15/09/2014 Inside Out South East

Why do these people avoid p`ying into a pension scheme?

Here is a question for you ` hands up, who hasn't got a pension?

The biggest scam in the pensions industry.

of Kent, happy to reveal thd secret of their success.

In some strange way, my 70s were my best decade for sailing.

I'm Natalie Graham, with untold stories closer to home.

From all around the south`e`st, this is Inside Out.

Hello, we are in the harbour town of Whitstable for our pension special.

I am back here later, but fhrst up, an exclusive survey

commissioned by Inside Out has revealed why around

half the British population doesn't have a pension.

The most common reason is cash flow,

with 39% of those surveyed saying they just can't afford

Another 27% said they just haven't got round to doing it.

you simply don't trust pensions companies.

Well, John Cuthill hopped on a vintage bus to the seaside

got on with the gardening and were grateful for a free bus pass.

But with life expectancy continuing to rise, even if we retire later,

These days, most of Britain's workers don't have a pension sorted,

which could leave us relying entirely on the state.

and its 70`year`old driver Lervyn ` still working.

I enjoy it and I'm a part of the busindss.

It's a nice job and you meet nice people,

I did invest into a pension, but it went down the pan, so...

Today, we're on a trip to the seaside.

And where better to meet than the Pensioners Pub?

Half of our passengers on otr 1 49 Bedford bus are retired.

The other half are pension refuseniks ?

a handful of Britain's 13 million company employees

The Government's rolling out a scheme to try to put that right.

Auto`enrolment makes it a legal requirement for companies

But if you earn less than ?00,0 0, you won't qualify.

And anyone self`employed will have to sort themselves out.

saving up each month and putting money aside for a pension

I'm Adam Fox, I'm 27, I'm a senior colour technichan.

I get paid ?500 a month at the moment, with my training

so there's absolutely no extra funds there for pensions

You haven't got a pension ehther? No.

I'm Katie, I'm 26, I'm a carer. I'm on ?6.50 an hour.

I'm still doing my studying, so it's not beneficial to md

Hilda. Look what just came. What's that?

Hilda's celebrating her 100th birthday today.

These days, you're 44 times more likely to do the same

than 60 years ago, which has prompted the Government

to make the most sweeping changes to pensions in generations.

Hello, there, welcome aboard. Hi, Steve.

for Minister of State for Pdnsions, Steve Webb `

the man responsible for the radical reforms.

is get millions of people into a pension at all.

Particularly starting with xoung people,

then we've got to build on that basic minimum level.

So 8% of your salary, for most people,

won't get you a comfortable retirement.

It's a start, but we've got to build on that.

Once you get a pension, then you are going to be nailed by charges.

In the past, too many peopld have been ripped off,

These new workplace pensions will be different,

we are going to cap the charges so that from next April, more than 99p

in the pound you put into a pension will go into a pension, not charges.

So they will be the best value pensions,

particularly because your fhrm is putting money in as well,

one of the best things you can invest in.

With a captive audience, Stdve Webb can't resist the opportunitx

Tell me your pensions experhence. Are you ever going to have one?

I'm self`employed. I do events and weddings, things like that.

And I don't think the return you will get from a pension

Mark Larter's 39. Instead of a pension,

My property is going to rent out to students in Southampton,

really high student populathon there, and it is right

in the centre of town, so it is a wicked location and it is always

37`year`old Balvinder Singh has frozen his private pension,

put off by the constantly increasing retirement age.

I don't trust pensions, I don't know how much I'm going to get

and when I am going to get that They are increasing it everx day.

First, they said 60, 65. Now they say 70 years.

I don't know if I am going to live that long.

Things are different on the retired side of the bus,

where some have the sort of gold`plated final salary schemes

that anyone who's signing up to a pension now

I don't see myself as being in any way privileged, I sed myself

as having worked the public service for a relatively reasonable salary,

but the attraction of it was always the reason`ble

The pension is pretty good really, because it is index`linked `nd I

know from year to year exactly what it is I'm probably going to get

But not all pensioners are as fortunate.

I'm Lyn, I'm 67 and I survive on a basic pension,

I'm Reg, I'm 78 and my statd pension is about ?640 a month.

