Pension Pot.

                                                                                                                                                                      Hello Everyone!
Especially new followers Carol, NannyAnny and Undomestic Diva on the follower bar and jangray, Bronzewing and Rebecca on Blog Lovin. It is really good to see you here.
I recently saw a couple on the TV who are going to use a draw down from their pensions to travel the world. This couple both had pensions and my guess were a professional couple, probably with decent pensions. They appeared to have done their homework and good luck to them, though it is not a move that I would make, nor equity release.
I must admit to being anxious about draw-down. I am concerned that some older people might be taken advantage of. You might think that I am being patronising here and that people know what they are doing. I agree that many do, but my experience as a Social Worker tells me that some older people are vulnerable from fraudsters with "investment" advice or likely to be targeted/befriended by family members and so-called friends and neighbours.
"Bless him, my grandson is having a difficult time. He has finished college and would like a year out before he settles down"
"My granddaughter says that if she had a car she could get a job"
"My son needs a short term loan for a holiday. He works so hard he deserves a break"
"My nephew has been using drugs but says he isn't using them anymore and needs a bond to get himself a flat and make a new start"
Now there is nothing wrong with helping family out. That's what families are for, helping each other, but I have heard these statements and similar so many times when an older person has cashed in an insurance policy or similar. They are so pleased to be able to help their relative out and I suppose if they never see the pay out again (they probably wont) it was money they never had (though have paid into) but draw-down reduces the amount of money they need to live on in the long term and the loss of it will impinge on a person's standard of living.
For those not familiar with Drawdown, put simply, a person can take a percentage of their pension pot as a lump sum. Clearly this will reduce the regular pension payments afterwards.

 A headline in my Sunday paper a couple of weeks ago stated that "People in their 20s have retirement mapped out - but they aren't saving" The article says that twentysomethings expect to retire at 63 on an annual income of £23,000, which many plan to spend travelling the world. They believe that they don't need to start saving until they hit 30 and almost half believe that they can rely on a state pension to give them a decent income.  Just how much of that is likely?!

And am I the only person who doesn't want to travel the world?!

Just watched an article on the news about a young woman who is the first apprentice Bee farmer. She works on her dad's farm and hopes one day to take over the business. Good for her! I was especially pleased to see the old cobbled together hives that are still in service after many years in the elements. It made me feel better about our apiary (after looking at some of the hives of beauty that I see on other blogs)
 We took our first honey harvest this week. Hive No 1 yielded  60lb of honey, which is a good start. We hope to find time remove the supers from Hive No 11 and 4 today.
Having seen the projections for the winter weather as a result of a very active El Nineo (how do you spell it?) I shall be kicking into Prepper mode for the next couple of months, putting stores away....oooh I do love harvest time.
Enough of my ramblings for now.
Hope to be back soon
Gillx