"P"pen and sepia ink
copyright Katherine Tyrrell
I have an eclectic mix on this blog - so why not pensions too! It's a serious issue for very many artists. Being self-employed or having a portfolio of working interests means that financial provision for pensions very often gets neglected or is badly organised.copyright Katherine Tyrrell
Are you concerned about your pension provision? Did you know that 70% of people working in the UK's creative sector don't have a pension? That statistic and the reasons often given for not having a pension are a real cause for concern.
the reasons offered for no pension are most usually given as "I am too young to need to have one" ... "pensions are too difficult to understand" ... "I'm never in employment long enough" ... and ... "I can't afford to save".So the Arts Council England, through their Artists Insights programme, are supporting a series of over fifty FREE seminars at venues across England from Plymouth to Newcastle during March and April 2007.
The 2 hour seminars will examine an artist's likely retirement needs and the various options for your pension provision - providing the people who attend with simple, basic and useful information to help understand pension opportunities - as well as what are the consequences for an individual if they choose not to have a pension.
For more details and a schedule of all the venues and dates and times click this link.
Your state pension is based on the NI contributions you make. You can get a forecast of your future state pension from The Pensions Service. Check it out - it might just be the incentive you need to get yourself a place on one of those seminars!
Note: (From website) Artists’ Insights aims to unlock the artists’ professional potential and develop the arts throughout England to the benefit of everyone. Because artists make a vital contribution to the social, cultural and economic landscape across England. Making sure their status is valued, and professional achievements acknowledged, will mean they can continue to illuminate our lives with work that is challenging and innovative. We are listening to what artists are telling us, and our partners, about their professional needs and responding to what we learn. Six action-based initiatives are already under way to benefit artists’ work and artists’ lives, and to make sure they can.
Links:
- Euclid UK: Seminars - Pensions for Artists
- Arts Councils: Artists' Insights
- The Pensions Service - information about state pensions
I like the clean lines in this drawing and admire your cross hatching technique. How to afford retirement or old age is such an important issue. I know so many people who have no savings. The scariest part of retirement in the US is medical care since it's horribly expensive and is mostly a private system where health insurers can choose not to cover anyone for any reason.
ReplyDeleteInteresting read as allways, but I must comment on the drawing: It's just fantastic!
ReplyDeleteAnd apart from being a beautiful drawing I feel like I get to know the person portrayed just by looking at her here...
Amira
Jana - As I get older and hear about the problems faced by people experiencing health services in other countries I begin to appreciate the NHS more and more.
ReplyDeleteAmira - thanks. The drawing was done about 12 years ago and is of a lovely lady with a very wise soul, who is a friend that I only ever used to see on painting holidays - which is how we became friends. She had either just retired or was just about to retire when I did this drawing.
Alot of us in the US have no pensions either. especially when we freelance or work for a non union studio (animation). When I work union it's great because I can have a non taxable percentage of my paycheck go toward a pension, but many of the jobs I get are non union and I end up saving money to pay the taxes at the end of the year. Retirement? can't imagine that.
ReplyDeleteNice drawing though. Maybe I"ll be an artists' model when I am too old to hold a pencil.