Plus I have a private pension, which is ?150 a month.

Between them, that's an income of roughly ?13,000 a year.

was quoted as the amount needed for a comfortable retirement.

When you're young, you don't think about 40 years hence, do you?

It sort of creeps up on you and then you get to 45`50 and you thhnk, ah.

We don't take life too seriously because I think if we did,

Compared to men, three times as many women

retire with no private penshon savings at all.

I'm Lin Gel, I'm 58 and I rtn a B in Lee, on the Solent.

I don't have a pension in my own right.

I've worked all my life, but I didn't really think I'd need one,

because my husband had quite a few pensions,

Lin does get some of her late husband's Naval pension,

which is a portion of what he would've got.

It's tough, because I've got to work now,

to get a state pension, until I'm 68.

everybody's got to work now, until they're quite old, so you know. .

Joan's 93 and has been retired for 30 years.

She thinks there's been a cultural shift towards spending now

rather than putting money away for later.

I don't think nowadays people know how to save, young people.

They have never had to make do and mend like we had to.

As the Pensions Special rolls down the promenade, time for somd words

of warning for those of us who might still have our heads in the sand.

The majority of workers don't have pension savings `

so anyone on that side of the bus ? You are not alone, there ard lots

However, the main message h`s to be if you don't save for your later

The state pension, certainlx for those who are relatively yotng now,

is changing dramatically and from 2016 inwards,

is changing dramatically and from 2016 onwards,

younger people will know th`t when they get to retirement,

the state pension is going to be around ?20 a day.

Now, if you think you'll be happy living on ?20 a day

for the rest of your life when you've reached retiremdnt,

but if you think you might want more than ?20 a day

to have a decent lifestyle, then unless you do some savhng now,

you won't have any money coling in from that pension later.

So it's all about being prepared ` or is it?

I was planning to start sorting out my pension at the age 40.

After today, I have realised it is far too late.

I think we are more like, lhve for today, because you never know

My business is going good, Property is going well,

so I am quite happy with how things are going, I think.

Any non`pensioners going in at all?

when it comes to keeping our heads above water when we retire,

we're all going to have to plan ahead.

I go out with about ten other bikers.

Well, if you have got a pension pot, surely you can relax.

Inside out has gone undercover to expose the biggest scam

in the pensions industry, leaving many victims pennildss.

When we take out a pension, it is all about securing our future.

But what happens if I want to cash mine in before I'm 55?

Well, according to some companies, age is no barrier.

When John, not his real namd, from Sussex, needed to free up some cash,

I'd been unemployed for abott two years, hardly earning any money

I have got a wife, two kids and, you know,

I was struggling really badly financially, in debt.

And it basically offered up to 0% of your pension fund

And my main concern when I first heard about it

was obviously that it was, firstly, legal,

and secondly, that you weren't going to get taxed on it.

The scheme freed up ?47,000 in cash but John's relief was short`lived.

First the pensions regulator and then the High Court

ruled he had taken what is called an unauthorised payment.

How extremely stressful that was, because I had made great pahns

to make sure that these loans were legal.

I thought it was the only w`y of getting out of

The great thing about pensions is that they are tax efficidnt.

In other words, we get tax relief on them to encourage us to save

And if you try to cash yours in before you were 55,

And if you try to cash yours in before you are 55,

cutting those strings will cost you a fortune.

You will have to pay up to 70% of what you get back in tax.

"You actually cannot take anything from your pension until aged 55 "

But, John, not his real namd, didn't.

Now he owes the taxman thousands of pounds.

Many of the people here had joined the same scheme.

Some, as they have told me, faced financial ruin.

It is why they formed this support group.

There are numerous people who have said to me that they sometiles feel

the only way out of this misery is to commit suicide,

For those of us who are stuck in a financial hole, freehng up

our pension pot might seel like the light at the end the tunnel.

But the people I've met so far say they were kdpt

That's why I am doing my own research.

I want to find out if comp`nies are really telling people that age

doesn't matter, that I can take my pension out early and not pay tax.

So, we will start with the initial pension, 37,600

Now, this company is going to take away a certain amount of fdes

and you're left with ?25,832 which is 68% of your pension

But what it doesn't tell yot is that HMRC are going to also take a

further 55% at minimum which leaves you about 10% of your pension.

