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The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE) (Read 63127 times)
Ian Pollock
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #15 - Oct 14th, 2015, 6:33pm
 
There is now a briefing paper on this topic on the website of the BBC pensioners' association.
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #16 - Oct 14th, 2015, 8:48pm
 
BBC Pensioners' Association News is here:-
http://www.bbcpa.org.uk

And their briefing note is here.
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chris west
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #17 - Nov 9th, 2015, 12:43pm
 
This is interesting: I had heard nothing about the proposed PIE, so I wrote to the pensions unit. This is their reply:

"As you live overseas, I regret that the PIE option is not available to you.  To take up the offer you would need to receive financial advice and the company that the BBC has chosen is not authorised to give advice outside of the UK."

This seems bizarre and highly discriminatory. Is the BBC saying that financial advice is compulsory, and solely from the advisor of its choosing? From what I've heard about PIE, I don't think it's for me, but it would be good to have the option.
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Carol_M
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #18 - Nov 22nd, 2015, 12:04pm
 
I received my letter from the BBC. It is three weeks after the posting date but I am in France. I heard first from the financial advisors and let them know this was the first I heard of it all.  So I am behind with this. I soon will be 55. My first reaction is that no offer is going to be better than the index-linked pension deal. However secondly I am not sure that if - call me paranoid if you like - I wait to take it, there will be anything there at all ?! That is, in the last few years I have seen my retirement age change from 60 to 67 and my NI contributions go up from 30 to 35 years.  I am not sure that there aren't other shocks around the corner. Still, I shall start to read through all the links and appreciate discussing this with others.  Undecided
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Carol_M
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #19 - Nov 26th, 2015, 2:06pm
 
I don't know why you were told Chris West that you can't have the offer as you are overseas, but where are you? I am in Europe, clearly. Also the letter I have says
What if you live outside the UK?  
etc etc
So they are offering to some who are not UK residents.
Otherwise, cynically, if like me you are about to be 55, and female then you could be one of the most potentially costly for the BBC on the RPI deal, as women tend to live longer.  But that said, personally I don't think my little pension is worth their investment in paying for financial advice, though personally I am grateful for it.
Please can Ian Pollock explain how you understand that as you wrote:
"My reading of the BBC's letter suggests that the offer would involve not the payment of a lump sum to us, but a permanent uplift in our monthly pensions. Obviously we await details."  Can you explain a bit more about this please?
I am just worried that I only have two months as my letter was late, to make this decision. Carol
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Ian Pollock
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #20 - Nov 26th, 2015, 8:56pm
 
The BBC's offer involves you surrendering all the inflation proofing that applies to the part of your pension earned before April 1997. In return, you receive a permanent increase to that part of your pension, from next April. So, in the short term you may gain (quite a lot); but over the new couple of decades or so, depending on how long you live and how high inflation is, you may eventually lose.
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chris west
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #21 - Nov 27th, 2015, 6:36pm
 
I wrote to the BBC director of finance outlining my concerns about overseas pensioners not being eligible for PIE, and to be fair, I got a rapid reply. As expected, no change in the corporate line: "the BBC and the BBC Pension Scheme decided to exclude overseas pensioners from the option.  This is to protect pensioners from making uninformed decisions without the necessary support, rather than excluding them simply because they live abroad."

I'm leaving it there, I don't think PIE is for me anyway. Not sure about me, but my younger wife, who will inherit my pension, must have a good 30 years or more left to enjoy it.
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Martyn
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #22 - Dec 31st, 2015, 9:35am
 
Newbie Martyn P here [late of Gp2 Studio Managers BH/MV etc;)]; Anybody tempted by the PIE offer?  The offer of over £5k pa more [less tax!] interests me even though I am in good health and my family [parents grandparents etc] are quite long-lived!!!  But am I being daft?
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JohnW
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #23 - Dec 31st, 2015, 3:20pm
 
Welcome Martyn P (for Parker)!
No harm in being a newbie here - after all we were all one at some point!!

