As parents we always want what best for our children. Be it now, or in later life when we may not be here to look after them. With the phasing out of the child trust fund all but complete and a wait until November for its replacement, the Junior ISA parents have turned to children’s stakeholder pensions as a way of investing in their parents futures.

Parents with children born since January 1^st this year will find that their children are not eligible for a Child Trust fund voucher, and as such need other ways of saving for their children in a tax-efficient way.

The Junior ISA, which will replace the child trust fund and will provide parents with tax free savings of up to £3000 a year is coming soon but won’t be available until November.

Child Trust Fund providers have also been criticised for the poor returns their products have shown, and many parents are looking at other avenues now providers no longer need to attract new customers with their best fund managers.

The gap between the outgoing child trust fund and incoming Junior ISA has also caused some concern with those parents whose children are eligible for a Junior ISA unable to invest in a Junior ISA instead, regardless of which product offers the better returns.

The Daily Mail have gone as far as creating a campaign to get the government to merge the two products allowing parents the choice.

Parents disenchanted with the tax free savings accounts have started to look at other avenues while they wait for the Governments decision as a result of the campaigns.

Some parents are starting to look at Tax Exempt Savings Plans and Children’s Pensions as alternatives for savings for their futures.

Children’s pensions work in the same way as adults stakeholder pensions, with parents attracted to the benefits their children will see from savings that have so long to maximise returns. Tax incentives also increase the parent’s contributions by 25%, allowing parents to increase their own children’s eventual retirement income.

PriceWaterhouseCooper have revealed research that they believe shows the only way Britain can return to the levels of public debt seen before the credit crunch is to increase the state pension age to 70 by 2046, and to implement a further £20billion of spending cuts.

With increased life expectancy making retirement planning increasingly difficult, PwC believe the government will only save money by reducing the number of people who receive the state pension.

PwC published a paper ahead of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s first long term report on the fiscal sustainability of the UK in the long term. In the paper PwC revealed that the ageing population would leave public debt at 90% of gross domestic product, and would be rising by 2050.

The report believes that if the government were to increase the state pension age to 70, instead of the current plan of 68 by 2046 they would see debt levels of 80% of GDP instead.

Chief economist from PwC, John Hawksworth explained, “The government has already taken steps to address this problem through reforms to public sector pensions and has started the process of raising the state pension age. But the bigger challenge relates to health and long-term care costs.”

The government have already announced plans last year to increase the state pension age to 66 for both sexes by 2020, and to 68 by 2046, earlier than had previously been announced by the Labour government.

In 2007 public debt in the UK was around 405 of GDP and PwC added that to find the pre credit crunch levels again the country would have to fiscally tighten by 1.3% of GDP, around £20billion.

They blamed the levels of debt on the pressure and cost of the post war baby boom generation, those born between 1946 and 1965 who will eventually be paid for by those working in future generations.

They also blamed the increased life expectancy, with people living longer and longer. In the UK today there are 3.6 people of working age for every retired person, but PwC predict this to fall to 2.4 people working per retired person.

Pensions have become one of the most talked about subject in the media in the past few months with fewer people paying into private pensions, despite government plans to increase the numbers, and strikes over government plans to cut public sector pensions.

Research from actuarial consultancy, Aon Hewitt, has revealed that private sector pensions have been hit harder than many thought, with defined contribution or DC pensions taking the biggest hit.

DC pensions work in a different way to final salary or career average schemes as they give less security to workers over how much they will receive in retirement.

A direct contribution pension can depend on a range of different factors including current annuity rates, stock market performance and charges as well.

Aon Hewitt revealed that their defined contribution pension tracker had shown a large fall since 2008 and left those without a final salary or career average scheme well behind.

This view was backed by Tom McPhail from Hargreaves Lansdown who added,  “DC pensions are by their very nature unpredictable; investors can and will lose out as a result of unexpected movements in the prices of shares and bonds close to the point of retirement.”

Website moneyhighstreet added, “If you’re on a DC pension, there are several things you need to watch out for.

“Combined contribution rates for a private sector worker amount to approximately 9% of salary. By comparison, a final salary scheme contributes about 20% of salary. So at current levels, a private sector worker isn’t going to be able to build up a pension pot similar to a final salary scheme without contributing a lot more.

“Annuity rates are also volatile. They determine the pension income for DC pensions and are linked to the interest rate. In 2008, they reached 7.73%, but today are just 6.73% – lowering the payouts of DC pensions.

“Of most concern to people will be the connection of the value of their pensions to the stock market. Each pension is invested in a fund, and doing the research and finding the best-performing fund for your pension could help your investment.”

Government officials will be worried after the leader of the biggest public sector union warned it was a case of when, not if they went on strike, and warned that hospital and council staff could begin a “sustained” period of industrial action.

The move, which could put the medical system into chaos, will be decided over the next few months as Unison prepare to ballot their 1.2million members in one of the biggest ballots of all time.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison described the potential fallout as an “autumn of discontent” and added that the move could bring council and NHS services to a standstill.

