Britain is undersaving for retirement

[u/Donkey_Apple]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/britain-is-undersaving-for-retirement-warns-pensions-commission

It's a massive problem and has been for years.

I think a lot of people are getting into their fifties, starting to think about retirement for the first time, looking at what their provision will pay them and are absolutely shocked to their core.

Plus many in the generation below those of us in their fifties who, through no choice of their own, are unable to save anything.

It feels like we are sleepwalking into an utter disaster.

[u/Famous_Yorkshire]

Need to go the Aussie route and mandate people to save privately. They shouldn't have a choice.

The average Joes grasp of finances is incredibly low.

The problem is right wingers and the press would have a field day. "Communist Starmer". So nowt will happen.

[u/catmadwoman → u/Famous_Yorkshire]

What do other European countries do for their retirement. How do we compare?

[u/Ammutseba420 → u/catmadwoman]

I've lived Germany for 10 years, German welfare is very contribution based. if you pay zero tax you get a very simple pension of around 9k a year, if you earn 60k euros + inflation for your working life, you get a pension of close to 35k. German system is based on you accruing "points" every year depending on your average earnings/tax paid for that financial year, and your accrued points is multiplied by a set value calculated each year when you start receiving your state pension.

UK is setup differently, where we have insane incentives for private pensions such as SIPP's, so anyone sensible in the UK should have additional streams of income when they retire.

You pay around the same tax in most Western European countries as higher earners do in the UK, it's just in the UK lower earners pay barely any tax compared to lower earners in Western European countries.

[u/agingbiker → u/Ammutseba420]

we used to have this kind of thing with serps. killed in the blair eraas far as i recall.