Heartland

Burn wrote:invest in property...

sounds like bricks and mortor are the way forward...buy as an investment to sell when you retire...live off the capital released...

very different view to the one i had 20 odd years ago...and prolly very different to the one i'll have in 20 years time when i'm of no further use to the world...but for now it seems to be working...

suppose i'm lucky coz i bought my first house/flat in the recession...and a recession could hit me in the future...but as of tomorow morning at 11:00am i'll be a homeowner again...

I'd say property too, but then, that depends how long you'll be investing. Houses don't go up as much as anything connected to stocks, in the long run. But of course, that brings more of a risk too...

And aren't real estate prices in the UK extremely high? I remember my cousin telling he bought a place of his own a couple of years ago (a basement, so nothing special I guess) and that he'd never be able to do that anymore by now. Always do the opposite the others do, if everyone buys, sell, and vice versa

Now I don't claim to be a financial wizard (no pension worth speaking of and banking on no needing one ), but aren't people paid to work out the odds on these things and ensure enough money is contributed and invested wisely enough to meet future requirements? Surely actuaries are supposed to take into account the poorly performing stock-markets and increasing life expectancy. Or am I missing something? Seems to me you may as well stick your money on the horses as in a private pension scheme which has absolutely no guarantee that you'll even get back what you've put in. Final-salary company schemes, on the other hand, were always supposed to be safe as houses. Enough to persuade people like my Dad to stay in a job he hated for the last 15 or so years of his working life. And as for the government pension we're all supposed to be entitled to. Don't get me started... Whatever happened to the cradle to the grave ideal? Is it any wonder so many people are investing in bricks and mortar? Pass the port...

It really struck me today that you work for forty odd years so that you can afford to live for the ten or fifteen years you get from when you retire 'till you die, what a fuckin' depressing thought

francis, yes, but unforseen events cannot be avoided. neither can the fact that people are living longer and pensions being paid for longer. actuarial assumptions made in the past are to blame, though it's probable that most of these were reasonable. and they're usually cautious, too.

Obviousman wrote:

Burn wrote:invest in property...

sounds like bricks and mortor are the way forward...buy as an investment to sell when you retire...live off the capital released...

very different view to the one i had 20 odd years ago...and prolly very different to the one i'll have in 20 years time when i'm of no further use to the world...but for now it seems to be working...

suppose i'm lucky coz i bought my first house/flat in the recession...and a recession could hit me in the future...but as of tomorow morning at 11:00am i'll be a homeowner again...

I'd say property too, but then, that depends how long you'll be investing. Houses don't go up as much as anything connected to stocks, in the long run. But of course, that brings more of a risk too...

And aren't real estate prices in the UK extremely high? I remember my cousin telling he bought a place of his own a couple of years ago (a basement, so nothing special I guess) and that he'd never be able to do that anymore by now. Always do the opposite the others do, if everyone buys, sell, and vice versa

houses in England have been increasing in value by around 10 to 15% per year...way more than inflation and salaries...and intrest rates in savings schemes...i won't bore you with the cost of the house i just bought...but high prices are a fact of life nowadays...

in the future i intend to purchase my dad's flat in edinburgh from the local council...i know it's an investment for him and me as he'll still be rent free but he will be able to claim housing benefit (rent) to top up his crappy pension and pay off the mortgage...

mercinary?...maybe...living for 3 score years and 10...most definatly not

investigate the tax implications of that carefully, andi. you don't want to landed with anything nasty, and neither does your dad.

emilystrange wrote:francis, yes, but unforseen events cannot be avoided. neither can the fact that people are living longer and pensions being paid for longer. actuarial assumptions made in the past are to blame, though it's probable that most of these were reasonable. and they're usually cautious, too.

But people don't suddenly start living longer. Surely the success of the NHS, better working conditions and the lack of a third World War should have been spotted by those supposed to be keeping a look out? And wouldn't a cautious actuary underestimate future investment growth and overestimate pension demand? Still strikes me as yet another inexcusable cock-up by the esteemed members of our financial sector.

emilystrange wrote:investigate the tax implications of that carefully, andi. you don't want to landed with anything nasty, and neither does your dad.

ahhh...we're wise

this post will be edited before long...i don't intend to leave plans on an open forum

EDIT...if you missed it...you missed it

well, i haven't done this sort of thing for a while, but.. it's possible. on the other hand, there are for more economic factors to be taken into account, as well as the company's own situation.

gah.. i promised myself i'd forget all this stuff...

emilystrange wrote:gah.. i promised myself i'd forget all this stuff...

but you love us so much...

Burn wrote:houses in England have been increasing in value by around 10 to 15% per year...way more than inflation and salaries...and intrest rates in savings schemes...i won't bore you with the cost of the house i just bought...but high prices are a fact of life nowadays...

That's a very high increase indeed Don't you think you'll get the same as they got in the US, where the Federal Reserve (Alan Greenspan) warned for a real estate bubble which could (not would) explode?
When houses become too expensive, no-one will want to buy them anymore and people won't be able to sell them anymore anyway.