Well PIE is proving to be interesting.
Although the 'regulations' relating to pensions have all been changed by Gideon, there is some method in his madness!
It's all really about getting his tax-take as soon as possible really. After all, if you exceed the amount you can take from your pot without paying tax, (some 30% when I last checked) then he's rubbing his hands with a certain amount of glee! He'll be getting your Income Tax rather earlier than he would have been doing without you taking up the PIE offer.

Undoubtedly, if you're in good health and have a family who've lived long before you, then you'll be looking forward to many years of an increasing pension: and all the while the Chancellor is moving the point below which you pay little/no tax on any 'income' upwards.

If you are tempted, then to me the break point would be related to the point at which you're going to pay the higher rate of Income Tax.

I'm sure that as a long-serving member of Group 2, your pension won't be all that bad (although that's always rather "subjective"!) so if the extra "uplift" you'd get by trading in future raises for more income now, then if that raise would make you liable for 40% tax rather than 30% then I'd postulate that you'd rather keep those annual increases for when you won't be liable for the higher rate.
Nevertheless, should you be desirous of spending 'a serious lump of cash' - and want to do that now! - at least you have the opportunity of getting at more of what you've earned right now. I, on the other hand, didn't have that option when I left Auntie, and had to go down the route of an Annuity with the extra savings I had made from EDP and the like. Gideon has now changed all that so that should I wish I could buy that Annuity sum back (less, of course, what the present provider - Aviva - wishes to charge me for doing so!) and then Gideon will have his percentage of that sum too, since I'd already withdrawn the maximum 1/3rd in cash prior to arranging the annuity (which somehow seems pitifully small compared to my pension!).

At the end of the day, whether it's the right option for you will ultimately depend on how long you live - and unless you've developed a useful facility of seeing into the future whilst in The Tennis Club, no one really knows how long we each have on this earth! The other aspect is just how much of your pension was earned before April 1997 (and I do remember you were around prior to that time! Wink) since it's only that bit which is subject to the PIE uplift. Anything earned after 1997 will still receive an annual increase, so you'll need to know how much of your current pension was earned prior to that point, to see how much the remaining part of your existing amount will increase year-on-year.

I doubt this has really helped since each situation is so different. I'm not taking up my option since strictly I don't absolutely need it to keep the wolf from the door. YMMV (as they say!) - but I hope you can see just a little clearer. By all means talk to the people the Beeb has made available to us, but at the end of the day they are being paid by the Beeb to reduce its future Pension 'liability' whether that is overtly stated or not. Smiley
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Kirkdale1
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #24 - Jan 2nd, 2016, 10:28am
 
Well, as I noted on the other thread about PIE, I was offered a 26% plus uplift and after shilly shallying, for weeks, decided to take up the offer. Duly rang Chase De Vere who's adviser talked me through every aspect of my circumstances and possibilities that MIGHT prevail.
I was very impressed with them. I have paid for independent financial advice before and it was pretty expensive. So thanks Auntie for providing that Smiley)
The end result was (it's pretty much all a punt) I don't need the money, if I took the uplift I'd only put it in the bank and achieve rubbish rates of return, I'd be putting myself well into the higher tax bracket and by not taking the offer up I can never (hopefully) be worse off than I am now.
So I was brought around 180 degrees and decided NOT to take up the offer. The follow up letter from Chase de Vere recommended that I did not take it up.
So as my better half says "Do we really want to be in the position of all those TV shows, where an expert is brought in, gives his advice, is totally ignored and always proves to be right - while we scream at the idiocy of the fools they're advising" Cheesy
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V Meldrew
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #25 - Jan 2nd, 2016, 11:26am
 
I am tempted to take the offer. Of course this is a personal decision as each recipient has different offers and circumstances.

In my case the offer is worth an extra £5,500 plus an annual RPI increase based on 50% of my existing pension. I am still relatively young (I don't get the State Pension yet). The PIE offer would not take me into the 40% tax bracket. Don't forget you only pay 40% tax on that amount over the threshold, not on the whole amount.

