From: "Tim" 
Newsgroups: uk.finance
Subject: Re: Pension Comparison Charts ????
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:38:47 +0100

> >"Stickems." wrote
> >There will, of course, be "winners" (those
> >that live for longer than average), and some
> >"losers" (those that live for less than average).
> >
> >But **on average**, people will tend
> >to live for, ahem, an "average lifetime"!!
>
"john boyle" wrote
> But what about the case of member of a paid
> up money purchase scheme who retires. It will
> likely take about 9ish years before his cumulative
> income will have been exceeded by his twin
> brother's who retired exactly  a year later.
>If the first twin dies within those 9 years he will be a winner...

Also: "If the first twin dies *after* those 9 years he is a loser."

Exactly - some winners & some losers.

Stickems seems to think that there are more losers
than winners, but the concept of the "average" is
that there are roughly equal numbers either side
(ie roughly equal numbers of "winners" and "losers").

"john boyle" wrote
> ... and might also be a winner for longer if he saved
> his pension income for that year to spend later.

If he doesn't spend it during those 9 years, how is
he better off for not spending the first year's pension?

Anyway - if he saved his pension income for that
year to spend later, then at the time that his twin
takes his pension the year later, they both effectively
have the *same* pot (it's just that the first twin
has some outside his pension plan and some left
to come out of the plan as a pension, while all
of the second twin's pot is still within the plan).