Pension stuff, how's it all looking ? HAve you prepared ?

[Sunny]

I do assume at least some of you have worked for one of the Big Four or a major investment bank at some point.

Two of 'em. Still no idea what you're banging on about. Mind, I work in tech, not finance...

[MyLittleStudPony]

There should be some sort of button on the internet you can press to exclude any content, material or opinion from those who have not worked for one of The Big Four or a major investment bank.

[JackyJoll]

There should be some sort of button on the internet you can press to exclude any content, material or opinion from those who have not worked for one of The Big Four or a major investment bank.

I’d narrow it down to The Big Two or a supremely omnipotent investment bank.

Maybe I’m a snob.

[gremlin]

There should be some sort of button on the internet you can press to exclude any content, material or opinion from those who have not worked for one of The Big Four or a major investment bank.

Like Lehman Brothers.

[IccyV2]

It's just jargon specific to trading floors and traders, most of it is obvious, the first thing he posted I remember because there is something in FINRA that means traders can't make markets without adequate supervision and it's ambiguous, so when covid was happening the floors were emptying and companies were flapping about oversight.

I bet if two mig welders were talking shop most of us wouldn't know the jargon they use.

[JackyJoll]

I bet if two mig welders were talking shop most of us wouldn't know the jargon they use.

“Fucking blobs everywhere man, then me vest went on fire!”

[IccyV2]

There should be some sort of button on the internet you can press to exclude any content, material or opinion from those who have not worked for one of The Big Four or a major investment bank.

If you actually had worked for them then you wouldn't be bragging about it, they don't actually do anything themselves, they're basically an agency who pull in experts on an hourly rate. I consult for them occasionally but it was ridiculously boring explaining to people how to wipe their own noses, I kept putting my hourly rate up until I thought someone would actually burst out laughing but they kept paying it, so now I mainly just ignore the emails unless it looks interesting and I'm not doing a lecture or speaking spot for less than ten bags.

[JackyJoll]

If you actually had worked for them then you wouldn't be bragging about it

It’s the first rule of the Big Four.

[IccyV2]

If you actually had worked for them then you wouldn't be bragging about it

It’s the first rule of the Big Four.

And welding.

[MyLittleStudPony]

... my hourly rate ...

Does it was include parts and labour? And VAT? And is there a separate call out charge?

[gremlin]

On the basis that this was least-worse place to stick it...

A mildly interesting read if you're into that sort of thing, albeit sod all to do directly with pensions.

Economic growth has been falling for a generation. Labour has no hope of turning it around
The financial crisis was merely the beginning of a long run of growth-smothering events

James Sproule has been chief economist of Handelsbanken UK since May 2020.
Published 03 April 2026 8:00am BST

If we are to believe the Chancellor’s rhetoric, the Government has one overriding goal: economic growth. Life is certainly a good deal easier for governments, let alone society, when the economy expands. Aside from anything else, the benefits can be shared between politicians – who want to finance their bright ideas – and the people generating the wealth.
The Economist recently noted the UK had seen a steep fall in overall “happiness” since 2019 and a stagnant economy has played a part. People generally do not feel the benefits of economic growth in a single year but as a backdrop over a decade or so. Looking at the trailing rate of growth since the 1960s, we can see a clear downward trend. Since 1990, the decline has grown steeper.

The correlation of growth and social order was explored at length by Benjamin Friedman, the former head of economics at Harvard, in his book The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth.
He noted that when people see their own material position improve over time, they tend to be satisfied.
When they do not, they start to perceive life as a zero-sum game where winners only gain at someone else’s expense, at which point resentment soars and the social order starts to creak.
What growth we have seen in the last two decades has averaged 1.2pc annually – anaemic at best.
Perhaps more worryingly, for anyone born after the mid-1980s, economic growth may not even be a familiar concept. Coming of age during the global financial crisis means many millennials – who make up significant swathes of today’s workforce – have never seen this mythical concept.
For this generation, the financial crisis was merely the beginning of a long string of growth-smothering events. After that crisis, we had a period of mild austerity – just enough to affect living standards but nowhere near enough to reverse the country’s economic woes.
Concerns about austerity metamorphosed into concerns about Brexit. Arguments still rage over whether Brexit in itself acted as a brake on the economy or simply coincided with a slowdown, but the numbers are what they are.
Barely had Brexit taken effect when Covid arrived. The pandemic subsided just in time for Russia to invade Ukraine, causing oil prices and inflation to soar. Donald Trump returned as US president in 2025, reintroducing the concept of tariffs, and now we see renewed conflict in the Middle East.
The economic gloom keeps on coming. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, delivered her Spring Statement in March, lowering expected growth for this year to 1.1pc – and even this appears optimistic.
What are we to do?
Economic growth in any given year can be seen as a combination of increases in the number of people working and improvements to productivity.
Demographically, we are currently experiencing a shrinkage of about 0.1pc per year in the working-age population and countering this with migration is likely to prove controversial.
Meanwhile, productivity has – despite frequent forecasts to the contrary – been dormant since 2007.
However, this could be about to change for two reasons.
Firstly, interest rates have risen. The long spell of ultra-low interest rates from 2007 to 2022 meant money was essentially free. The result was that the return rate needed to justify investments fell. Investments that do not have to deliver realistic returns are unlikely to enhance productivity.
Today, investments will have to be more considered and will more naturally enhance productivity.
Secondly, the last eight years have seen a 62pc rise in the National Living Wage. Ironically, this should raise the per-capita growth data for productivity, but such a steep increase will eliminate viable employment for a substantial number of low-skilled workers.
As we have seen in France, if the lowest-skilled, least productive members of the workforce are excluded from labour, the result is a rise in the average measurement of productivity. However, broader society will suffer.
No one doubts that Britain needs growth, but if the Government wants it alongside a far higher National Living Wage and an enhanced set of employment rights, then this is a hard circle to square.
Equally, the last government’s priorities around “levelling up”, while politically understandable, put the political cart before the economic horse.
All too often, policy makers seek economic growth to meet broader political priorities. The reality is we have reached the dire stage where we need to welcome it wherever and however it might appear.

