Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Pensions in awkward territory
Not good times for the Government or UK pension holders then, who seem to both be in a state of stale mate, with the banks calling all the shots as usual, even though they are funded on a large scale by the tax payers in the first place.
They may rank alongside other unsecured creditors, such as the banks, but put a company into administration and they often become a different beast with the largest seat at the table.
In the build up to a meltdown, though – as the banks start pulling the strings – they are curiously toothless.
Pensioners are hit hard
The world seems to just be one big scandal at the moment and the pensioners are loosing out big time, especially with the recent interest rate cuts which will dramatically affect their long term capital.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/pens-d15.shtml
A little discussed aspect of the global financial crisis is the devastating impact it is having on pensions. This is particularly acute in Britain. State provision is poor and successive governments have forced workers to rely on occupational pensions, on which half of all British workers depend, private pensions and annuities, and the value of their homes to finance their retirement.
In the last year, the London stock market has fallen by nearly 40 percent and deficits in UK occupational pensions in the top 100 corporations have leapt from £40 billion a year ago to more than £122 billion in October of this year if more realistic estimates of their liabilities are used.