But are companies setting out to mislead or just being short

I am hoping a few calls will help me to find ott.

We have chosen a selection of companies at random

and I have asked pensions expert Richard Jacobs to listen hn.

We are just wondering if you could hep.

So if I did cash in my pension, there would be tax to pay.

You can't take money out of a pension before the agd of 55.

So the first company knows the rules.

You never know, maybe I won't be misldd.

Operation Scorpion might have something to do with that.

It is what the police and pensions regulators are calling

their crackdown on pension liberation companies.

Since being set up, it has investigated a sector worth

We have been making a few more calls.

I want to know what Richard thinks of thel.

I would just like you to listen to it and try to

We have made it clear that I am under 55 but need cash and fast.

The monies generated are 20% of the value of your transfer

and those monies are repaid to you through another channel.

Secondly, you switch your pension fund and you will receive 20%

You are already shaking yotr head, licking your lips at this!

Whoever that business hs, if money is coming out,

There is no money magicked from anywhere.

That is pension liberathon, whatever name you put on it

In fact, of the nine companies we contacted online and on thd phone,

That left me feeling as miserable as the weather.

So what is the pensions regulator doing about ht?

The message we need to get out to consumers is that

if anybody comes to offer you access to your pension scheme before 5 ,

they are telling you a lid. You need to walk away very fast.

Every single day, you think about it and it is very bad

Operation Scorpion is helping to raise awareness,

but as our evidence shows, new victims are still getting stung.

Now, the Southeast is thd UK s number one retirement hotspot,

full of care homes, garden centres and comfortable benches.

Perfect places to watch old age pensioners having the timd

Just a few years ago, the average working man or woman

was, by the time they retired, pretty much a spent forcd.

Brought up under rationing and having spent years doing hard

physical labour, the end of a person's workhng life

was usually just a few xears before the end life itsdlf.

With life expectancy rising with each passing year, for many,

retirement wealth last four decades. So for today's pensioners,

it is not so much a question of how much time have I got left, lore a

question of how on earth do I feel the next 20 or 30 years. `` do I

fill in. Some pensioners in the south`east think they have the

answer. The first my quest for the secret of retirement contentment is

a sailing club. Wendy love sailing but also has a passion the downhill

skiing, so to keep busy and help fund their winter hobby, shd has

been training would`be sailors like me ever since she retired from an

office job ten years ago. I suddenly realised I was 60 and I didn't have

to go to work 9`to`5 anymord. Did you have any savings? Not a penny. I

should have done, but I just had a series of jobs that didn't pay any

pension pots. Why do you do this, do you need the money? Desperately I

need every penny. You have dnough to get to the Alps in the wintdr? Just

about. Right, I have the ge`r, I have had my lesson and now ht is

time to get changed and get on the water.

When Gavin retired from his final job as a personnel manager, he

decided to sit around and w`tch the world go by. But his seat w`s in a

wander it Pinky and the world went by so fast, Gavin one the N`tional

Championships four times `` indeed. He is still competing at thd age of

83. So you are still a boy racer? Yes, if you can call my age that. My

70s were my best days for r`cing. We have a National Championships and I

did manage to win that. The satisfaction is making your boat go

as well as it can go, the bow is out of the water, the spray is flying

and even if we don't win, wd have enjoyed ourselves and had rdally

good fun. With 52% of us having no kind of pension scheme other than

that than the state provide, sailing may seem a hobby out of reach for

many, but Gavin bought his first boat for ?2000 and there ard plenty

of second`hand votes for a few hundred pounds, for any pensioners

boating on water tight budgdts. There is a couple at the cltb that

brought at grotty old wonder, worn out sales, it didn't cost them much,

but they come and sailed with their grandchildren several times a week

and really enjoy it. One of the big things with sailing is not the boat

and expense, it is the skill. And the clothing, you obviously spend a

lot on that. Yes, you don't have to have all the expensive gear But you

wear it quite beautifully. But what if you have health problems

as you get older? Gavin's whfe Caroline used to race with him until

ill`health made it impossible. So she went back to the classroom to

find something she could do. She didn't quit, she quilted. It is

creative and it keeps me busy and I need to do things and to go out and

meet people, like`minded, and talk to them, and the people I wdnt first

to do it with, I am still friends with them and we meet every so

often. Another pensioner who has t`ken up a

new skill is evergreen 80`ydar`old Bob. His wife died earlier this

year. She was a keen gardendr, so no Bob is doing all he can to keep the

garden looking rosy. But thd secret of his success in retirement is at

the other end of the garden, in a garage. I enjoy speed, yes. When you

have got a clear, open, small road, it is fun.

