Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11938045
I had a work-place pension, almost 50% of my contributions went in fees. I will not pay in any more - what is the point in lining someone else's pockets? I'm 30 now and honestly believe that by the time my generation does get to retire the state pension will be dead. Private pensions, irrespective of provider, do not provide even close to the promised return and companies have repeatedly raped their pension funds. Mac, Marlow
I've had a pension plan since I was 23 (I am now 27). It's especially relevant to me I think since my boyfriend has only recently finished a PhD so hasn't got anything yet. We have a small amount of debt but the pension comes out of my wage so we don't see it. We've also got a trust fund for our daughter to ensure that we don't get complacent about that. I was lucky - I was surrounded by older men who encouraged all us "young-uns" to join up to the schemes at work because they are particularly good ones. Wendy, Manchester
I have advised my sons not to contribute to a pension plan because they will lose control over their own money. I have contributed to one since I was 28 and it has been a complete waste of money. The pension companies have taken huge management fees while investing unwisely. Even when the value of my pension was falling there was nothing I could do to save it - the money would have been better off in a building society.Angela Smith, Annan, Dumfriesshire
I don't think it's that people are "turning their backs" on getting a pension - it's that the high cost of living prevents poor workers from being able to afford to pay in to one. The costs involved in buying property today are astronomical compared to previous generations. It is a great worry for me that I don't have a pension, but at the same time, I don't have a penny to spare so what can I do? Glenn Parrington, Boston
I'm 27 and have had a pension plan through my work since I started three years ago. However, I think there's a perception for my generation that retirement is a very long way off. There are so many financial pressures for young graduates these days - paying off student debt, getting on the property ladder... pensions are being viewed as more and more unreliable - you can understand why many people my age are disillusioned with the idea. Ellie, Edinburgh
I still have not started a pension and I am 36. To be honest isn't that what National Insurance is for? If not then why do we pay it? I would like all the money I have put into NI to be used for me. Wayne Martin, Tilbury, Essex
I was a good girl, I started paying into company pension schemes from the age of 22. However when I left full-time work to become self employed a few years ago, I found that my pension pot was smaller than the amount that I had been put in over 16 years of full-time employment! What a waste of money - I would have got more by sticking it all in a current account! So now I am self-employed I have no intention of sticking any more money into pensions, and will look at other investment options. Someone will have a hard task of convincing me that pensions are a good way to go. Rachel, Southampton
Why would an intelligent person invest money in a fund over which they have no control yet, in doing so, give ultimate control to the political whims of whatever government happens to be in power at the time - and which is likely to change with time? Chris, Wiltshire
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