Unison represent over a million NHS and council staff and are angry about proposed changes that will bring public sector pensions in line with those company pensions commonly found in the private sector, leaving workers paying more to receive less.

Prentis was in no mood to beat around the bush, warning, ‘If we are prevented from reaching agreement we will move to a ballot in the summer or early autumn.

‘It will not be one day of action – it will be long-term action throughout our public services to prevent destruction of our pension schemes. It will be the biggest ever industrial action taken in this country.’

Describing the strikes as ‘massive industrial unrest’, he added, ‘It is very clear we are on a collision course unless the Government changes its policies.’

Mr Prentis warned the government that the strike action could begin as early as next month if suitable changes aren’t offered at a meeting on June 27^th.

750,000 teachers are set to go on strike for one day on June 27^th with ballot results expected later on today.

Unison themselves have already balloted 30,000 workers for a strike in protest at spending cuts by the government.

Research, which was carried out by industry experts in conjunction with UK annuity providers has found that the popularity of IFAs is waning as people turn to internet sites like this one in search of advice and reviews of the best products.

The research was commissioned by annuity administrators, Xafinity Paymaster, who revealed that the report showed that many providers still believe that IFAs should be involved in critical decisions such as annuity advice, but recognised that most retirees went through their existing investment provider as a first choice.

Hot on the heels of the existing investment provider was the Internet, the tool that provides so much free information. Third choice was the scheme trustee or current employer of that person, followed by an IFA and finally advice from the bank.

The research also found the 96% of industry experts believe that there will be a decrease in intermediary sales, and an increase in execution only business as a result of the implementation of RDR proposals, better and more available advice online and low levels of annuity pots. Just last year, only 72% of experts thought the same thing.

44% of those responding believe that any advice and guidance process should begin at least five years before retirement, 22% between three and five years before retirement and 35% believe it should be 1-3 years before retirement. No one believed it should be left until the last 12 months.

70% thought the retiree should be paying for that advice themselves, although with so much free advice online it seems that the cost should be quite low.

Insurance and Payments Director from Xafinity Paymaster, Keith Boughton added, “Many people are now comfortable with buying their car or home insurance, booking a holiday, or buying a TV on the Internet. However, the purchase of an annuity is, for most people, the most important financial purchase they will make; even more so than the purchase of the family home as once the decision is made it cannot be changed.

“There was recognition amongst annuity industry professionals in our latest survey that the Internet will be a source of much information and, if it is easy for retirees to transact using this medium, it will attract increased volumes of business. Other retirees will use the Internet for research and then discuss their findings with an advisor or simply transact on a non-advisory basis. The use of the Internet and web-based specialists will certainly be the focus for retirees with mid-range levels of funds.“

The revelation will prove worrying to government officials trying to raise awareness of the importance of saving for ones future, and the easiest way to make sure you will have a comfortable retirement is to start young.

With very few final salary pension schemes in place now, and the ‘job for life’ culture is quickly disappearing, its becoming less common that young people are saving for their futures without one dedicated scheme through which to do it.

Dr Craig Berry from the International Longevity Centre believes that young people are living for today, and as a result spend more of their income than any other age group.

Berry added that this could be linked to the increased time spent in education these days, as well as the habit of taking several part time jobs before finally pursuing a career.

Dr Berry also noted that many young people saw investing in property as an alternative way of looking after their future, despite it’s chaotic nature. He noted that the mortgage market in the UK has now stabilised and the despite house prices falling slightly, property could eventually become a attractive saving option.

Hargreaves Landsdown released figures that showed to achieve a comfortable pension of £25,000 a year, someone would have to save £430 a month from the age of 30 to 68.

Those saving from 25 would have to save less a month, as the extra five years worth of payments will have the full 38 years between 30 and 68 to gain interest and will significantly boost that persons final pension fund.

Research from Scottish Widows released this week shows a complete lack of retirement planning from the UK, as 49% were revealed to not be saving enough money towards their retirement, with 20% not saving anything at all.

The survey, which asked 5,000 people between 30 and state pension age who earn more than £10,000 a year found the government still have a long way to go if they want to educate the country on the importance of saving for their futures.

Dr Berry added, ”I don’t want to demonise young people for being reckless, but it has got to be more normal for people to start saving into pensions.”

The report claimed that a “widespread and ingrained inertia” was preventing many people from putting aside enough money to adequately plan for their retirement. The average desired pension pot for retirement was £23,400 a year according to the report.

This figure is well down on the average expectations two years ago, when the average Briton expected to retire on £27,900, although people responding to the survey wanted to retire at an average of 62 and a half years old.

Head of Pensions market development from Scottish Widows, Ian Naismith revealed, “This year’s report clearly illustrates the stark difficulty we face in helping people to recognise the urgent need to take personal responsibility for their future.”

The Scottish Widows report was echoed by a previous study by HSBC.

The Scottish Widows survey found that respondents believed they could afford to put aside nearly £100 a month on average in the long term, but were failing to do so. Scottish widows estimated that each individual needed to be putting aside £58 a month to adequately prepare for retirement.