So I go out with about ten other bikers. We have all got nicknames. I

am Coffin Dodger, by the wax. What does biking do for you in

retirement, keeps you young? It keeps you pretty sharp, bec`use you

can't afford to get it wrong on a bike on the roads today. Bob used to

ride at Brands Hatch on is back as the rate at speeds of up to 150 mph

but after a high`speed tumble, he now writes for pleasure and the

social life that comes with being a biker. Bikers are very friendly you

might notice they always nod to each other. It is just something you do.

If you saw a bike broken down, you would not pass me would stop and ask

if you could help. Do you worry what the you will do instead when you

can't ride a bike? I will btild them instead. I have got a workshop with

machinery and I have build bikes, so I will be building bikes. I will

still be involved. My last port of call in my search for the sdcret of

a happy retirement is Folkestone, a popular place with pensioners and

home to one of the oldest community sports centres in the country. It

has a huge range of programles for its ever`growing band of active

oldies. Now, whatever your `ge, sometimes exercise can just feel a

bit too much like hard work, but the great thing about these machines is

they do the work for you. Of course, technology can only go so f`r to

keep you in tiptop shape. You also need willpower and determin`tion.

Pensioner Rita Williams has plenty of both. I started seven ye`rs ago,

just after I lost my husband, to get out of the house and do somdthing

and I have never looked back. This sports Centre has given me ` life, I

have made wonderful friends started over on the toning chairs and

because I liked what I was seeing in the mirror, I kept it going and I

have gone on from there, because I am a little older now and I want to

keep fit. I couldn't have done anything that was too expensive so

it is good. It is time for my last lesson of the

day. Keith Bennett took up correctly after his 60th birthday. Now he is

84 and he is a black belt. So have you ever used karate in the big bad

world? Once, a gang of youths were attacking this old couple and they

were pushing them around and that and I said to them, leave them

alone, and they came up to le and said, listen to me, old man, I will

do you in a minute, which w`s a mistake, because he ended up

headfirst in a rose bush. Kdith teaches karate now and is gradually

moving up the black belt gr`des He is now a fourth Dan. I am on my

third down and for that, I did 00 presents, 100 sit`ups, 100 squats

and then two hours of technhcal then I've series `` a series of

51`minute fights and at the end you had to stay on your feet. So you

have gone almost as high as you can go? Some Japanese people ard ten

thought well done. But in Folkestone... ! Don't worry about

Japan. `` some Japanese people are 10th Dan. I have finally fotnd

enlightenment in a small part of Kent. No one is pretending living on

a pension is easy but the truth is for these pensioners, retirdment is

about more than a pension, ht is finding a passion and finding

someone who can pursue it whth you. If you haven't got a passion for

something, I think you are hn trouble. You have to find one

somehow and think, what havd I always wanted to do? Make stre you

train properly, make sure that the family is happy with it. And join a

group of people that are dohng the same thing. Then you are into a new

community, a new group of friends, that is what I would say.

Now, if you want any more information about tonight's show,

you can visit our Kent also six website. You can watch the whole

show a gain on the BBC iPlaxer `` or Sussex website. Coming up ndxt

week... With more homebirths on the way, how will our hospitals cope?

Certainly if we were to double homebirths, we would really be

struggling to offer that service appropriately.

Quizzing Paul Carter, we look back over his pledge to improve Kent s

economy. I am not feeling the heat underneath this. The years `re going

by. As I understand it, work will start in the next 18 months. And we

join the underwater archaeologists unlocking the secrets of a

17th`century Chatham shipwrdck. It is very much like the Mary Rose,

I can say this is the merridr as the Thames estuary. That is it for

tonight from Whitstable. Th`nk you for watching, see you next week

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