Why is the UK state pension so bad?
As it currently stands, someone paying National Insurance is hypothetically paying into their state pension. The current rates are: Employer contributions: 15% of salary Employee contributions: 8% of salary So that's 23% of salary Let's compare that to Germany Employer contributions: 9.3% Employee contributions: 9.3% That's just 18.6% of salary not 23% of salary like the UK system. In Germany the total contributions are capped a gross salary of EU101,400 so no additional contributions can be made. So someone who has worked 45 years would receive EU 1,913 per month in Germany compared to the UK's £1,045 (EU 1,216). So the UK payout is 57% less for 23.7% more contributions. It suggests pensioners in the UK are getting ripped off by our government. One reason is,unlike Germany, National Insurance contributions are not being ring fenced for pension payments but are being spent on a whim by politicians - it's Ponzi scheme...