cb900f Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 You were fortunate to a degree Captain with regards to matching. I unfortunately had the displeasure to work for EWS and they never increased their contributions from the day they took over to the day I retired (approx 10 yrs). Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 All this talk of retiring in your 50s. I can but dream. I fully appreciate my good fortune in being able to retire in my (late) 50s, and sympathise with those who are not so lucky. However, I would point out that from the very start right to the very end of my career I worked shifts, and it is a proven medical fact that life expectancy of shift workers is less than that of non-shift workers. I also worked overtime throughout my railway career, both rostered and unplanned, and I therefore believe that my near-38 years service is, in terms of hours worked, at least 25% greater. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loconuts Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I fully appreciate my good fortune in being able to retire in my (late) 50s, and sympathise with those who are not so lucky. However, I would point out that from the very start right to the very end of my career I worked shifts, and it is a proven medical fact that life expectancy of shift workers is less than that of non-shift workers. I also worked overtime throughout my railway career, both rostered and unplanned, and I therefore believe that my near-38 years service is, in terms of hours worked, at least 25% greater. I believe that the medical people were looking at life expectancy of a person who worked shifts in a busy environment such as a car plant, not those that worked their shifts sitting around in the cabin drinking tea. However it is true that life expectancy after retirement can be reduced by lack of activity, I see it happening with my wife who has just retired this year, spends her time sitting on the sofa watching day time TV. Her number of ailments are starting to increase with the latest one that she is a border line diabetic. But taking exercise, how much and what type has it's problems. I have had friends who have dropped down dead from over doing exercise and at the present moment we have a friend who is in an induced coma recovering from injuries obtained from a cycling crash while taking part in a road race. Do everything in moderation in retirement that's the answer. Loconuts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted August 19, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 19, 2016 One word in support of the privatised industry, certainly as regards Railtrack and then Network Rail, was the fact that they continued to match BRASS contributions, pound for pound, certainly up until a few years into the Network Rail era. I'm not sure how much of a legal requirement there was for them to do this, but do it they did, until NR very sneakily and suddenly withdrew the 'unlimited matching' facility, and capped their BRASS matching contributions at whatever they were at the time. Clearly many folk would have wanted to have increased their contributions, had they known what NR was about to do, myself included (I was actually on the point of increasing them but left it too late!). I understand the financial reasons for NR doing this, but I felt at the time that it was very underhand of them, and completely at odds with the 'values' that they were espousing for staff behaviours etc. In some respects that's no different from BR in that they always stopped matching once your BRASS 'pot' reached a certain amount (which was individual as it related to your total pension pot and IR limits) - this meant in reality that the BR contribution could be turned off and sometimes turned back on depending entirely on your own pension circumstances but they never told you. I only found out by accident when I decided to double my own Brass contributions only to be told that I couldn't as my funding was over the limit and the BR contribution had stopped 18 months previously. BUT I was advised not to stop contributing myself at my current rate - so I kept contributing and of course as salary changed (upwards) it was in some respects beneficial. BUT the real humdinger was when I took my pension. I had the company plough virtually all of my redundancy money above the tax free limit into the pension partly to improve the pension and partly to avoid having it taxed at 40%. The net result was that a couple of thousand £s of my BRASS funds were over the IR limits for the lump sum and pension so couldn't be taken as either and they were simply lost, I couldn't even reclaim them by paying the tax on them. This was, I think, due to very poor work by, and total lack of any sort of information from, our staff office personnel people who seemed to have less understanding of the situation than me although, as always, Darlington were extremely helpful but could do nothing about the unused surplus pension fund lodged in BRASS. In reality I don't think I lost anything which I'd paid in as I could reasonably conclude that what was lost was more than covered by the BR matching over the years but it came as something of a shock to find that, even if I paid the tax, I couldn't retrieve the leftover money. On the other hand had I not transferred so much from the redundancy money I would have got the full BRASS amount but my pension might have been smaller and I'd have paid 40% tax on any redundancy money I took above the tax free limit - so it probably