contribution schemes.Large contributions of salary would be required to fund a pension equivalent to those enjoyed by public servants.
- Public servants have defined benefit pensions, which provide a pension of 50% of salary for life. They dont fully fund them, the shortfall is paid for by taxes from workers in the private sector who dont get the same pension provision.

If you think that represents a fair system, then by all means dont sign the petition.