Andy Young with another ageing dignitary
My friend Andy Young (a very young 76) tells me that youngsters in Government have no regard for the voice of “the wrinkly moaners” who participate in Pension PlayPen discussions. Pension Oldie is no doubt included, so today’s two contributors who I know to have put in their time trying to make things better.
Yes of course the old will get a voice in our discussions on Tuesday morning and yes they will be featured on this blog and just to make sure you know that I don’t exclude the wrinkled moaners, here are John Mather and Tim Simpson, producing comments that I fully endorse.
Responses to Pension Oldie on the Pension Commission
I realise that at 63 I am a youngster, compare me to Andy Young, Con Keating and many other contributors, to Pension Oldie and the two have stuck up their hands on Oldie’s recent blog, I am a callow undergraduate.
And just as I write it, another wrinkly is on this blog making a reasonable point
So maybe I should bow to those who want to submit to Government and collate the views of the older generation , as the views of the pension playpen. There is something very charming about petulant children with an average age somewhat over 70! It is not often that they make their voices heard and very rarely is that voice picked up by those in Government.
adventurousimpossibly5af21b6a13 
jnamdoc 
“Moaning wrinklies.” This characterization can be unfair, as many concerns raised by older adults about financial security, healthcare access, and social policies are legitimate issues that affect their quality of life. However, if the moaning does not produce solutions, then what is the point?
“For all but the shortest-term arrangements, the investment return, not the contributions paid in, is the major determinant of the eventual outcome” Oldie
Investment returns versus contributions – this is absolutely correct for long-term financial arrangements like pensions, retirement accounts, or endowments. Due to the power of compound growth over time, the investment performance of contributed funds typically becomes far more significant than the original amounts paid in. This is why even small differences in annual returns can have dramatic effects on final outcomes over periods of decades, and why starting early with consistent contributions is so financially advantageous.
If value for money (VFM) were linked to the excess over, say, 7.5%, the quoted returns would be better than the current “best of a bad bunch” (price) variants being discussed.
Link this to infrastructure or early investment into new ventures utilizing Enterprise Zones (EZ), Business Expansion Scheme (BES), Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) – just getting your money back after 5 years gives a compound net-of-tax return of around 12%.
I have been a fan of these ever since the Business Expansion Scheme was introduced in 1983 and ran for 10 years. In the early days, it was possible to achieve a 25%+ compound return.
The Swansea Enterprise Zone was established in 1981, becoming the first enterprise zone in the United Kingdom. Docklands was founded on EZ principles, which seems to have worked well – other than for those who invested in a property blown up by the IRA, which caused some issues with leasehold and lesser interests and clawback of accelerated capital allowances.
Hello Henry,
I too stand against the description/grouping of ‘moaning wrinklies’ even if it was said in jest. How long is it until your particular friend is a ‘wrinkly’? If he’s very busy, it’s much quicker than he’ll expect.
So, please keep Pension Oldie writing plus the several others who also write with their valuable experience.
Kind regards,
Tim Simpson