My daughters have complained my coats are getting scruffy.

Night and thanks! we also have to invest.There is no way most people could just live of their social security though I hear of people that have to try.

Enviousamerican

In the company I mainly worked for the maximum normal pension is two thirds of your final salary if you had contributed to the pension scheme for 40 years.
I was made redundant after 34 years and I got thirty four sixtieths plus my redundancy money. The pension was payable immediately.
If I had asked to leave my pension would have been reduced and I would have not got redundancy.
I worked in London and our salaries were higher but we were given the option to contribute about 6% of our London salary to the pension scheme or 6% of the salary we would have been getting if we had been working outside London. I chose to pay the higher London rate as I did not know what the future would bring.
I still get paid the London pension rate even though I am now in Birmingham.
My wife had a pension as well.
Unfortunately she passed away at 49 after working for her employers for 28 years.
There were various options but the one I took was to have 28 sixtieths payable from when she would have been 60 for 5 years and after that 14 sixtieths for the rest of my life.
I know 5 years full pension was guaranteed to her estate even if I was not alive when she would have been 60 but I don't know how it would have been paid. I presume it would have been paid as a lump sum as people tend to want to wind up estates ASAP.
I know there are schemes with different terms. Final salary schemes which I was in are now disappearing.
I got another job in Birmingham after being made redundant in London for 5 years which was a lower salary but it did top up my pension and it gave me a little bit more pension when I got made redundant again payable immediately.
There were rules in both my wife's and my pension scheme to cover other eventualities but I have not studied them.
As I have worked over 30 years I will get my full state pension next year.

Frank

Why don"t you give Slaters , in the City centre , they have very smart clothes there . Not expensive either , when we go to B"ham Mr N always gives them a look .

Nonu

Thanks for letting me know.
I have already purchased a spring coat from Tesco this morning.
It is basic and looks tidy.
I will look over the next few days for some more.
I have got to go in to Birmingham at some point within the next 2 weeks so I will look in Slaters then.

Frank

You are welcome Hunterf , I have heard that Tesco do a good line in coats . Bet you look smart .

You will be the bees knees of Birmingham .

Frank,I understand much more now,thanks.

Frank, you are a member of the 'elite', or so you told us after completing the BBC class questionnaire, stop being so pinchpenny, go to a M&S or other good quality men's outfitters and buy yourself some decent clothes.

I cannot believe that your daughters are as covetous of your wealth as you make them out to be. They are probably like I was with my father wanting him to indulge himself in anything he wanted that he could afford and would make his life pleasant and not remotely bothered by how much this would cut my inheritance.

Or is this just an excuse for your parsimony.

Just go and buy a coat or, better still, go to a tailor and order a coat – Primark or Saville Row, whatever suits. How did this one turn into one more account of how the London pension works?

I think Frank is more keen to leave his vast wealth to his daughters and granddaughters than they are to have it! It would seem from what Frank posts that his daughters are always encouraging him to spend money on himself - good for them!

Ana I don't care.

I don't care whether you care or not, absent. My post was in reply to FlicketyB's.

frank save your money for the DGC and go to the charity shop you will pick a bargain up there.

Spend their inheritance Frank, its your hard earned money afterall.

Tesco for a coat, Frank? You are not the man you made us think you are. [disappointed] emoticon

absent - in answer to your question - are you surprised??

The tailor who is judging on the Great British Sewing Bee is doing a range for Debenhams apparently. Probably worth a look?

I am just shocked at the choice of "gentleman's outfitters "of a person who lives in one of the smarter areas of Birmingham AND has a London pension
The tailor chappy is impeccably turned out isn''t he? I read somewhere thsat he makes David Beckham look like Swampy!

He and David certainly have the same hairstyle at the moment Such a joy to watch someone who isn't running round yelling (yes I do mean you Ant and Dec) and doesn't call people you guys!