|
I'm very lucky to have worked in the civil service, which has its own pension scheme. My salary has never been as good as it might have been in the private sector, but you accept that when you work for a public service. What you do get is job security, longer holidays, good medical insurance and an excellent pension. My pension is calculated as a percentage of my final salary. That's very rare in the private sector. Usually private companies take your average salary over a period of, say, 20 years. So all in all I expect to be very comfortable when I retire, even if I haven't had that much disposable income during my working life. People think that as a company director, I'm bound to have all sorts of privileged pension benefits and company schemes going on, some special executive plan. But it's not the case. We have a company scheme for all our employees but I don't actually participate in it. Instead, I've put most of my money in a long-term savings account, that gives a good rate of return if you keep it in for long enough. It seems bizarre I know, but I make far more than I need to spend and I guess I'm naturally cautious with my money. |