It was nice to see where I stand now
“Hmmm, pension,” Stephanie laughed, “… not really a topic people tend to talk about.” But when she was asked to do this interview, she felt she had to look into the current status of her pension. She was introduced to us by Syreetha Lapar-Sedney, who was interviewed in the previous newsletter.’
Stephanie Lapar works at the Collections department as a Customer Loyalty Member. She joined ING in 2013 and has been enjoying her work here these past nine years. Stephanie’s main task is to find out why customers are in arrears on their payments and to analyse their financial situation. She helps these customers find fast and lasting solutions to their financial problems, which could include arrears on their mortgage, loans or credit card.
Logging in is easy
“My partner and I bought a house three years ago. We recently renewed our mortgage. When we bought the house, I checked our pension details online, and when we renewed our mortgage, I did that again. The pension fund produces an online summary showing how much pension you’ve built up so far and how much you'll likely receive in monthly pension benefits when you retire. That was very nice to see. It was also very easy and efficient to do. I don't know if I’ll suddenly start logging in more often, but it was certainly interesting to see. I might do it again next year. While I was logging in, a news broadcast happened to be reporting about how everyone's purchasing power is declining, and it occurred to me that even though I was building up a pension, it was probably a good idea to set aside additional savings as well.”
Webinar for women
“The invitation for this interview made me think about my pension, which really is quite an important topic. I attended a webinar that ING had organised specially for women. When the webinar was announced I was interested right away. It’s an easy way to brush up on your knowledge of pension, find out what you want in terms of your retirement, and what you could do to change your situation. I would advise all women to attend one of these webinars.”
Enjoy the peace and quiet
“My parents are both retired and it makes me happy to see them enjoy their freedom after having worked hard for over 44 years, although my dad is always on the go and still works as a taxi driver. I know for sure I would want the same, enjoy my freedom and the peace and quiet. I doubt I’ll want to keep working until I turn 67. I think about that quite a lot and might want to stop when I’m 60, which is not so far off anymore. I have two children, and when they have children of their own I want to be able to enjoy all of that. I wouldn't want to still be working hard every day.”
Very well organized
“I want things to be well organised. My partner used to have his own business, but now he's in employment again, so he's building up a pension and that's reassuring. I believe we’ll be just fine when we get old. My partner and I have considered consulting a financial planner to have calculations made of our future situation and what we would need to do if we wanted to retire at the age of 60. This interview might trigger us to actually go and make that appointment. Knowing your pension is well organised is a reassuring thought.”