worked out for the best the way I did it. But it is definitely an area to watch, especially if you ask for any redundancy money to be put into your pension - you need some very good advice from Darlington which takes everything into consideration including making sure they know about your membership of BRASS. So not telling you that matching has ceased is nothing new - but still not very helpful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modfather Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 I believe that the medical people were looking at life expectancy of a person who worked shifts in a busy environment such as a car plant, not those that worked their shifts sitting around in the cabin drinking tea. Loconuts That may well follow for the rose tinted spectacle railway but does not follow for the modern industry. Lower staffing levels and more intensive services definitely do not let you sit and drink tea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I believe that the medical people were looking at life expectancy of a person who worked shifts in a busy environment such as a car plant, not those that worked their shifts sitting around in the cabin drinking tea. I've worked very hard over the last 30 odd years to end up sitting behind a control room desk drinking tea ....................... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Pension figures arrived this week, 55 on Feb 14th so will escape by the end of the tax year. With all of my AL used for my notice period I will probably drive my last train not long after my birthday . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 7, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 7, 2016 Pension figures arrived this week, 55 on Feb 14th so will escape by the end of the tax year. With all of my AL used for my notice period I will probably drive my last train not long after my birthday . Presumably not going on redundancy then, just straight retirement/resignation? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 No redundancy on XC, still I could fail my medical. My tinitus makes those beeps quite hard to hear, pardon nurse! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Craig Watson Posted November 23, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 23, 2016 Hi Matt, Just stumbled across this thread by coincidence today, can't believe after all those years of speaking on the phone during my time as a MOM and SSM at Motherwell that I now find out you were also on here too!!! All the best for your retirement! Craig Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted November 23, 2016 Author Share Posted November 23, 2016 Thanks Craig, it was always a pleasure working with you. I am thoroughly enjoying retirement and will be attending Warley this weekend, never having been able to before due to shift work. All the best, Matt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwales Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 No redundancy on XC, still I could fail my medical. My tinitus makes those beeps quite hard to hear, pardon nurse! No Chance, I'm deaf in one ear and I still passed!!!!!! Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Counting the days,I stated 24th of March as my official last day on the pension application. With all my AL either being used as I write this or rostered 1 week in Feb plus RD weeks and the 4 remaining weeks I'm contemplting the wording of my resignation letter. I have been advised to specifcally state "early retirement" in this letter to retain my travel rights but I'm struggling with the wording. I will be going see my boss on Tuesday (its drivers saftey breif day) as thats when he's most likely to be in. 39 years and it end with afew words on a sheet of paper! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Notice in this AM no driver manager around so will have to wait. I expect be driving next week which is ok as I would like to call in to Ian Allan at New st. So then it's 5 weeks AL and 2 weeks of RD's upto March 24th. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 39 years and it end with afew words on a sheet of paper! We are all just a number - I learned very late in my career that 30+ years of loyalty counts for nothing when you have a lying c**t of a line manager, thankfully he's had his just desserts since and I'm in a better place Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Well after 2 visits to IA and a wallet £100 lighter this week, 1M49 was my last train off New st tonight. Thats it, call in tomorrow for tea and butties and hand in keys etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 As you step off the footplate I move up from units to HSTs in 3 and a half weeks time. Enjoy your well earned (early) retirement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 As you step off the footplate I move up from units to HSTs in 3 and a half weeks time. Enjoy your well earned (early) retirement. Although XC in Manchester lost HST work several years ago I did get in a few trips. I still have the ad from the Leicester Mercury which started my whole career! HST's love them or hate them they've earned their keep. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Well after 2 visits to IA and a wallet £100 lighter this week, 1M49 was my last train off New st tonight. Thats it, call in tomorrow for tea and butties and hand in keys etc. Have a long and happy retirement, w124bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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