Pension

[Tommyb]

Thanks for sharing. Do you mind saying what your minimum goal for your pension pot is? I know as much as possible is probably what you want, but what’s the bare minimum you’d need to survive? Just ignore if I’m being too nosey!

No it's fine

At the moment I'm on track to have 500k in there by time I retire at 67.. plus I'm hoping my house will be paid off by then which is worth 525k at the moment.

So right now my projected pension would be approx £9,339 state pension a year plus £16,000 from my work pensions. So I'd be getting around
£2k a month once I retire (after tax of course).

My partner was always taught by his parents the importance of a pension so has around £70k in there at 33 so he will have more than me. Between us we should be fine if everything goes to plan.

 

[Fofoca]

No it's fine

At the moment I'm on track to have 500k in there by time I retire at 67.. plus I'm hoping my house will be paid off by then which is worth 525k at the moment.

So right now my projected pension would be approx £9,339 state pension a year plus £16,000 from my work pensions. So I'd be getting around
£2k a month once I retire (after tax of course).

My partner was always taught by his parents the importance of a pension so has around £70k in there at 33 so he will have more than me. Between us we should be fine if everything goes to plan.

Thank you very much! I just attended a pensions for dummies course but the info was presented differently. I actually have a follow up session next week so at least I’ve got more questions

In the example you gave, I thought 500k meant you drew a pension of £41666 a month (500k/12 months) and I mean, I wouldn’t complain but I definitely don’t need that much a month to live on!!!

But the work pot plus state pension fits into what i understood.

Thank you again for being so open. You’ve really really helped me out. I’m older but I lost many years of contributing. Had assumed
I was paying in but wasn’t so that’s been a real shock! I’m still on track though, so to anyone reading - it’s not too late!

 

[Sheeeet]

In the example you gave, I thought 500k meant you drew a pension of £41666 a month (500k/12 months) and I mean, I wouldn’t complain but I definitely don’t need that much a month to live on!!!

The £500k is for more than one year, so if you theoretically had a single pot of money with no more income or return from it, you'd need to divide it by x number of years from pension age to death times 12 (number of months in a year). Or just plan a MASSIVELY luxe 1 year retirement and a swift exit at the end of that year!

 

[Fofoca]

The £500k is for more than one year, so if you theoretically had a single pot of money with no more income or return from it, you'd need x number of years from pension age to death times 12 (number of months in a year). Or just plan a MASSIVELY luxe 1 year retirement and a swift exit at the end of that year!

Swift exit it is then!!! Party on my yacht, you’re all invited.

Could I be absolutely lost because I’m on a defined benefit and maybe just get one smaller figure? I think that means that I could live until I’m 1000 years old and keep drawing my pension without my pot running out?

(and thank you too!)

 

[Sheeeet]

Swift exit it is then!!! Party on my yacht, you’re all invited.

Could I be absolutely lost because I’m on a defined benefit and maybe just get one smaller figure? I think that means that I could live until I’m 1000 years old and keep drawing my pension without my pot running out?

(and thank you too!)

You'd get a set amount of money every month until death with a DB pension. The longer you are in service with your employer, the larger that amount would be. There's no reason you can't set up an additional private pension/SIPP alongside if you think that won't be enough. Or, in some cases, you can add "additional years" called an Additional Voluntary Contribution in a one off payment to get a larger monthly amount of pension.

Or you could set up your own ISA investments if you think you might want to quit work before retirement age, or before you'd be eligible to draw from a personal pension (55 at the moment, I think). Obviously that depends on having the disposable income to do that and the return on whatever funds/shares/miscellaneous you chose.

Anyone considering pre-55 retirement could do worse than googling FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and reading around - the Monevator blog is fantastic.

 

[Tommyb]

Thank you very much! I just attended a pensions for dummies course but the info was presented differently. I actually have a follow up session next week so at least I’ve got more questions

In the example you gave, I thought 500k meant you drew a pension of £41666 a month (500k/12 months) and I mean, I wouldn’t complain but I definitely don’t need that much a month to live on!!!

