Anyone here on strike tomorrow?

[specialman]

Do public sector workers have to go with a 'company' pension?

 

[joescrivens]

Do public sector workers have to go with a 'company' pension?

actually thats something I don't know and always wondered too - can you opt out of the pension altogether?

 

[antihero]

I don't agree with striking, but if that makes you feel like you'll get the result you want then fair enough...

..i, for one, am glad I've still got a job to go to every day

 

[Davie]

*Borrowed from a friend of mines blog

Public sector workers contribute between 3.5% and 11% of their salary to their pension schemes.

The scheme itself is in surplus, as identified (and buried) by the Hutton Report on public sector pensions. The government continue to refuse to audit the pension fund to demonstrate the need for reform.

Public sector workers are being asked to double their contributions for longer to receive at least a quarter less pension. That is on top of the 15% reduction to level of pension already decided.

Our extra contributions will go to the treasury and not the pension fund.
That is why we are striking.

After only 6 years in Parliament Danny Alexander's pension is £26,404pa and a pot of £440,942. The average public sector worker would have to work TWO lifetimes to accrue that pension. Still they'd have to work THREE lifetimes to earn Maude's.

Osborne's pension is £43,828pa and a pot of £731,883; Lansley's pension is £39,557pa and a pot of £660,557. Still we'd only have to work TEN lifetimes on average to earn that. And they say our pensions are unaffordable??

Just thought I'd pop this further down the page for those of you that seem to have missed it

I work in the private sector and yes we were asked to contribute more to our pension which we did, from 6% to 8%, I was not asked to work longer and receive less or that the extra 2% go to pay off national debt

Anyone see the news there, and see what the new government members pension pots have already accrued, makes your eyes water

 

[Slimbert]

Do public sector workers have to go with a 'company' pension?

Nope, not at all!!

actually thats something I don't know and always wondered too - can you opt out of the pension altogether?

The way mine worked at the start, is that it was started for me automatically without my permission, out of my first paypacket......but I could have opted out within the first three months of my employment and received all payments I'd made in full.....however, I decided to stick with it because it looked to be a very good pension, definitely one worth paying in to.....

.....but now, not so much!!! :thumbsdown:

 

[specialman]

Just thought I'd pop this further down the page for those of you that seem to have missed it

I work in the private sector and yes we were asked to contribute more to our pension which we did, from 6% to 8%, I was not asked to work longer and receive less or that the extra 2% go to pay off national debt :

I pay about 5 per cent in each month. I could increase it but I can't afford to. I haven't had a pay rise for nearly four years, have buy my own kit, and get stung for fuel in a crap mileage allowance. Also, got told yesterday that no pay rises will be awarded this coming year.

But I have a job and am grateful for that when so many others don't. As a parent and a partner, that is THE most important thing in my life.

As for bad working conditions in public sector jobs like teaching, severy sector had its flaws; my missus works in the private prison service. Rubbish hours looking after society's reprobates, and it's taken a decade for her union (GMB) to get her employer to award holiday entitlement which she cannot take because there agent enough back-up staff. But she knows that despite this, she could be in the dole queue

 

[mercedes]

Oh how my heart bleeds for some of the public sector employees.
Better holidays, a virtual job for life and a substantially better pension than most.
Try bleating about working conditions and violence to the taxi drivers, nightclub and pub workers about that and they'd swap you every day of the week.

Every trade has it's unsavoury hours/working conditions and antisocial miscreants to deal with, but many are on a very poor wage with no hope of a pension pot at the end of it.

 

[Marc]

I've worked as a teacher and now in the private sector so i can speak from both sides unlike a lot of you.

Teaching is harder than any job I've done in the private sector, unless you have done it, you have no idea, so your comments about cushy holidays etc are all mute - you don't know what you are talking about.

So many jobs in the public sector ask you to give more than you get out. Stop moaning just because you have a little inconvenience for one day, think about other people for once. We're talking about the people in the community who do all the kinds of jobs that keep the community going, they teach your children for god sake - don' you want them to be the best they can and have the best job satisfaction possible? After all, it's a knock on effect to your spawn!!

Good luck to all of them, and if it doesn't work? Well, at least you tried and got your message heard, rather than sitting back and letting the profession fester!