In the survey, Scottish Widows found that 51% of their 5,200 respondents were making adequate contributions for their retirement planning, compared to 48% in 2010.

The report found that the rate dropped to 25% when you exclude those with a defined benefit pension, and also found that one if five respondents were failing to save anything at all.

Despite a massive increase in the awareness of the need to save for retirement, there was a consistently low savings culture. Three quarters of respondents admitted to recognising the need to take personal responsibility for the pensions.

The government will launch the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) next year, which will cater for low to middle earners with no pension and it is muted as being a solution for many problems.

Of those asked, only 11 per cent said they would opt out of NEST, while 21% said they would wait and see what happened. The average amount those surveyed were willing to pay into a NEST pension was £35.40 a month.

Currently those approaching pension age will have a pension pot with which they must buy an annuity, and whilst some companies publish their annuity rates for comparison, including Aviva, it is not compulsory, and some do not.

Retirement director at Aviva, Clive Bolton has called on the government to introduce the rules, arguing that retirees need o know how to get the best annuity based on their own individual circumstances.

Bolton added, “Many retirees do not know how to get the best annuity for their circumstances. This could be costing them thousands of pounds, with two-thirds automatically buying the annuity offered by their pension provider rather than a potentially better product.”

“Annuity providers are not required to publish their annuity rates. Many companies do but there is still a significant minority allowing no comparisons. Aviva wants publication of annuity rates to be made compulsory, where the best market rates are highlighted to retirees when the annuity they are being offered by their pension provider is 10 per cent less than the best rates available in the market for the same type of product.”

Aviva also called for the automatic transfer of pension pots when workers change jobs, after their research found that the average person works five different jobs throughout their lifetimes, often left with five smaller pension pots when one larger one could perform better for them.

Bolton explained, “Retirees are also living longer and the way in which they have built up their pension savings differs to previous generations. Recent Aviva research found a third of workers have five jobs throughout their lifetime, with many accruing a number of small pension pots. Aviva believes legislation should be introduced to allow the automatic transfer of small auto-enrolled pension pots, allowing savings to follow members when they move jobs and providing them with better annuity purchasing options when they come to retire. In addition, non-advised annuity sales should be subject to the same cost transparency rules as advised sales.”

Despite the fact the government wrote a report which predicted that tens of thousands would drop out of their public sector pensions, choosing instead to rely on just the basic state pension, Cabinet minister Francis Maude announced he was in “crunch” talks with union leaders over pension reform.

Maude claimed that his government would be “terribly irresponsible” if they were to increase contributions substantially in a move that would lead to a pensions exodus.

Despite the claims, Treasury estimates predicted that thousands of lower paid workers would leave the schemes if asked to pay anymore.

Maude explained, “It’s very much in people’s interests that they should continue to be part of the schemes,”

“No one has got an interest in having arrangements made which prompt a lot of people to opt out. That would be terribly irresponsible.”

The government are planning on increasing contributions by 3% for all public sector workers, with the view to plugging a hole in the pension scheme. By 2015 the new contributions should have raised more than £3billion for the scheme, helping to plug a deficit which could raise to £10billion if things stay the same in the next ten years.

A freedom of information request from the GMB union and the Local Government Chronicle revealed government estimates that 6% of those earning less than £35,000 a year and 8% of those earning less than £21,000 a year will opt out of the schemes if they are asked to contribute more.

The GMB union argued that the estimates were low, believing that the real figure could be nearer the 39% an internal survey of local government workers came back with, if they increased contributions by 3%.

In documents unveiled by the press as part of the freedom of information act, the government revealed that they expect 6% of those earning less than £25,000 and 8% of those earning less than £21,000 to opt out of contributing to their pensions once the plans come live.

The figures, which industry insiders believe are underestimates, are being attacked by both pension analysts and public sector unions, and feel the changes are in direct contrast to the Governments renewed push for people to save into pensions, highlighted by next years changes to private workers who will all be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme.

Chancellor Osbourne announced the 3 per cent increase in contributions last October, with the plan due to be phased in from April in a bid to close the £4 billion pension deficit between the amount being paid out by public service pensions, and the amount paid in by employees and employers.

The figure, which is still smaller than the deficit many company pension schemes find themselves with, is set to increase to £10 billion by 2024 if not tackled in the next few years.

The documents in question see the Treasury acknowledge that there will be an increase in the number of people opting out, although the government believe it will remain “economically rational” for staff to continue contributing to the pension schemes.

John Wright from Hymans Robertson, the consultants who helped Lord Hutton with his public service pension review, also believes the figures may be an underestimate.

“The Treasury is right to say it will be economically rational to stay in, but people … do not act rationally,” he said.

Wright also believed the increase in inflation and lack of pay rises could have an impact of figures.

He added, “if opt-out rates are high, that will be bad news for members who will lose benefits, and bad news for the schemes and for the taxpayer as fewer people paying in will increase the gap between money coming in and amounts being paid out.”