Your Pension.

Django x2 said:
I started at 22 and now have 2 frozen pensions (although still index linked - age 34 now)which are worth just shy of £200k. That would give me around 5 to 6 years after retirement. Not great. I now have my own company and have set up a pension through that as well.

I have friends who don't even think about pensions, they are in their 30s too. Shocking really that they think they have all the time in the world, but really don't, and to make up any shortfall would see them overpaying massively. The believe that property will save them. Sadly, we know that's not always the case
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It is quite shocking but it was never really pushed or spoken about in smaller companies unfortunately. I wish I had started earlier, or taken off my salary so that I couldn't squander some of the money I had (which I did). I don't regret what I have done, but I hope I wont when I retired.
 
I've got around 4.5yrs in a local government pension scheme, and my current one is 6.5% personal contribution, 19% employer contribution.

Whilst my salary isn't that awesome, if you add on the monthly pension, it accounts for around £500 per month extra salary that I don't see, but is squirrelled away.

This is the important part that a few people miss - they will jump for a high salary job over a slightly lower salaried position (with decent pension) - they exist in the present and have no thoughts for the future. If I add my pension to my salary, it is actually greater than the highest paid salary for my job level in the UK, but superficially is middle-ground on salary alone.
 
Started at 21, employer contributing 10% gross which are then matched 1:1 up to a maximum of 15% total.

Had a fascinating conversation with a client yesterday about the use of QROPS and how you can avoid enormous tax liabilities by not keeping your assets within the UK. HMRC absolutely hate it, but there's nothing they can really do about it.
 
I'm currently 25 and started at 23.

Previous employer (2 years): approx. 11% total
Current employer: average salary - every £3k I put in, I get £1k a year at retirement for life. It will be going up to every £4k I put in from March.

I will hopefully have paid off whatever mortgage I have by the time I retire and my parents aren't far off paying theirs off..
 
Been paying into mine for about 4 years through work, now aged 30. But looking at how things are, people like myself born in the 80's and after wont get a pension as it will be changed so many times over the decades. Work till you die as the money cant support the longer people are living.

Loads of our HR department cancelled their pension 2 years ago saying there is no point. Spend the money now or put it in a good savings account (if they exist anymore) Maybe they know something we don't.....
 
malachi said:
Loads of our HR department cancelled their pension 2 years ago saying there is no point. Spend the money now or put it in a good savings account (if they exist anymore) Maybe they know something we don't.....
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They don't. They're just stupid if that was their rationale.
 
Theophany said:
Started at 21, employer contributing 10% gross which are then matched 1:1 up to a maximum of 15% total.

Had a fascinating conversation with a client yesterday about the use of QROPS and how you can avoid enormous tax liabilities by not keeping your assets within the UK. HMRC absolutely hate it, but there's nothing they can really do about it.
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Indeed that's why a lot of people have assets abroad. I suppose technically they should declare them no?
 
Freefaller said:
Indeed that's why a lot of people have assets abroad. I suppose technically they should declare them no?
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You should declare them, but HMRC can't touch them unless it's a UK asset paying a dividend or property deriving a rent IIRC. They want to bring in new rules to tax income drawn from such schemes that is repatriated into the UK, but the simple loophole there is to open an account abroad to which the income is paid into.

Of course, none of it is really worthwhile with pension pots under a million or so and with the way the lifetime allowance is coming down the window of opportunity will continue to shrink.
 
Started when I was 16! Now 32

6% and then company pays in 6%


Still won't be enough to live on!
 
RedvGreen said:
I've got around 4.5yrs in a local government pension scheme, and my current one is 6.5% personal contribution, 19% employer contribution.

Whilst my salary isn't that awesome, if you add on the monthly pension, it accounts for around £500 per month extra salary that I don't see, but is squirrelled away.

This is the important part that a few people miss - they will jump for a high salary job over a slightly lower salaried position (with decent pension) - they exist in the present and have no thoughts for the future. If I add my pension to my salary, it is actually greater than the highest paid salary for my job level in the UK, but superficially is middle-ground on salary alone.
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This assumes the pensions won't be raided by the next Labour chancellor. In which case, you'll be wishing you had the cash in hand.
 
Final salary pension.

Mind you, I don't plan to be working past 55 and I'll take the hits, I'd rather retire at a reasonable time and live frugally than be working into my 70's. If the government had their way we'd all be working until we collapsed and then taken out and shot behind the barn, I'm not playing ball.
 
My work pension is pitiful I pay in 1%, they pay in 2%. We can't pay in more than that.

I've also got a S+S ISA that I'm using for retirement to that I pay in around 6% of my net income. No matched contributions on this obviously but it does give me a bit of flexibility so I can take it all out and invest in something else if necessary.

I've been doing that for 3 years. I'm 27 now. It's not enough, but I'm banking on my next employer having a better scheme than this.

I'm on track to have the mortgage paid off when I'm 50 currently, but am going to start overpaying soon so hopefully can get this down to nearer 45.
 
Theophany said:
You should declare them, but HMRC can't touch them unless it's a UK asset paying a dividend or property deriving a rent IIRC. They want to bring in new rules to tax income drawn from such schemes that is repatriated into the UK, but the simple loophole there is to open an account abroad to which the income is paid into.

Of course, none of it is really worthwhile with pension pots under a million or so and with the way the lifetime allowance is coming down the window of opportunity will continue to shrink.
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Hence why I plan on domiciling myself out of the UK when older to be able to get the best out of my foreign investments. However the rules will undoubtedly change. I don't have millions unfortunately - and they need to be shared by the family, but it should add some extra change to the final salary pension I'm on. :)
 
Freefaller said:
Hence why I plan on domiciling myself out of the UK when older to be able to get the best out of my foreign investments. However the rules will undoubtedly change. I don't have millions unfortunately - and they need to be shared by the family, but it should add some extra change to the final salary pension I'm on. :)
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Come live next door.
 
Freefaller said:
Hence why I plan on domiciling myself out of the UK when older to be able to get the best out of my foreign investments. However the rules will undoubtedly change. I don't have millions unfortunately - and they need to be shared by the family, but it should add some extra change to the final salary pension I'm on. :)
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It's definitely worth consideration! Plus, whilst the rules will undoubtedly change, as long as the UK remains part of the EU the likelihood of them shutting down these kinds of schemes completely is slim to none. Whaddya know, there are some benefits to being part of the United Socialist States of Franco-Saxony. ;)
 
Am I the only one that whilst pretty financially savvy, find the language used in pensions unnecessarily complex and confusing?
 
I'm 30 and been paying into a company scheme for about 5 years. I initally started just paying up to what my employer matched 1:1, but the last 3 years I've been increasing my contribution another 2% each year, and paying half my annual bonus in as well.

I found seeing an IFA quite useful to understand all the options.
 
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