That being said: Personally real estate remains my investment of choice (if I'd have the money, that is ). They can't take away your bricks, can they...

emilystrange wrote:gah.. i promised myself i'd forget all this stuff...

But it's the sort of stuff you need to remember Ms Strange. Seems no bugger else is gonna take care of it for you these days. Even teachers aren't immune to it anymore.

Obviousman wrote:

Burn wrote:houses in England have been increasing in value by around 10 to 15% per year...way more than inflation and salaries...and intrest rates in savings schemes...i won't bore you with the cost of the house i just bought...but high prices are a fact of life nowadays...

That's a very high increase indeed Don't you think you'll get the same as they got in the US, where the Federal Reserve (Alan Greenspan) warned for a real estate bubble which could (not would) explode?
When houses become too expensive, no-one will want to buy them anymore and people won't be able to sell them anymore anyway.

That being said: Personally real estate remains my investment of choice (if I'd have the money, that is ). They can't take away your bricks, can they...

nah...thay can't take away your bricks...but the investment has to be done with a little vision...sometimes you buy on impulse...clothes, CD's etc...but property has to be bought to be sold on in the future...that's what i'm good at...investment portfolios

Burn wrote:...that's what i'm good at...investment portfolios

You should give RENTOKIL a phone Andie

Francis wrote:

emilystrange wrote:gah.. i promised myself i'd forget all this stuff...

But it's the sort of stuff you need to remember Ms Strange. Seems no bugger else is gonna take care of it for you these days. Even teachers aren't immune to it anymore.

yeah i know.. it was the exam stuff i'm trying to forcibly remove...

scotty wrote:

Burn wrote:...that's what i'm good at...investment portfolios

You should give RENTOKIL a phone Andie

nah...they've f**ked themselves right up the s**t...and you guys along with them...i doubt that i'd give them the steam off ma pish...

the whole private pension scheme and company pension scheme is a f**king con...we're the baby boomers...we have the greatest number of people in our generation than any before us...or after...we'll always get it tight...from school when there wasn't enough space to teach us...to death when there won't be enough space to plant us

less is more...

Obviousman wrote:That's a very high increase indeed Don't you think you'll get the same as they got in the US, where the Federal Reserve (Alan Greenspan) warned for a real estate bubble which could (not would) explode?
When houses become too expensive, no-one will want to buy them anymore and people won't be able to sell them anymore anyway.

Indeed. Which is why so many people looking to buy their first home and actually live in it are unable to do so. The poor performance of stocks-based investments and the shortfalls in expected income from many of personal pensions, so encouraged during the 1980s, have led many people to invest in property. The theory is that, at the end of the day, you'll always have a piece of land that you own and can at least get some rental income from, rather than being forced to cash it in, until the price is right. Recent experience with stocks has taught people that all they're really investing in is a piece of paper whose value can diminish to pennies in the the bat of an eyelid. Of course, if the government ever gets round to building the thousands of houses that it knows are required to meet current and future demands, the landlords could end up with unsustainable mortgage payments. But with Mr. John 'two plus two equals five' Prescott in charge of those plans, you're more likely to see pigs joining the RAF.

Ah, sod it. I'm off for a pint.

scotty wrote:It really struck me today that you work for forty odd years so that you can afford to live for the ten or fifteen years you get from when you retire 'till you die, what a fuckin' depressing thought

that's why i'm a dyed-in-the-wool workshy bastard and proud of it. even when i've had well-paid jobs i've still never got any money...and i doubt i'll live too long beyond the probable future retirement age of 70.
anyway...security in your old-age:that's what the kids are there for...

scotty wrote:It really struck me today that you work for forty odd years so that you can afford to live for the ten or fifteen years you get from when you retire 'till you die, what a fuckin' depressing thought

That's why I plan on never working... living an extraordinary life from between the age of 20 and 35 on the road while leeching off people and then die young… I’ll get more out of life than those who work in factories and offices.

scotty wrote:The thing that really gets me is that Rentokil got a new "Chief Exec'" who is never done sending memo's stating" How things will be different", harping on about the "clear and transparent management", and the first thing we hear about it was on the radio this morning , FUCKIN' TOSSER

I bet you anything you like that his pension won't be affected.

The rich get richer and fcuk everyone else.

Retirement is for wimps and Christopher Timothy

Ed Rhombus wrote:Retirement is for wimps and Christopher Timothy

Indeedy.

Some of us NEVER retire .

markfiend wrote:

scotty wrote:The thing that really gets me is that Rentokil got a new "Chief Exec'" who is never done sending memo's stating" How things will be different", harping on about the "clear and transparent management", and the first thing we hear about it was on the radio this morning , FUCKIN' TOSSER

I bet you anything you like that his pension won't be affected.

The rich get richer and fcuk everyone else.

Aye, spot on Markfiend, when sir Clive Thompson retired a couple of years ago, his replacement(the new chief exec') was appointed, he make a complete pigs ear of the job and was given £65000 to leave , not a bad pension fund that!.

Harsh news scotty man, you have my sympathies mate. This is the start of something not good, others will definitely follow.

Let the bastards burn in hell

I'm definitely destined to become a professional jakey come my retirement.