JohnfromUK Posted June 26, 2017 Report Share Posted June 26, 2017 I don't think that's necessarily true, in my case, many years ago my employer apparently opted me (and everybody else) out. I have no recollection of having been made aware at the time. When I queried it they said it was a fairly normal thing for an employer to do back then if you were in an in house pension schemeThat is quite correct, but I suspect you would have been advised that you were 'opted out' and the reasons explained. I certainly was. General 'wisdom' back then was that opted out of SERPS (State Earings Related Pension Scheme)was the right thing IF you employer's scheme was a good final salary related scheme (and many were). My guess is that hindsight would still say that was right for 'most people', but as always its not right for everyone. I didn't really understand it at the time - but went with the flow. I moved employer fairly soon afterwards with the result that I opted back in (again going with the flow). By chance, it looks like this has worked out OK for me, but it was luck not skillful management. Overall, IF you had been in an employer's final salary scheme and stayed with that employer - you will probably have done very well. If like most of us, you have had several employers over your career, then you may have lost out, depending on circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted June 26, 2017 Report Share Posted June 26, 2017 Personally I would not depend on the state pension. My advice to anybody nowadays is to bung as much possible into a private pension as these are tax efficient (although less so than they used to be for high earners), and once you have used up your pension tax allowance bung the rest into an ISA. If you want to do property then fine but but imo it's a crash waiting to happen.+1 Also - don't put all eggs in one basket (fund) but spread (some UK, some Europe, some USA and some (limited in my view as its higher risk) 'developing economys') so that you are not so badly affected by ups and downs in a particular area. Most private pensions allow you to invest in several funds.. The law states at the moment you need 35 full years contributions to recieve the full state pension,i have 45 full years,so you explain to me why i have been awarded a reduced pension,you have more chance of throwing a snow ball at the sun than getting threw to the pensions dept.I can't answer your question, but agree that getting straight clear answers is very hard ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 26, 2017 Report Share Posted June 26, 2017 Some of the better performing funds are hitting close to 20% pa at the moment https://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=DQFA1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted June 26, 2017 Report Share Posted June 26, 2017 Some of the better performing funds are hitting close to 20% pa at the moment https://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=DQFA1 They are but I prefer to diversify my. My current pension split is 50/35/15 equities/bonds/cash and for the equities have split as follows: 30% US 20% Europe ex U.K. 15% Japan 15% emerging markets 10% UK 10% rest of world I have averaged 12% pa over the past three years which I am happy with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) that wasn't really the point I was making, how come investment funds can turn in growth of 10%, 20% pa and more? Some in the past year have even hit 40%. Yet pension funds struggle to make 1% at best? Reason in my view, they don't have to try, so they don't. At what point does mind numbing apathy and inertia actually become criminal? They take people's money over decades and the people couldn't get out they were locked in. The effect on people's lives in retirement can be huge Edited June 27, 2017 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 that wasn't really the point I was making, how come investment funds can turn in growth of 10%, 20% pa and more? Some in the past year have even hit 40%. Yet pension funds struggle to make 1% at best? Reason in my view, they don't have to try, so they don't. At what point does mind numbing apathy and inertia actually become criminal? They take people's money over decades and the people couldn't get out they were locked in. The effect on people's lives in retirement can be huge Sorry I have no idea what you are talking about. Pensions are normally invested in a range of funds. They may be self selected as mine are, or they may follow a lifestyle strategy I.e they shift from riskier equity based funds to less risky bond based funds as you get older and closer to retiremement. A lot of these 'lifestyle' strategies will be tracked against an market index and if the market goes up the fund will go up, if the market goes down the fund will. There may be some specialist funds that are returning 1% (or a loss) at the moment but that is because they are based upon a particular asset that is on a downward trend (such as gold). But as I say these are quite specialised and would not be the fund of choice of any pension companies I know. What funds are you referring to and what pensions are invested in them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 If you make the assumption that the big pension schemes invest their funds broadly in the same way as an independent fund manager would/could. Broad spectrum etc. The point I was making was to highlight the incredible discrepancy in the performance levels between the big pension schemes and the independent funds like say Aberdeen, Perpetual etc. I put this down to complacency for the most part. If the big pension schemes were regularly returning levels of performance equivalent to 100%+ over five years then the pension crisis being faced by many people would not be happening. The big pension schemes have performed so badly it cannot be ignored because it has damaged so many people's retirements. I invest some of my pot myself and some through my IFA, I'm running at about 9.8% at the moment but I do tend to lean towards the more cautious end of the scale. Also I am a (sometime) property developer so I need some liquidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 hello, if anyone is in doubt about pensions for the future generation and ? front page of the DAILY EXPRESS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 hello, if anyone is in doubt about pensions for the future generation and ? front page of the DAILY EXPRESS Front page of daily express on-line refers to summer heatwave! Nothing about pensions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) Front page of daily express on-line refers to summer heatwave! Nothing about pensions hello, sorry for that i caught a glimpse of the 10.30 sky tv news paper review and may have got the wrong paper, i will put the right one at 11.30 Edited June 27, 2017 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) hello, if anyone is in doubt about pensions for the future generation and ? front page of the DAILY EXPRESS hello, it was as i thought the above tomorrows news paper, cheers Edited June 27, 2017 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Yes they are taking about the Pensions Time Bomb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Yes they are taking about the Pensions Time Bomb hello vince, yes the word time being crucial, anyone on PW who is 60 plus should be able to get a good idea of your forth coming pension amount/details/ but i would suggest if you have sons/daughters/grand children 30 and above make them