[IccyV2]

Does it was include parts and labour? And VAT? And is there a separate call out charge?

When they're paying a couple of grand an hour it covers everything

[JackyJoll]

If you actually had worked for them then you wouldn't be bragging about it, they don't actually do anything themselves, they're basically an agency who pull in experts on an hourly rate.

All good, but then you started bragging about it.

I consult for them occasionally but it was ridiculously boring explaining to people how to wipe their own noses, I kept putting my hourly rate up until I thought someone would actually burst out laughing but they kept paying it, so now I mainly just ignore the emails unless it looks interesting and I'm not doing a lecture or speaking spot for less than ten bags.

[IccyV2]

If you actually had worked for them then you wouldn't be bragging about it, they don't actually do anything themselves, they're basically an agency who pull in experts on an hourly rate.

All good, but then you started bragging about it.

I consult for them occasionally but it was ridiculously boring explaining to people how to wipe their own noses, I kept putting my hourly rate up until I thought someone would actually burst out laughing but they kept paying it, so now I mainly just ignore the emails unless it looks interesting and I'm not doing a lecture or speaking spot for less than ten bags.

It was a retort to Pony's "You 'aint shit if you 'aint worked for the big four".

But I don't even attempt to hide my distain, they're an empty shell who bring in experts when needed and they're that dependant on them that they have to pay whatever demanded and pass that ridiculous cost to the client, that's why I don't use consultancies.

We're all wise to it now but a favourite was consultancies arranging meetings with people on the premise of "networking" which were in retrospect 2hr debriefing sessions in a coffee shop. A month later we'd get asked if we wanted to buy their expert report on the industry and they'd send a sample, which was very obviously all the stuff we'd been telling them.

I did a "free" call with one a couple of years ago and after the one hour phone call on speaker my wife said "That was cruel, you've just fed them absolute rubbish knowing they're going to look daft when they try and sell that back to people".

Do a bit of research and you'll find this isn't unusual, I think it was Tesco that fell flat on it's face in China when they used a consultancy to break into the market there, the consultancy went to all their competitors who knew what was going on and fed them rubbish, they regurgitated that back to Tesco and they failed at great expense.

Tesco in China, WMD in Iraq, the bullshit ratio in advisories is high.

[IccyV2]

I feel a bit like a policeman, I've got a mate on the squad and he said when you deal with the dregs of society for 10hrs a day six days a week you tend to end up being a bit of a twat and treat everyone with a bit of condescension.

Another mate is retired from plod and he said it took him about 5yrs to stop treating everyone like they were about to commit a crime.
Over a pint once we both agreed that we wished we could be less of a dickhead sometimes but we grow into it.

[weeksy]

I feel a bit like a policeman, I've got a mate on the squad and he said when you deal with the dregs of society for 10hrs a day six days a week you tend to end up being a bit of a twat and treat everyone with a bit of condescension.

Another mate is retired from plod and he said it took him about 5yrs to stop treating everyone like they were about to commit a crime.
Over a pint once we both agreed that we wished we could be less of a dickhead sometimes but we grow into it.

I was a bit of a twat without dealing with anyone

I'm less of a twat now... but i have my moments

[MyLittleStudPony]

If you actually had worked for them then you wouldn't be bragging about it, they don't actually do anything themselves, they're basically an agency who pull in experts on an hourly rate.

All good, but then you started bragging about it.

I consult for them occasionally but it was ridiculously boring explaining to people how to wipe their own noses, I kept putting my hourly rate up until I thought someone would actually burst out laughing but they kept paying it, so now I mainly just ignore the emails unless it looks interesting and I'm not doing a lecture or speaking spot for less than ten bags.

Bigger than The Big Four!


Or a deluded narcissist!

[IccyV2]

Bigger than The Big Four!


Or a deluded narcissist!

I'd take knobhead, arrogant prick, or something similar but I don't fit the description of a narcissist, married 30yrs, successful relationships and career, over a decade in current role and harmonious family life and friendships.

Narcissists often have delusions of grandeur and even if they went to a "proper university", they'll usually leave a trail of failed relationships and failed ventures/jobs, ending up probably sponging off someone else more successful whilst bouncing from one temporary crap job to another.
Know anyone like that?

[Yorick]

I don't do titles or descriptions or whatever.

Just a daft lad from Bradford who worked hard to get what he wanted.
This started in 1999 when I visited here to see my dad just after my wife died.
I decided then to retire here.

Don't need judging.

[IccyV2]

I don't do titles or descriptions or whatever.

Just a daft lad from Bradford who worked hard to get what he wanted.
This started in 1999 when I visited here to see my dad just after my wife died.
I decided then to retire here.

Don't need judging.

I'm the same, an electrician that worked hard and took some of the right choices in life, but the angry masses think you must have done something nefarious because they haven't managed to do the same, so it's easy to label you and make it palatable for their own failures.

I piss people off because I've done ok but I've retained the gobbyness of someone born with very little, did an apprenticeship on a building site and doesn't mind a fight if someone gets lippy, so I'm obviously a psychopath or narcissist, whereas if I was still an electrician on a site somewhere I'd just be a gobby prick who doesn't suffer fools.

It's the buzzword of the moment.