You may have worked in the public & private sectors but you haven't done every job in both areas so you can speak from both sides any more than I can (I've worked in both as well)

My current job requires me to work 10 hour days (my official hours are 9-5) and I'm constantly logging in from home because things have to be done. I'm on holiday this week (having to use it or lose it) but I've already done a few hours work). In the private sector we are under pressure to perform or redundancies loom large and our livelihoods are at risk. So please don't do the "We teach your children so revere us" bit because I've heard it all before.

Everyone has a job to do and everyone is in the same boat when it comes to salaries (and in most cases pensions). I'm on the same salary no as I was 5 years ago and it's a fair bit less than teachers get.

After only 6 years in Parliament Danny Alexander's pension is £26,404pa and a pot of £440,942. The average public sector worker would have to work TWO lifetimes to accrue that pension. Still they'd have to work THREE lifetimes to earn Maude's.

Osborne's pension is £43,828pa and a pot of £731,883; Lansley's pension is £39,557pa and a pot of £660,557. Still we'd only have to work TEN lifetimes on average to earn that. And they say our pensions are unaffordable??

And after this strike, those people will still be getting the same pension. The only people who will lose out financially today will be those people who will have had to take unpaid leave to look after their kids.





I believe that if you have a true cause then by all means strike but don't cost other hard working people their income so that you can have more

 

[Islander]

strikes seem to be just another way of inconviniencing the rest of the working UK population and alienating yourself.

and dont talk to me about hard times about pensions, ive had to stare down the barrel of potential redundancy twice this year and the OH is currently out of work for effectively the last 4 months while in and out of short term work.

unions and strikes should be abolished if you ask me.

/rant.

You have my sympathy. BUT a lot of public sector employees and their families are in the same boat. Cuts have led to redundancies and now the government want to attack our pension.

The best way of drawing attention to the injustice of this, having tried negotiation and failed is to withdraw labour. It's the last resort of the working people and if you think it should be abolished merely because it causes you ONE day of inconvenience then maybe you need to think again. I'm striking because my pension which will affect my entire retired life is being threatened. The two inconveniences don't even match up and to be honest, your attitude is rather selfish.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking we're all on the same terms as the high ranking civil servants because we're not.

I don't see the MPs doing anything about their own pensions - they don't even have to sit to be guaranteed this.

 

[joescrivens]

You may have worked in the public & private sectors but you haven't done every job in both areas so you can speak from both sides any more than I can (I've worked in both as well)

so which conditions were better for you? public or private and if public why are you not still doing that job?

 

[nilagin]

what is your job and are you in a union?

I'm a toolmaker and yes I'm in a union.

you obviously haven't been to many secondary schools in the past 5 years then!

If things have been that bad for so long, then both the schools and the unions have failed the teachers.

And the private sector claim the public sector have their head in the clouds

play that one to the letter and your firefighters, medical staff and most teachers would probably never bother turning up to work as its 'not a safe environment'.

A firefighters occupation is dangerous by it's very nature and anybody going into it thinking that it isn't would be deluded. You can only go so far to ensure their safety whilst still allowing them to do their job.
The medical and teaching professions are not dangerous jobs by nature and it should be th eresponsibility of both the schools, hospitals and respective unions to ensure it remains so.
If it wasn't for my employer and unions constant monitoring of safety etc. in my working enviroment there would probably be serious accidents or worse still fatalities every week.

 

[Marc]

so which conditions were better for you? public or private and if public why are you not still doing that job?

You do look at life in a very simplistic way don't you Joe? I've had a number of jobs over the last 30 years with a number of varying reasons for changing them.

If you look at my post again, I didn't actually say that one was better than the other. I was trying to point out that private sector workers aren't as advantaged as some in the public sector seem to think they are.

 

[joescrivens]

The medical and teaching professions are not dangerous jobs by nature and it should be th eresponsibility of both the schools, hospitals and respective unions to ensure it remains so.

you contradict yourself. Earlier you said that a union should only provide you with a free solicitor.

You're employer is duty bound to provide you with a safe enviroment to work. They fail you, you sue them simple, short of providing you with a free solicitor, the union need do no more. It's all I'd use my union for.

But in fact your later post is much more accurate. The union also has the responsibility to ensure you are working in a safe and respectable environment along with the employer

 

[joescrivens]

You do look at life in a very simplistic way don't you Joe? I've had a number of jobs over the last 30 years with a number of varying reasons for changing them.