aware of this if not already done so, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 (edited) hello vince, yes the word time being crucial, anyone on PW who is 60 plus should be able to get a good idea of your forth coming pension amount/details/ but i would suggest if you have sons/daughters/grand children 30 and above make them aware of this if not already done so,Anyone with a PTA (personal tax account) can check their estimated NIB (state pension) as well as check up on NIC co tributions and any gaps. I part retired at 50 and fully retire at 55 (this October) State pension for me is years away.I am not confident it will actually be there when my time is due,however this has been accounted for. My advise to the young is stop ******* money up the wall ie drinking,smoking and paying £60 per mth for the latest phone when a £15 one will do. .Get straight repayment morg (not a house to keep up with the Jones) and overpay when ever possible.Why waste money on a Jag when a Fiesta will serve the same purpose.Then save up for your retirement because there will be no state pension. Edited June 28, 2017 by Davyo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted June 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I don't read papers or watch the news or listen to radio, can someone update me on this daily mail pension thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I don't read papers or watch the news or listen to radio, can someone update me on this daily mail pension thing hello, google should bring up todays front page or a short version of the report, but what it most about is long term pension forecast for many millions of uk citizens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Anyone with a PTA (personal tax account) can check their estimated NIB (state pension) as well as check up on NIC co tributions and any gaps. I part retired at 50 and fully retire at 55 (this October) State pension for me is years away.I am not confident it will actually be there when my time is due,however this has been accounted for. My advise to the young is stop ******* money up the wall ie drinking,smoking and paying £60 per mth for the latest phone when a £15 one will do. .Get straight repayment morg (not a house to keep up with the Jones) and overpay when ever possible.Why waste money on a Jag when a Fiesta will serve the same purpose.Then save up for your retirement because there will be no state pension. There is a lot of good sense in this post. However I don't believe that we should just 'live for tomorrow'. Who knows what is around the corner and you have to have some fun while you are younger. If a Jag gives you some of that fun then go for it. It's a balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brown Sauce Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Sorry if this has already been mentioned, got bored after reading page 3. Simply download a BR19 form, send it off and this will give you the current entitlement to state pension. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-a-state-pension-statement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 That's the thing when your in your twenty's or thirties who thinks about retirement, its a good idea to put money away obviously but with kids bills and wanting to have fun I imagine its way down the list of priorities for most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 That's the thing when your in your twenty's or thirties who thinks about retirement, its a good idea to put money away obviously but with kids bills and wanting to have fun I imagine its way down the list of priorities for most people. Most people my age are scrapping together to pay the rent and bills, then hoping to get onto the housing ladder. If you've not even saved for a house deposit starting to save for retirement is probably a low priority Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Most people my age are scrapping together to pay the rent and bills, then hoping to get onto the housing ladder. If you've not even saved for a house deposit starting to save for retirement is probably a low priority Getting on the housing ladder is probably the single best thing you can do for your retirement. The reason is, in 25 years the house is yours and you can live in it for free in your old age, also you have a capital asset that can be turned back into cash if you need to or rented out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted June 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Getting on the housing ladder is probably the single best thing you can do for your retirement. The reason is, in 25 years the house is yours and you can live in it for free in your old age, also you have a capital asset that can be turned back into cash if you need to or rented out. Ha, not if your first Mrs nutcase gets it as part divorce settlement 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Ha, not if your first Mrs nutcase gets it as part divorce settlement 😞 What did you get? Heard lots of horror stories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted June 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 I got a suitcase full of my clothes, my guns, my cabinet to put them in oh and a suitcase that had my knick knacks of the sentimental variety like my late dads raf medals and such like.....that was it. By the time I got to the bank she had emptied it in its entirety (joint account so no crime) she got house and everything in it as my half of the house I had to give her to keep her grubby little hands off my business oh and I kept my pension which isn't worth a penny hence this post 😁 I had to move back in with my mum at age 33 with no money apart from a few hundred quid in me wallet. By the time I found out she had been having an affair for month's before the separation she had filed for divorce on the grounds of my unreasonable behaviour, by this time I wanted shut of the peice of work so went along with it just so as not to draw it out with counter divorce. She did a number on me that's for sure but the happy ending is that I have enjoyed twenty fabulous years with the current Mrs ips and would not swap her for anyone. Bet your glad you asked now 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted June 28, 2017 Report Share Posted June 28, 2017 Most people my age are scrapping together to pay the rent and bills, then hoping to get onto the housing ladder. If you've not even saved for a house deposit starting to save for retirement is probably a low priority I fully understand why people feel the case but the two things to remember are 1) Compound growth means that money invested early has a far greater value than money invested later (it has longer to grow and you get annual growth on top of annual growth) and 2) Pension are tax efficient. The contributions, within annual allowances, are tax free and you can take 25% out of the pot at retirement tax free. Little in life is so tax efficient. Getting on the housing ladder is probably the single best thing you can do for your retirement. The reason is, in 25 years the house is yours and you can live in it for free in your old age, also you have a capital asset that can be turned back into cash if you need to or rented out. I partially agree. Getting on the ladder is important but I would sacrifice overpaying the mortgage against paying into a pension. In the current low interest climate at least. For the reasons above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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