YOU HAVE YOUR SAY

EVERY week, Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some of the best from our recent story that highlighted the crafty sales tactics used by banks . . . Money Mail, October 26 THIS is private money owned by people who have worked all their life for retirement. They should be allowed to do what they want with it and not be forced into anything by large corporations. R. H., Chester. IT’S law, but you can only use it if the company agrees? Well, there are lots of laws I don’t agree with, so I think I might just start ignoring them, too. M. B., Gloucestershire. PENSIONS are a rip-off as far as most of us are concerned. The companies running the schemes cream the benefit and the majority of us will die before we see all of our money. A. P., Warrington. ALL of this has been allowed because of the patronising claim that workers cannot be trusted to manage their own savings. S. P., Portsmouth. IT’S no wonder insurers are standing in the way. Why would they want to hand over lump sums? They can make much more money by paying a lousy pension and hoping savers die early. Then they can pocket the rest. A. M., Cumbria. SOME pensioners still have mortgages and debts. They could use this money to pay off the debts, which will have far higher interest rates than the pension will be paying out. D. V., Brighton. MY ANNUITY pays me £360 a year. I would have to live forever to get back what was paid in. A. T., Sunderland. ANNUITIES are the ultimate rip-off. These companies make a fortune out of your pension contributions and then drip-feed you some of the interest they earn off the capital. Then, once you die, they keep it. No wonder it’s almost impossible to get people to save for retirement. H. G., Preston, Lancs.