demotivated to contribute

LegacyUser

some backround... im a relatively high earning professional, made redundant in 08 and unemployed. made big contributions to the tax net for 20 years.
I feel im no longer motivated to contribute to the system for 2 main reasons. I paid heavily into a pension fund which i had no control over
(company fund), my pension has been hit hard a couple of times and is worth approx 33% of the amount i paid into it and is basically worthless.
where did it go? well you know how it is sir...the stock exchange gobbled it up...but i paid u a big fee to look after it...well thanks I did get paid my big
bonuses.... Eventhough these people were paid to mind my cash, no one is accountable for it.
The current long running credit crisis which has hit us all, I feel is a product of corruption and there has been no accountability. Billions
have been sucked out of the system that me and all the other PAYE tax payers, the voiceless hardworking pillars of our society pay for and have been
basically ripped off and will bankroll it for years to come. While a certain minority have become very rich on the back of it all and knowingly
and greedily put us in this position. i am not naieve enough to believe that this "just happened", things dont just happen, people make them happen
when they cross lines.
why should i pay into a system within which i have no voice and will get ripped off? it makes me sick...transparancy and accountability are a fundamental
necessity in modern society and sorely lacking and im not buying into it anymore.

Oryx

I dont really see this as a PI, and perhaps your query is more suited to the Banking, Insurance and Pensions forum. I will leave it open for a short while in case you can explain how it is a personal issue.

LegacyUser

well its a deep rooted mindset problem.
i have a family to support who deserve better than what they are getting.
i have a legacy to leave my children.
i feel mentally demotivated and frustrated which is effecting my job seeking efforts.
i feel very strongly about living a transparent, consientious life and feel I now
cant fit into society anymore because of my strong beliefs. what example am i giving my kids?
i need to get over this but i dont know how because its reality and thats life.

28064212

Did you vote in the last few elections? Did you campaign? What did you do to make the country a better place?

You did have a choice with your pension, you chose where to pay it. You could have chosen your own private pension provider. If you wanted a guaranteed return, you could have chosen one of the many low-risk options available, but like so many, you chose the risky option with a possibility of high returns. Like everyone who jumped on the Celtic Tiger, you were completely complicit and happy to accept things while times were good. Ignorance isn't a defence just because you expected everything to be always great.

Presumably you're on welfare now? Use any roads lately? What about your education? Public health service? That's where your taxes went. You want there to be more accountability and less corruption? Join a political party, write to your TD, see about becoming a councillor, campaign for people to vote for who think would be best, just get involved. Otherwise you're just standing on the sidelines shaking your head

LegacyUser

Did you vote in the last few elections?

no, i dont believe in the archaic political system that has evolved, it should be replaced with something way more modern but thats another issue.

Did you campaign? no, same as above.

What did you do to make the country a better place? positive hardworking attitude
and large continuous tax contributions from a young age, 25 years total. generally a good citizen.

You did have a choice with your pension, you chose where to pay it.
no i didnt, my company imposed what they saw fit, i had no choice whatsoever.

You could have chosen your own private pension provider.

no choice given whatsoever, take it or leave it as was normal in the day.

If you wanted a guaranteed return, you could have chosen one of the many low-risk options available, but like so many, you chose the risky option with a possibility of high returns.

you making assumptions here and patronising. Pension plans have evolved over the years, mine remained locked into a strict company pension with no choice of risk factor and it was a standard enough pension with a main pension provider. in fact as anyone will tell you that has a pension this long, that this happened across the board. many people had most of their pension wiped out approx 3-5 years ago. nowadays pensions are way more robust.

Like everyone who jumped on the Celtic Tiger, you were completely complicit and happy to accept things while times were good. Ignorance isn't a defence just because you expected everything to be always great.

i am not the celtic tiger generation and i dont plead ignorance, quite the contrary, im well aware. i built my career before the good times with hard graft. i did however expect the authorities and bankers to do their work in good conscience and not put people like me in this position of little faith. As a product of the seventies and eighties im well aware that economics is cyclical.

Presumably you're on welfare now? yes i paid heavily while employed, way more than ill ever claim back.

Use any roads lately?
i pay my road tax

What about your education?
i put myself through college by working almost full time. i didnt get a grant as my family was over the income treshold.

Public health service?
i pay for private health care.

That's where your taxes went.

where?

You want there to be more accountability and less corruption? Join a political party, write to your TD, see about becoming a councillor, campaign for people to vote for who think would be best, just get involved. Otherwise you're just standing on the sidelines shaking your head

i have no interest in politics in the current political model of this country. I do however feel
that i have the right to make my contribution as a taxpayer and expect those who deal with these matters to do it in good conscience with transparancy and accountability when there is obviously people creaming the system and ruining it for the ordinary man.

Oryx

This is really more of a financial or political debate, and not a PI, and I am closing the thread as I can see that you want to vent about your situation, but unless you have a personal issue you want help with, this is not the place.

Perhaps if you post in one of the other forums where pensions and finances are discussed, you may get more actual help on your pension situation. I understand you may still want to discuss your actual issues, but perhaps a new thread that is not so based on the country's economy might serve you better?