But the work pot plus state pension fits into what i understood.

Thank you again for being so open. You’ve really really helped me out. I’m older but I lost many years of contributing. Had assumed
I was paying in but wasn’t so that’s been a real shock! I’m still on track though, so to anyone reading - it’s not too late!

So the 500k would be divided by roughly 30 years so £16k per year.

My work pension is invested in a high risk category. By age general advice is to invest it in high risk if you are under 40, between 40-50 medium risk and 50+ low risk. Of course thats just general advice.

I'm so glad it helped. I wish someone would have helped me when I was younger. Iv learned so much more about it since meeting my boyfriend. He's a finance genius lol! Without him I would have not even thought of it.

It's never too late and well done for looking into it!

 

[OhMyGaad]

Anyone know much about Lifetime ISA? From what I gather you must open before 40 and can't pay in after 50. Is it worth it if you have NHS pension?

 

[HoGi]

Swift exit it is then!!! Party on my yacht, you’re all invited.

Could I be absolutely lost because I’m on a defined benefit and maybe just get one smaller figure? I think that means that I could live until I’m 1000 years old and keep drawing my pension without my pot running out?

(and thank you too!)

With DB schemes your pot isn't really as important.

You should get an annual benefit statement each year which will tell you the current value of your pension benefits and a projected value to normal retirement age (calculated on the assumption you stay earning the same until retirement age). This will be payable for life and will have reductions if you retire before the normal retirement age. Additionally you can usually convert some of your pension to get a tax free lump sum.

You can top up your pension with additional contributions so it might be worth calling your scheme to see what options they have for doing this

 

[Satisfying Click]

I have a work-based pension and a LISA. I plan on opening a stocks and shares ISA some time soon.

I'm really glad this thread exists because I've been worrying thinking about this!

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

I’ve been thinking about a LISA. I was wondering about an s&s LISA to save for when I’m 60. Seems moneybox do one that seems fairly easy to manage.

I have a s&s isa but no real serious investments in it yet. I put a small amount in to get my head around trading a bit.

 

[Saddlesoap]

I have a stocks and shares ISA and I've made £59 profit on £1k since Feb. Pretty happy

Overall I'm still a bit undecided about what to do. I think I should open a private pension. Can anyone recommend a company?

 

[justbeingnosy98]

I have a stocks and shares ISA and I've made £59 profit on £1k since Feb. Pretty happy

Overall I'm still a bit undecided about what to do. I think I should open a private pension. Can anyone recommend a company?

My personal pension is with Scottish Widows - Aviva, Aegon, Pru also do them. I have seen adverts for Pension Bee and it looks quite good too.

I *think* some providers might require you to go through an IFA to open a private pension. It’s probably worth having a chat with an IFA anyway so you know your options and they can help you make the best decision for you!

I had a stocks and shares ISA with MoneyBox and it never did that well. Opened a new one with Hargreaves Lansdown and it’s performed really well over the last 2 years!

Not sure if I’m allowed to say this or not on here but the UK Personal Finance sub on Reddit is really really helpful for financey things like LISAs/pensions/stocks and shares ISAs.

 

[rainbowlemon]

I have a stocks and shares ISA and I've made £59 profit on £1k since Feb. Pretty happy

Overall I'm still a bit undecided about what to do. I think I should open a private pension. Can anyone recommend a company?

Vanguard also have SIPPs. They have the lowest fees on the market and have a easy transfer process.

Last month I was charged just £1.09 for my S&S ISA instead of the £1.20 - £1.35 a month with the stocks and shares account I had with MoneyBox .

Personal Pension | Vanguard UK Investor

Investing in a pension is a tax-efficient way to grow your money for retirement as the government will give you tax relief on your contributions.

www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk

I’ve been thinking about a LISA. I was wondering about an s&s LISA to save for when I’m 60. Seems moneybox do one that seems fairly easy to manage.

