* In a messge originally to Lance Lyon, Bob Lawrence said: 

BL> LL> This is an argument I don't hold with, my father retired 12
BL> LL> years ago (self funded) & had been contributing to a super 
fund
BL> LL> all his working life. 
BL> 
BL>  Of course it's easy for the top 1% of ability, but my father was in
BL> the *bottom* 10% of abilility and I watched him struggle to get to 

Errr...  Dad was a postie :-)

BL> 
BL>  So, what you are saying is that you can't trust the bastards to pay
BL> you a pension, but you can trust them to pay out on your super? 

What I'm saying is that personal  super is the way to do it, I don't 
agree with handouts from the government, nor with the "I've paid my 
taxes all my life so deserve a pension" - your taxes have paid for 
services thru your working life.

BL>  Unfortunately, it doesn't say much for the other 99,000. A much
BL> better statistic is how long individuals of 57 are out of work. The
BL> sad answer is... forever (give or take 1%).

Not  what I've seen (again, with my employer), I sat on the review for 
the last intake, we had around 40 people apply for 15 jobs, there was 
a large age range represented & age wasn't a factor for 
employment.hat I have found, from friends my own age & older (I'm 
39), is that many of them won't do, for example call centre work. The 
jobs are there, but in the words of one 53 yo friend of mine, "it's too 
demeaning". I have no patience for this attitude. So they'll turn down a 
$39k starting wage & stay on the dole ? Just wrong IMHO.


cheers,

Lance
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