If you look at my post again, I didn't actually say that one was better than the other. I was trying to point out that private sector workers aren't as advantaged as some in the public sector seem to think they are.

don't get so defensive :shake:. I didn't say you were saying one was better than the other. That's why I was asking if one was better and if so, which.

 

[Marc]

don't get so defensive :shake:. I didn't say you were saying one was better than the other. That's why I was asking if one was better and if so, which.

Who's getting defensive?

You asked a question and I answered it in relation to the rest of my post as you seemed to imply a contradiction on my part.

 

[Marc]

And you didn't ask if one was better, just which.

 

[neil_g]

The best way of drawing attention to the injustice of this, having tried negotiation and failed is to withdraw labour.

from what ive read (granted skim read), it seems that the union heads havent passed correct information on to members? also that negociations are still taking place?

like i said earlier it seems that strikes only serve to alienate. we're all in the same boat no matter what sector, we're all looking at cuts in one way or another. so why should one bunch of people be allowed to kick up a fuss?

from what i understand youre not forced into that pension scheme..

It's the last resort of the working people and if you think it should be abolished merely because it causes you ONE day of inconvenience then maybe you need to think again. I'm striking because my pension which will affect my entire retired life is being threatened. The two inconveniences don't even match up and to be honest, your attitude is rather selfish..

not just me, the whole country. what about those parents (as someone mentioned earlier i think) who've had to take unpaid holiday to look after their kids? and i'm the selfish one..

get a grip, there are loads of unemployed that would kill for a regular wage and the hint of a pension at the moment.

anyway, im out before this gets locked. too many blinkers and soapboxes going on in here (im sure im included there in some peoples eyes).

 

[joescrivens]

Who's getting defensive?

You asked a question and I answered it in relation to the rest of my post as you seemed to imply a contradiction on my part.

oh my someone got out of bed the wrong side this morning

it's nothing to do with a contradiction, I was making conversation and curious about your jobs thats all ...... jeeeeeeeeeez

And you didn't ask if one was better, just which.

ok, and now i am clarifying that I am asking "Was one better than the other? and if so which and why?"

 

[nilagin]

*Borrowed from a friend of mines blog

Public sector workers contribute between 3.5% and 11% of their salary to their pension schemes.

The scheme itself is in surplus, as identified (and buried) by the Hutton Report on public sector pensions. The government continue to refuse to audit the pension fund to demonstrate the need for reform.

Public sector workers are being asked to double their contributions for longer to receive at least a quarter less pension. That is on top of the 15% reduction to level of pension already decided.

Our extra contributions will go to the treasury and not the pension fund.
That is why we are striking.

After only 6 years in Parliament Danny Alexander's pension is £26,404pa and a pot of £440,942. The average public sector worker would have to work TWO lifetimes to accrue that pension. Still they'd have to work THREE lifetimes to earn Maude's.

Osborne's pension is £43,828pa and a pot of £731,883; Lansley's pension is £39,557pa and a pot of £660,557. Still we'd only have to work TEN lifetimes on average to earn that. And they say our pensions are unaffordable??

Just heard on the radio, a nurse on £40k will get a pension worth 2/3rds of salary. Many private sector workers pay far more into their pension and will receive far less. A private sector pays into three pensions, twice by way of pension scheme and tax and NI contributions into state pension. A private sector pays into three pensions too, their own private pension by way of pension contributions, their state pension by NI and Public Sector Pensions by way of tax. Hands up how many public sector workers see that as unfair and want to help contribute to my private pension or anyother private sector worker who's pension is worth less.:shrug:
No-one?

 

[frank]

In the private sector we are under pressure to perform or redundancies loom large and our livelihoods are at risk.

Are public sector workers not under pressure at work to perform also?

Private sector workers make their own choice to work at whatever they do, do not complain because the public sector has the Ba.. guts to stand up and be counted.

What is wrong with todays society it's the Them & Us attitude, if it wasn't for the unions in years gone by probably ALL private and public sector workers would still be in the gutter. Not sitting at home tapping into expensive computers and a few thousand quids worth of photography equipment in the cupboard.

 

[nilagin]

you contradict yourself. Earlier you said that a union should only provide you with a free solicitor.