I have a s&s isa but no real serious investments in it yet. I put a small amount in to get my head around trading a bit.

On youtube and insta I would really recommend

1.the humble penny channel - for explaining the basics.
2.Our rich journey - for motivation as they're american but retired early.
3.Nicole at the Frugal cottage- on how to create a dividend income.

 

[Shoequeen91]

I have a stocks and shares ISA and I've made £59 profit on £1k since Feb. Pretty happy

Overall I'm still a bit undecided about what to do. I think I should open a private pension. Can anyone recommend a company?

My personal pension is with Scottish Widow too. I don’t have a bad word to say about them at all and find their customer service really helpful in that no question is too silly etc

 

[Emerald37]

Does anyone know how you find your old pensions from your old jobs?! I want to put them all in the same place

You can write to the hr department at your old job asking for the information. They can tell you who administers the scheme and contact info

 

[HoGi]

You can write to the hr department at your old job asking for the information. They can tell you who administers the scheme and contact info

And if that doesn't work or the company no longer exists take a look at the pensions tracing service. Free on gov.uk . Please don't pay a company to trace it for you

 

[Flowergirl14]

I am retiring in over 10 years, and recently started thinking seriously about pensions. This year I have upped my pension contributions at work from 5% to 40%, the maximum allowable. It means serious cutting back on my spending, but it is very tax efficient. I know I am fortunate to be able to do this. Also, I can reduce my contributions at any time. Just see how it goes for now. Plus I can withdraw up to 25% once I get to 55, if cash flow becomes a problem. Definitely advise any people to start a pension as soon as possible. I don't believe the state pension will be around forever.

 

[Hertfordshire_home]

Not sure of the amounts but i have the pension through work. My employer contributes 6% whilst i contribute 3%.

I also have a direct debit set up to put in £100 every other month into a charles stanley direct account (growth on the particular fund over the last 6m alone has been 12%). The value of this is about £4k at the moment.

I am hoping to increase my contributions to both funds in time. I remember reading that a rough guide to total pension contributions is to take the age you started paying in, divide by 2. Ie if you started at 20 you should be paying 10%. I started after uni (21/22) and therefore am not paying quite enough but as my salary continues to grow, i aim to increase these contributions.

 

[ChilliBean]

I have an NHS pension that I’ve had for the last 5 years - I started paying in as soon as I qualified as a nurse at 21. I’m now band 7 and contribute 9.3%, whilst I believe the NHS contributes 20%
It’s a great pension scheme compared to others and I feel very lucky to work in the NHS. The only downside is it is linked to state pension age, so I won’t be able to get it until I’m at least 68 (if not older!) so I’ve started saving money in a LISA - the idea is for me to save a lump sum that I can access when I am 60 so I can afford to work part time for the last few years until I get my pension

A few of my colleagues in their 20s like me have opted out of their pension as they’d rather have the money now… I’ve tried telling them how important it is and it’s the best free money they’ll ever have but they just don’t listen!

 

[HoGi]

I have an NHS pension that I’ve had for the last 5 years - I started paying in as soon as I qualified as a nurse at 21. I’m now band 7 and contribute 9.3%, whilst I believe the NHS contributes 20%
It’s a great pension scheme compared to others and I feel very lucky to work in the NHS. The only downside is it is linked to state pension age, so I won’t be able to get it until I’m at least 68 (if not older!) so I’ve started saving money in a LISA - the idea is for me to save a lump sum that I can access when I am 60 so I can afford to work part time for the last few years until I get my pension

A few of my colleagues in their 20s like me have opted out of their pension as they’d rather have the money now… I’ve tried telling them how important it is and it’s the best free money they’ll ever have but they just don’t listen!

You will be able to get it before state pension age, but there will be reductions for early payment. And you do have to retire I.e. quit workingfor the NHS. A lot of people seem to think they can claim their pension and carry on working but a workplace pension doesn't work like that.