Chase DeVere told me that they would not advise me one way or another as in my case, it was not a clear cut matter. I do have to save for holidays and non essential items, so the extra now would allow me to enjoy life a little more whilst still young enough to do so.

I worked out a spreadsheet based on assumptions of the RPI, and it would be another 12-14 years until I would be at the "cross over" point. In the meantime I could have "enjoyed" around £50,000!

With the present RPI being so low, 2016 pension increases would be in double figures in my case.

I am fortunate to own a house that I could downsize if money gets tight after this cross over point.

I would be eager to hear if anyone else is thinking it is a good idea to accept the PIE offer?
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Burstner55
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #26 - Jan 3rd, 2016, 10:55pm
 
I think it might be of benefit to everyone to hear of as many “takes” on PIE as possible, especially those who have already had the De Vere conversations and, perhaps, already made up their minds. With that in mind then, I don’t mind saying that I am going for it.  I thought the way my “handler” went through all the points and ensured that I understood them was highly professional. I have no complaints about any part of the way the offer has been put to me.
I am fortunate that my wife also has an indexed (not BBC) pension and although she is younger than me by a good few years we contribute about the same amount each month to the family pot.    We are in relative good health but I face immobility in coming years. The condition I have isn’t in itself life-threatening. We own our house although following a financial setback a couple of years ago we have a small mortgage in her name only.  We have no other dependents and our offspring are self sustained. We would, though, like to rebuild the cash assets we had before our financial misfortune, so as to give us, or the survivor, a decent cushion.
The adviser told me that the two crossover points explained in the booklet will both be reached in my case in my late 80s should I live that long, some 15 years from now.
We talked it over and both agreed that to have more money now, about £350 per month after tax, (we are not near the 40% band) on top of the cash we now enjoy would enable us to continue to lead an active life whilst we are still mobile. We both accept that by the time I am 80 I will have slowed down to a point where our outgoings will also be reduced.
Neither of us believes that inflation is likely to ricochet to the early 1990s levels in our lifetime.
Since I took the levelling option I was already looking forward to having more disposable cash  after my 75th birthday in any case, when the levelling “debt” is paid off (but what a boon it was when I was first put out to grass!).
We both feel that a small gesture in helping to keep the BBC Pension Fund afloat for future benefits is desirable.
It means that when I die my wife will be somewhat better off in the first few years after my death than she would have been staying on the existing pension arrangement and then as she grows older and needs less ready cash but may need care or medical priorities, the savings we hope to enhance will be available, together with the equity in our property.
If there is a “worst case scenario” it is one such as both of us requiring full time care but we feel that sticking with the existing arrangement wouldn’t have helped in those circumstances.
I am confident it is the right decision for us but I agree it can be a tough call for some. I would be happy to discuss this by personal contact for anyone who feels they need more moral support.
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #27 - Jan 6th, 2016, 12:42pm
 
To those who believe this PIE exercise is just a ploy by the BBC to reduce the pension liability:

Like others, I thought the offer was to be a one-off payment rather than a continuing uplift.

So, when I received the original letter back in September, I requested to be removed from the scheme.

Having realised my mistake, I have just asked to be reinstated, but have been told I'm too late.

So, they are not exactly desperate to sign up as many people as possible.

Of course, this was totally my mistake, but that doesn't stop me being upset at possibly missing out on a good deal.

On the other hand, my pension has exactly doubled over the last 20 years and, now 70, I could well get another 20 or more.

So, maybe I've had a lucky escape.

I'll report back in January 2036 and let you know!
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #28 - Jan 18th, 2023, 12:54pm
 
Yes, I know it's not January 2036 (see above post) but I'm already starting to think that I was lucky not to have signed up to the PIE scheme.

With a combined increase (last year and this) of nearly 20%, is there anyone on the scheme who are brave enough to admit that they made a terrible mistake?
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Peter Difolco
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Re: The BBC's planned Pension Increase Exchange (PIE)
Reply #29 - Jan 23rd, 2023, 10:30am
 
Any idea how many pensioners took up the PIE offer in the end
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