But in fact your later post is much more accurate. The union also has the responsibility to ensure you are working in a safe and respectable environment along with the employer

It's all I want of my union. What they do off their own back for me and my fellow workmates is upto them. There has been more than enough times in the past couple of years where we have threatened to pull out of the union because of their poor representation.

 

[ding76uk]

The one thing I have never understood and in spin has been used to divide and conquer. Why are we in a race to have it the worst? My pension takes 98% of my wage and I get 2p a week when I retire etc.

The pensions are not as gold plated as made out, privatisation in the prison service is being used to get rid of needed workers. Why do you think officers and workers in prison committing crime has gone up? Because conditions have been made so bad that the good guys who wanted a job and worked a job for life has gone, they have moved on and due to conditions the quality of applicants has gone down. Therefore those see it as just a job and are more susceptible to abusing their position to make a few quid as their wages aren't as good any more.

Not only do we have a 2 year pay freeze, no we get a 1% rise and a 3% increase in pension, leaving a 2% pay cut.

You seem to forget those in the public sector pay just the same tax as everyone else. "Your" tax supporting everyone is such a pathetic statement.

I also love, plenty love to have those jobs. Well teaching is still in need of people as those retiring in the next 3 years will be less than those coming into the profession, they can feel free to train if they wish.

 

[joescrivens]

It's all I want of my union. What they do off their own back for me and my fellow workmates is upto them. There has been more than enough times in the past couple of years where we have threatened to pull out of the union because of their poor representation.

but thats a complaint and comment about your specific union. not unions in general. it's something personal to your union and your conditions, it can't be applied across the park

 

[Slimbert]

from what i understand youre not forced into that pension scheme..

Correct, but the terms of the pension I accepted when I started paying in to it are being changed for the worse......and if I pull out of it now, I lose more money than I can afford to.....that's why me and roughly 2 million others are a wee bit ****ed off about it!!

 

[frank]

Just heard on the radio, a nurse on £40k will get a pension worth 2/3rds of salary. Many private sector workers pay far more into their pension and will receive far less. A private sector pays into three pensions, twice by way of pension scheme and tax and NI contributions into state pension. A private sector pays into three pensions too, their own private pension by way of pension contributions, their state pension by NI and Public Sector Pensions by way of tax. Hands up how many public sector workers see that as unfair and want to help contribute to my private pension or anyother private sector worker who's pension is worth less.:shrug:
No-one?

What is stopping you from trying to improve your pension situation, sitting on your backside ranting into a photography forum is not going to do much is it ?

Take a leaf out of the public sector and stand up and be counted, don't be a coward and just accept what your told, oh I forgot the private sector won't strike, they will just sit back and let all other public sector workers do it all for them, eventually whatever successes (if lucky enough) they make will be integrated into the private sector.

 

[joescrivens]

the mentality here is insane. Many people are basically saying:

"I'm no better off than you are so what gives you the right to complain"

if you are happy to settle for less then that's your choice but others have a right to complain about something they don't think is fair. You wouldn't even be talking about it if it wasn't affecting 1 day out of your life because your kids have to be entertained - but thats the whole point, the rest of the year when they are being given their education you don't think twice about it.

 

[boyfalldown]

Just heard on the radio, a nurse on £40k will get a pension worth 2/3rds of salary. Many private sector workers pay far more into their pension and will receive far less. A private sector pays into three pensions, twice by way of pension scheme and tax and NI contributions into state pension. A private sector pays into three pensions too, their own private pension by way of pension contributions, their state pension by NI and Public Sector Pensions by way of tax. Hands up how many public sector workers see that as unfair and want to help contribute to my private pension or anyother private sector worker who's pension is worth less.:shrug:
No-one?

I do like (well not really like, but y'know) the idea that 40k is a common salary for a nurse. For the record those that get that are towards the very top of the pay scales for nursing (and you'd have to be doing a specialist, high responsibility position within the profession to have a realistic chance of earning that) would be earning substantially more then that in the private sectors for the same level of responsibility.

I'm sure that thats all your tax and NI does

 

[wibbly]

Correct, but the terms of the pension I accepted when I started paying in to it are being changed for the worse......and if I pull out of it now, I lose more money than I can afford to.....that's why me and roughly 2 million others are a wee bit ****ed off about it!!

