Save for your pension or you’ll regret it

I’M delighted Chancellor Jeremy Hunt amended some of the pension rules in his Budget, especially those referring to increasing the tax-free pension contribution limit to £60,000.

However, what worries me is Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to reverse these proposals if Labour comes to power.

Looking back, I’m now beginning to wish I had put more money into my pension plan, for I did not factor in a 10%-plus inflation rate.

Like most, my private pension is at a fixed rate, so spending power is decreasing as the years slip by.

Ms Reeves has also underlined Labour’s commitment to maintain the Triple Lock, but then again, Boris Johnson made the same promise, only to break it, leaving every pensioner some £430 worse off for a year before, responding to heavy criticism, it was restored.

I am also still sore about the way in which pensioners lost their free TV licence.

All pensioners will have noted that Government has made no effort to correct this reduction in standard of living. It never gets a mention.

I appreciate Government does have an increasing financial burden to fund where pensioners are concerned.

The average life-span is gradually increasing as recognised by the age of retirement being advanced.

This is something that President Macron is having major trouble with in France, their retirement age being a mere 62 and thus completely unaffordable.

Whilst there has been a slowdown in life expectancy over the last ten years, the average age for budgeted Government pension funding is somewhere near 82, so 16 years of pension from the current retirement age of 66 which is scheduled to rise over the course of the next few years to 67 and then 68 according to present legislation.

I hope the Triple Lock will be maintained, but there is quite a bit of whingeing among MPs on all sides who believe this measure is unaffordable.

It really behoves all those not retired to consider carefully the amount that they should save for their future.