The Student Room Group

Private pension

Do you have a private pension? I been thinking about putting a hundred pounds a month is too little? I am nearly 30 years old. Which provider should I use?

Scroll to see replies

Depends how much you're earning?


Posted from TSR Mobile
I'd steer clear of them, to be honest I mean my dad he drew his private pension out in one hit 20 years of saving (£12,000 total) and he got back £3,600
however if he'd put it into gold bullion he'd have had 50t.oz worth £56,000 at the time of him withdrawing in 2011
and that why I stick with silver and gold along with a few more diverse choices for investment
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by jamesthehustler
I'd steer clear of them, to be honest I mean my dad he drew his private pension out in one hit 20 years of saving (£12,000 total) and he got back £3,600


What did your dad invest in?
Are you contributing to your work pension, first and foremost to the maximum level?
Reply 5
Why are you thinking of starting a private pension, does your employer not offer a pension scheme? Legally they must.

£100 a month from ages ~30 to 67 will give you an estimated pension pot of £52k which can buy an annuity for £2.6k per year.

The UK state pension is currently about £8k a year, so you'll have roughly £10.6k a year to live off if everything remains the same, or £883 per month.

So the question you need to ask yourself is; Can I survive off of £883 per month?
I'd concentrate on a work-based pension scheme first, because the employer contributes towards it and it's tax efficient- can you increase your contributions to this scheme by the £100 a month extra?
Original post by Reue
What did your dad invest in?


£50 a month out of a total of £300 he earnt
Reply 8
Original post by jamesthehustler
£50 a month out of a total of £300 he earnt


I meant what did he have his pension funds invested in
Original post by Reue
I meant what did he have his pension funds invested in


I don't know that much but whatever it was it lost value so it wasn't metal or oil clearly likely bonds or shares the company involved were investing in
I would steer clear of private pension schemes at the moment, focus on making the maximum contributions to your company pension scheme and building a rainy day fund for emergencies.

Why?

Most employers will match employee contributions up until a certain point (= free money) and you will pay less tax (= bigger pension pot). As far as the rainy day fund goes it is to save you from dipping into your savings, or using high interest debt, should you car break down, you lose your job, etc.

If you have further disposable income the choice is up to you. Ultimately it depends on the type of lifestyle you want now, the age that you want to retire and the type of lifestyle you want once you retire. If you want any semblance of a "comfortable" retirement or to retire before you're too old to enjoy it you're going to have to save a damn sight more than 3% into a company pension and NI contributions.

I would personally invest in a stock and shares ISA, more flexible and fewer fees (ie; commission, management fees, etc). If you need the money for another reason (eg; buying a house, redundancy, etc) it is easier to access, and with fewer penalties than a pension.

To give you some perspective, I am a similar age to you...I pay 3% of my pension into the company scheme, my employer matches that with another 3%. I then pay 14% (minimum) of my salary into a stock/share ISA which is invested in low cost, relatively low risk index tracker funds (sounds very uninspiring but I've averaged a 10% return currently). Every time I get a pay rise I match my contributions and try to increase them further.

Original post by jamesthehustler
I'd steer clear of them, to be honest I mean my dad he drew his private pension out in one hit 20 years of saving (£12,000 total) and he got back £3,600


I suspect that there's a lot more to this than meets the eye (ie; mis-selling, commission, penalty fees, Labour's pension tax raids, etc, etc, etc) as well as a healthy amount of under investment. Nobody should expect to retire comfortably on £12k of pension contributions.

however if he'd put it into gold bullion he'd have had 50t.oz worth £56,000 at the time of him withdrawing in 2011
and that why I stick with silver and gold along with a few more diverse choices for investment
Horses for courses. If he'd bought and sold at the wrong times and made any other number of errors he could have walked away with a much more meagre return.Sure gold and silver have their place in a large and diverse portfolio but there are very good reasons why I wouldn't risk them as my sole investment. What scares me most is the idea that some people consider gold massively over-valued and that in the future its value could be revised downward substantially.
[QUOTE=ch0c0h01ic;68086882
I suspect that there's a lot more to this than meets the eye (ie; mis-selling, commission, penalty fees, Labour's pension tax raids, etc, etc, etc) as well as a healthy amount of under investment. Nobody should expect to retire comfortably on £12k of pension contributions.
Horses for courses. If he'd bought and sold at the wrong times and made any other number of errors he could have walked away with a much more meagre return.Sure gold and silver have their place in a large and diverse portfolio but there are very good reasons why I wouldn't risk them as my sole investment. What scares me most is the idea that some people consider gold massively over-valued and that in the future its value could be revised downward substantially.