If you don't pay anymore into it does it not just sit there until you reach pensionable age and you can draw from it, the same as my last employers pension scheme that I can no longer afford to pay into?

Surely you don't just lose it, do you? :shrug:

 

[astraman1]

i dont know the ins and outs of it all my kids are off today the teachers are striking

i suport them for what they do on a daily basis is incredible i see my children grow and grow everyday both physically and mentally

 

[Slimbert]

If you don't pay anymore into it does it not just sit there until you reach pensionable age and you can draw from it, the same as my last employers pension scheme that I can no longer afford to pay into?

Surely you don't just lose it, do you? :shrug:

Yes and no.....if I don't continue to pay in to it regularly, I don't earn any interest on it at all.....so if I've paid (hypothetically) £10,000 in to it so far, and I stop paying in to it, when I reach 70 or whatever the retirement age will be by then (probably 120!), then I'll get £10,000 worth of pension (which in 90 years time will be enough for half a litre of petrol!).....so it's stale money, I can't take it out without losing money through a penalties, and if I don't pay in to it, it loses it's worth.....it's the only downside to what was otherwise, a decent pension, with good returns.....

.....only now, not so much!! :thumbsdown:

 

[Richard King]

i dont know the ins and outs of it all my kids are off today the teachers are striking

i suport them for what they do on a daily basis is incredible i see my children grow and grow everyday both physically and mentally

yep nice attitude, but the person in the book factory that makes the books, who has no one contributing to his pension, might see this in a different light

The teacher is the last person in the chain of people who work in the private and public sectors that make education happen. Take many of the small unseen links out of the chain, and education doesn't happen

 

[Dale_tem]

Teachers have it easy. The end. ( I believe I work with more teachers a year than anyone on this forum and I work with teachers all over the UK).

There are other public workers, nurses and more who have to work hard

Teachers HAVE to contribute to their pensions. They have pensions based on their final salary. What they pay in does not cover their pensions. The government makes up the rest.

In the private sector you have a choice (everyone should be made to have a pension). I contribute a percentage and my company contributes a percentage.

This is similar to the teachers and the government being the company. However the government is contributing a lot more than the private companies.

If a teacher has worked for 40 years and ends up on £55,000 then their pension will be £27,500 and they will get a payout of around £90,000.

I have no knowledge of other public sectors, but the teachers are winding me up.

According to my accountant, for me to live comfortably when I retire, I will need £250,000 in my pension pot, that means contributing over £600 a month for the next 30 odd years.

A teacher starting on 25,000 a year will contribute around £125 a month, 40 years later will be on £50,000 (they all end up on much higher wages, its done by the years service, level etc. etc.) and will be contributing £250 a month. Their pension will be better than mine.

3 years at uni, 1 year doing the PGCE, then get a job for life starting at £27,500 going up to £50,000 or higher as there are head teachers earning over £100,000 in london, £27,500(at least) pension and a £90,000 (at least) payout on retirement. No chance of being fired due to lack of effort, appearnce or anything else only by lack of attendance or gross misconduct.

Or go to uni for 3 years, try to find a job, give up, start at the local supermarket till things get better, finally settle for a job earning 20k and work your arse off getting a better job. Realise you haven't got a pension as you haven't been able to afford it, start a pension, but can't pay in huge amounts. Retire with not a lot and no large payout.

Teachers have it easy.

 

[jamesb84]

Just heard on the radio, a nurse on £40k will get a pension worth 2/3rds of salary. Many private sector workers pay far more into their pension and will receive far less. A private sector pays into three pensions, twice by way of pension scheme and tax and NI contributions into state pension. A private sector pays into three pensions too, their own private pension by way of pension contributions, their state pension by NI and Public Sector Pensions by way of tax. Hands up how many public sector workers see that as unfair and want to help contribute to my private pension or anyother private sector worker who's pension is worth less.:shrug:
No-one?

Where are these nurses jobs that pay £40k?! I must let my partner know so she can apply.

Nurses start on £21k gross pa. A ward sister is on £39k gross pa.

http://www.nhsemployers.org/Aboutus/Publications/PayCirculars/Pages/Pay-Circular-AforC-2-2011.aspx

This is the Pay scales for NHS employees...Qualified nurses are on band 5. Nurse Assistants (who are becoming far more prevalent now) are on band 2 - which is £14k gross pa.

