How to save a pension without going bankrupt?
- October 27, 2021
A pension plan that doesn’t offer enough money for retirement is not an option, says a veteran who has lived through a number of financial crises.
Key points:Peter O’Neil said he was not surprised to learn of some pension plans offering to match contributions to a retiree’s retirement planIt’s not the first time a pension plan has been forced to offer to match a retirees contributionThe pension plan in question is called GSI Pension and is funded by contributions from workers and employers.
“It is not a great idea, it’s not something I would have been prepared to do,” Mr O’Neill said.
“I’m a bit of a cynic, but the problem is, people are taking on a lot more debt, and they’re putting themselves in the position of having to make a decision on whether or not they want to keep their job.”
People are taking a lot of time off work.
If they can’t work because of health or some other reasons, they’re going to take that decision and they’ll just sit on it for years.
“So if they can just match their pension contribution to the pension fund, it could be quite a savings scheme.”GSI pension is funded through contributions from employers and workersMr O’Brien said he had been planning on getting a GSI pension for 20 years, but he had not been able to afford to get it done until now.
“When you’re younger, I was always worried that you were going to end up in a hole, and that’s a lot easier to deal with,” he said.
He said it was not unusual for retirees to take on more debt than they could ever repay, adding that he had no plans to retire.
“If I can get a GIS pension, then that’s my only option,” Mr Dickson said.
The Pension and Retirement Planning Association said it had seen reports of some plans offering pension matching and the association was working with the GSI to ensure the plans complied with the state’s pension law.
“Our policy is to work with pension plans on the basis of their business plans,” the P&RPA’s chief executive, Nick O’Dwyer, said.
Topics:financial-dissector,business-economics-and-finance,pension,community-and