it wasn't the only pension and well he was on £300 a month back in the 80's and 90's along with unpaid overtime hence why he drives my merc for £10k a year
and well I'm sticking to gold and silver as my primary with some diamonds and fine wines you can say I'm a risk taker but I make enough to cover it but I'd look at property as well in time
Original post by Reue
Why are you thinking of starting a private pension, does your employer not offer a pension scheme? Legally they must.

£100 a month from ages ~30 to 67 will give you an estimated pension pot of £52k which can buy an annuity for £2.6k per year.

The UK state pension is currently about £8k a year, so you'll have roughly £10.6k a year to live off if everything remains the same, or £883 per month.

So the question you need to ask yourself is; Can I survive off of £883 per month?


I wasn't aware that the uk state pension is 8k a year? How is that calculated? Also, aren't some changes due such as a later retirement age?
Reply 13
Original post by Simonthegreat
I wasn't aware that the uk state pension is 8k a year? How is that calculated? Also, aren't some changes due such as a later retirement age?


https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/overview

£155 per week, £8k per year


Okay. Do you know any more about pensions and the changes ?
Reply 15
Original post by Simonthegreat
Okay. Do you know any more about pensions and the changes ?


New PM and cabinet... I dont think anyone knows whats going to happen yet.
Original post by jamesthehustler
it wasn't the only pension and well he was on £300 a month back in the 80's and 90's along with unpaid overtime hence why he drives my merc for £10k a year


I think two of the greatest issues with some of the old pension practices were complacency and a lack of understanding of the system (ie; how much they needed to save, the fees associated with certain schemes/brokers/"advisors", penalties, etc). You could argue that those issues are just as prevalent today.

There are parallels with pretty much every investment, whether that's buying an over-priced house/shares/gold/etc, seeing your return eaten away by hefty management fees with funds or pension schemes, or simply by being ripped off.

and well I'm sticking to gold and silver as my primary with some diamonds and fine wines you can say I'm a risk taker but I make enough to cover it but I'd look at property as well in time


That's a bit more rounded than solely gold and silver as you alluded to earlier:wink:
Original post by jamesthehustler
I'd steer clear of them, to be honest I mean my dad he drew his private pension out in one hit 20 years of saving (£12,000 total) and he got back £3,600
however if he'd put it into gold bullion he'd have had 50t.oz worth £56,000 at the time of him withdrawing in 2011
and that why I stick with silver and gold along with a few more diverse choices for investment


you can only sell bullion once - carry on abolishing boom and bust Gordon ... i suspect you don't understand how pensions work and who probhibitive the tax regime is to withdrawls prior to the relevant ages ...
Original post by zippyRN
you can only sell bullion once - carry on abolishing boom and bust Gordon ... i suspect you don't understand how pensions work and who probhibitive the tax regime is to withdrawls prior to the relevant ages ...


and I don't think you realize how lackluster the system was in the 80's but I'll stick to gold and my £200k+ a year life and you stick to you plain 9-5 life
Original post by ch0c0h01ic
I think two of the greatest issues with some of the old pension practices were complacency and a lack of understanding of the system (ie; how much they needed to save, the fees associated with certain schemes/brokers/"advisors", penalties, etc). You could argue that those issues are just as prevalent today.

There are parallels with pretty much every investment, whether that's buying an over-priced house/shares/gold/etc, seeing your return eaten away by hefty management fees with funds or pension schemes, or simply by being ripped off.



That's a bit more rounded than solely gold and silver as you alluded to earlier:wink:


the gold would be the wealth holder for now and when I stack enough I can sell and go for property I'd likely copy my great aunt and go for Floridian rentals
the silver would be kept as there is a shortage coming on the horizon thanks to the tech industry
the wine is a part investment and some nice aged bottles to drink and the diamonds are fancy colors and fine grades so are getting rarer the other one would be my next move on fine semi-precious stones as i have made good money on them before and am doing so again

Quick Reply