 

[wibbly]

Yes and no.....if I don't continue to pay in to it regularly, I don't earn any interest on it at all.....so if I've paid (hypothetically) £10,000 in to it so far, and I stop paying in to it, when I reach 70 or whatever the retirement age will be by then (probably 120!), then I'll get £10,000 worth of pension (which in 90 years time will be enough for half a litre of petrol!).....so it's stale money, I can't take it out without losing money through a penalties, and if I don't pay in to it, it loses it's worth.....it's the only downside to what was otherwise, a decent pension, with good returns.....

.....only now, not so much!! :thumbsdown:

Gosh, that sounds just so much like the real world... poor you

 

[Marc]

Are public sector workers not under pressure at work to perform also?

Private sector workers make their own choice to work at whatever they do, do not complain because the public sector has the Ba.. guts to stand up and be counted.

What is wrong with todays society it's the Them & Us attitude, if it wasn't for the unions in years gone by probably ALL private and public sector workers would still be in the gutter. Not sitting at home tapping into expensive computers and a few thousand quids worth of photography equipment in the cupboard.

That's not what I said Frank. My point is that some are implying that public sector workers are so much worse off than private sector workers. I was just pointing out that this is not the case.

the mentality here is insane. Many people are basically saying:

"I'm no better off than you are so what gives you the right to complain"

if you are happy to settle for less then that's your choice but others have a right to complain about something they don't think is fair. You wouldn't even be talking about it if it wasn't affecting 1 day out of your life because your kids have to be entertained - but thats the whole point, the rest of the year when they are being given their education you don't think twice about it.

see my reply to Frank.

Also see my point above regarding the method of complaining and who it really affects. If you want better, that's fine but don't try and get it by effectively depriving of others. It's pretty churlish to say things like "your kids have to be entertained - but thats the whole point, the rest of the year when they are being given their education you don't think twice about it" when people have things they need to do to earn a living to put food on those kids' plates.

 

[jamesb84]

Teachers have it easy. The end. ( I believe I work with more teachers a year than anyone on this forum and I work with teachers all over the UK).

....

3 years at uni, 1 year doing the PGCE, then get a job for life starting at £27,500 going up to £50,000 or higher as there are head teachers earning over £100,000 in london, £27,500(at least) pension and a £90,000 (at least) payout on retirement. No chance of being fired due to lack of effort, appearnce or anything else only by lack of attendance or gross misconduct.

Or go to uni for 3 years, try to find a job, give up, start at the local supermarket till things get better, finally settle for a job earning 20k and work your arse off getting a better job. Realise you haven't got a pension as you haven't been able to afford it, start a pension, but can't pay in huge amounts. Retire with not a lot and no large payout.

Teachers have it easy.

And where exactly are these magic "jobs for life"? I know two people who have recently completed their PGCE's and there ARE NO JOBS so they've gone through all the same personal expense as a teacher but without the "cushy" job at the end.

 

[astraman1]

yep nice attitude, but the person in the book factory that makes the books, who has no one contributing to his pension, might see this in a different light

The teacher is the last person in the chain of people who work in the private and public sectors that make education happen. Take many of the small unseen links out of the chain, and education doesn't happen

while i agree with that in the majority my children are in the early stages of there education so its not really about the books ect so much its the way they are taught alot to do with life lessons and how to treat people,situations,problems ect

at my kids school the teachers put there own spin on things diffrent ways for them to learn ect

 

[stokes]

Teachers have it easy. The end. ( I believe I work with more teachers a year than anyone on this forum and I work with teachers all over the UK).

There are other public workers, nurses and more who have to work hard

Teachers HAVE to contribute to their pensions. They have pensions based on their final salary. What they pay in does not cover their pensions. The government makes up the rest.

In the private sector you have a choice (everyone should be made to have a pension). I contribute a percentage and my company contributes a percentage.

This is similar to the teachers and the government being the company. However the government is contributing a lot more than the private companies.

If a teacher has worked for 40 years and ends up on £55,000 then their pension will be £27,500 and they will get a payout of around £90,000.

I have no knowledge of other public sectors, but the teachers are winding me up.

