The Age gap and Pensions. ( When we reach our Expiry date)

Again, not something any of us want to think about But.......... my Private Pension Provider has sent some information about spouse expectations on the event of the death of the Pension Receiver.
Now I am in my 3rd year of this pension which was guaranteed for 5 years.
So should I stay alive (and I have every intention of) I will Run out of the guarantee by May 2018.
Should I go before that, My Wife will get the remaining ( today it is 34 months) Months pension tax free as a Lump Sum, then 50% of the pension for the remainder of here life. [ With yearly increases]
Now as with most things, Change have come. I am waiting for the decision on mine as it is in Force. But....
from April 2016, they are making the Age gap between Husband and Foreign Wife No more than 10 years.
If the Surviving foreign Wife is more than 10 years Younger the 50% pension to them will be reduced by a % to be decided at the time of the Pension Holders Death.
Of Course I sent a mail to my other 2 pension providers but as yet have not had any Reply.
Seems the private Sector , certainly in the UK, see age Difference as a cost platform to be dissected.

Just a heads up and one that may need your attention to

JP

 

WOW!

That is really an ageist thing. Very subtle - but seems discriminatory on its face.

Can that be derailed because it is age discrimination?

As long as the two consenting parties married and were both of majority age, and that that said pension plan has already recognized you both as pension beneficiaries, (both primary and secondary), then how can they change the rules of the game in the middle of the game and it be legally applied to you? In your case, wouldn't that be a breach of contract? Who gives them the sole right to do this?

I know in the States, when the military has a benefit change that can effect the payout of retirement benefits over time, they GENERALLY "grandfather" in those who are currently serving and/or those who are already retired and having use of that benefit (both primary and secondary beneficiaries). To do anything less is an egregious breach of contract.

When a major change takes place, the diminished NEW rules/changes of that benefit are then applied onto those who enter into military service contracts when the new laws go into effect. They use the effective date of change worded as "effective on or after this date" to distinguish those who are "new hires" under the new retirement system, and those who are not and fall under the "old" retirement rules.

What you're suggesting is that what the "system" is about to do seems not only discriminatory (and racist as it only applies to "foreign" spouses), but also borders on breach of contract.

Do you have a website or forum group of retirees from this pension you're receiving that is active and vocal that you can reach out to?

V/R,
nwlivewire

 

It gets worse, I have just been told that after April 2016, UK pensions will no longer pay Pension Benefits to Foreign Wives that have never been to the UK and paid any Social Insurance. Now I understand that this is the same for US Social Security. (But you can claim for Children that are Duel Nats.) UK Childrens support stopped 6 years ago.
Apparently I am Covered on both issues as my Pension is already awarded But, for new Applications these will be the new Rules.

Breaches of Contract in the UK are just not even worth losing sleep over, Once a law becomes an Act of Parliament, that's it.
As to Age and Race Discrimination, it only applies to those actually living in the UK. 11.000+ kms away and we have to accept what is happening and what we were awarded.

Life will go on, But now many will need to rethink the move. or make alternative financial cover

JP

 

GEEZ!

I assume this pension is a UK National Pension - not a private or corporate pension, yes?

Although this will primarily affect men who marry foreign nationals, there are women who also marry foreign nationals. So this change is an evenly applied blanket change to all who have a foreign spouse - I assume this includes gay foreign spouses, too. After all, a foreign spouse is a foreign spouse is a foreign spouse under this change.

Now the US has Social Security agreements with several nations (mostly EU), whereby if the foreign spouse is a citizen of certain nations, or, a RESIDENT (not necessarily a citizen) of certain nations that have an agreement with Social Security, then that foreign spouse may still be eligible to collect ongoing spousal Social Security benefits.

There are other qualifying factors too, such as the age of the spouse, too (and god knows what else).

I wonder if the UK also has similar provisions where perhaps a relocation may be needed in some cases, but the relocation may not need to be a move to the UK in order to preserve/establish benefit status?

I know this might sound ugly, but many Americans became weary of reproductive-aged single women popping out babies and getting paid an increase of Welfare benefits as a reward for having more babies. That has tightened up a bit compared to what is was like 30 years ago. And "Dead Beat Dads" (and Moms) are being taken to court more regularly.

It looks like our governments are restricting the blanket extensions of secondary national benefits to all primary "breeders" who are collecting government benefits. Looks like the governments don't mind paying the worker's benefit, but they don't want to pay much (if anything) for anyone beyond that first ring like they used to.

WOW!

nwlivewire

 

Well for whatever reason, these are the new rules for the UK. State pensions will cease to pay Widows pensions to foreign Spouses who have never been to the UK after April 2016
Private Pension Providers will be looking closely at the Age Difference between Spouses after April 2016

What can I say But.......................

JP

 

Only that they should have paid some National Insurance. In other words they MUST have Worked at some stage, the amount of time I am awaiting a Reply on.

For me it does not matter mine is signed and sealed, it is all those that are waiting to claim their hard earned Pension with ( To me) a right to look after a Wife, No matter where they are from. Of Course this will [as always] exclude the Wives of the old eastern European block. They never paid a penny in either but because of this damned EEC and the nanny state brigade, That's OK

JP

 

Yep. Current system is not sustainable under the current funding system (FICA) tax - who pays, how much, and income ceiling limits that are FICA taxable.

I read one report that claimed that the money the US gov't spent to fund the wars in OIF/OEF, that under the current FICA system, that the money spent on the wars could have funded all currently funded and administered SSA programs for another 75 years. That's all gone now, and Capital Hill can't seem to get their "poop in a group" to get anything done about this.

This is one of the main reasons I'm "planting flags" now - going to school now in one country, then buying a small plot of farmland in another country, and will be banking in yet a third. I'm trying to set a little meager existence of something up for my Son should SSA become insolvent or drastically cut back it's benefit rates. At least he will have somewhere to go to and be able to raise a chicken someplace in his old age.

At the ways things are going, I may also have need to make use of whatever I can cobble together before I conk out, too.

Such a deal!

nwlivewire