"This Is Going to Be a National Crisis" -One of the Largest U.S. Pension Funds Set to Cut Retiree Benefits | Economy

"This Is Going to Be a National Crisis" -One of the Largest U.S. Pension Funds Set to Cut Retiree Benefits | Economy



When private pensions came out in the Uk I signed up right away. I thought that the State Pension wasn't much and it would be nice to have a bit extra. I let the payments ride for a couple of years and then heard that if my State and Private Pensions amounted to over a certain figure, I would be taxed.  Now I had already been taxed on the income which provided the payments for the pension and these huge companies were making profits on my money.

So I went along to a meeting for prospective sellers of private pensions and that opened my eyes. They were also selling private health insurance too. Everybody was self employed, meaning if you don't sell you don't earn!!  It was a Ponzi scheme. The rep got a commission as did the manager as did the branch manager. The mug buyer paid all of these commissions before a penny had gone in to the fund.

Some reps figured out that they would either be dead or had moved onto other work by the time that these things Health policies would be needed and so they told clients that hang gliding naked was covered and everything else too. Of course, it wasn't, but a sale is a sale and it was not the rep but the company who was liable. A license to print money for many reps!!

Pensions,too, were crooked. A rep got commission upon sign up. Some reps paid premiums for folk to get the commission and then lapsed it. Another great earner!! Eventually there were Court cases and the companies paid up huge fines. After these cases, limits were set of a year for pension payments prior to commission. The PHI was cleaned up too.

However another good one came out. If a small firm took out a Pension plan the owners of the firm controlled the Pension. The worker and the employer put in the same amounts. Eventually the pension pot grows. This pension money can be used as colateral for loans or can be loaned out at the whim of the controllers. Companies were using the pension money to back up the company!!!! So the pot was not earning This is called a shortfall being the difference in what should be in the pot to what is really there. Another wizzard wheeze................companies just did not pay in their dues.  Another shortfall.!

These shortfalls were supposed to be made up,but rarely were. Companies who abided by the rules,built up big pension pots. Sharks then took them over,sold of the assets and keep the pension money !!!

Another wonderful thing happened when UK was forced to devalue the currency, after the Soros lead attack, on Black Wednesday. So, I wondered, what would my pension buy me??  An extra pint at the local,perhaps? At this point I joined the live for today culture and let tomorrow take care of itself. After all you could get hit by a bus !!!