According to my accountant, for me to live comfortably when I retire, I will need £250,000 in my pension pot, that means contributing over £600 a month for the next 30 odd years.

A teacher starting on 25,000 a year will contribute around £125 a month, 40 years later will be on £50,000 (they all end up on much higher wages, its done by the years service, level etc. etc.) and will be contributing £250 a month. Their pension will be better than mine.

3 years at uni, 1 year doing the PGCE, then get a job for life starting at £27,500 going up to £50,000 or higher as there are head teachers earning over £100,000 in london, £27,500(at least) pension and a £90,000 (at least) payout on retirement. No chance of being fired due to lack of effort, appearnce or anything else only by lack of attendance or gross misconduct.

Or go to uni for 3 years, try to find a job, give up, start at the local supermarket till things get better, finally settle for a job earning 20k and work your arse off getting a better job. Realise you haven't got a pension as you haven't been able to afford it, start a pension, but can't pay in huge amounts. Retire with not a lot and no large payout.

Teachers have it easy.

Most of what you are saying is tosh!

TEACHERS do not have to have a pension. We can opt out. (Which in fact is part of the problem. This situation ie: paying more in, taking less out is causing young teachers to opt out of pension, thus no money going in...... its not rocket science..)

TEACHERS start on 21,558 and go upto 36,756 - Yes they can go higher by taking on other roles etc. (Yes teachers in London get more - London weighting)

TEACHERS can be sacked for everything a normal person can. Okay its not a 1,2,3 warning and your out, but there is a process in place and it works.

 

[Slimbert]

Gosh, that sounds just so much like the real world... poor you

I know what you mean.....after years of living it up working for local government, getting paid stupidly large amounts of money for doing bugger all work, 13 weeks holiday a year (2 people have said this to me today, despite me not working in a school :shrug and having this amazing pension promised to me.....I'm now coming back down to earth with a big fat bump because I have to slum it with the rest of the private sector slaves.....almost makes me want to give it up and become a professional photographer, because let's face it, everyone knows they earn a fortune.....right?!

 

[Samphire]

Teachers have it easy. The end. ( I believe I work with more teachers a year than anyone on this forum and I work with teachers all over the UK).

There are other public workers, nurses and more who have to work hard

Teachers HAVE to contribute to their pensions. They have pensions based on their final salary. What they pay in does not cover their pensions. The government makes up the rest.

In the private sector you have a choice (everyone should be made to have a pension). I contribute a percentage and my company contributes a percentage.

This is similar to the teachers and the government being the company. However the government is contributing a lot more than the private companies.

If a teacher has worked for 40 years and ends up on £55,000 then their pension will be £27,500 and they will get a payout of around £90,000.

I have no knowledge of other public sectors, but the teachers are winding me up.

According to my accountant, for me to live comfortably when I retire, I will need £250,000 in my pension pot, that means contributing over £600 a month for the next 30 odd years.

A teacher starting on 25,000 a year will contribute around £125 a month, 40 years later will be on £50,000 (they all end up on much higher wages, its done by the years service, level etc. etc.) and will be contributing £250 a month. Their pension will be better than mine.

3 years at uni, 1 year doing the PGCE, then get a job for life starting at £27,500 going up to £50,000 or higher as there are head teachers earning over £100,000 in london, £27,500(at least) pension and a £90,000 (at least) payout on retirement. No chance of being fired due to lack of effort, appearnce or anything else only by lack of attendance or gross misconduct.

Or go to uni for 3 years, try to find a job, give up, start at the local supermarket till things get better, finally settle for a job earning 20k and work your arse off getting a better job. Realise you haven't got a pension as you haven't been able to afford it, start a pension, but can't pay in huge amounts. Retire with not a lot and no large payout.

Teachers have it easy.

Oh dear, I tend not to reply much to the teacher bashing threads, however, you Sir have made me think bad words in my head :shake:

Teachers have it easy – what a load of codswallop <---- super terminology here.

No one has it ‘easy’ ... that is such a poor sweeping statement

If people thought teachers had it that easy they would be fighting to be employed as one.

I am not grumbling about my lot … I LOVE my job and teaching and I am in a far better position financially than if I had not gone to Uni, got degree etc … but I like other employers do not have it easy. I just accept that is part of my job as do many millions of people across the world. Oh and if we under perform .. we get the sack ... simples