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I'm banking on The Who pension plan.......
Hope I die before i get old.
It's a tough one. My Dad died at 52 and never got to enjoy his retirement. If you die before claiming your pension you (your estate) doesn't get the full return and the widow's pension is a smaller percentage again of the full claim.
I have been thinking recently that instead of paying into my work pension so heavily I could use that money to clear the mortgage off quicker on the thinking that the rate we (I) pay on the mortgage is higher than the % return my pesnion is accruing. It makes more financial sense to clear all debt before saving.
That way if I do cack it early my wife will benefit from a mortgage free property and if I don't then I can save hard in the time between when the mortgage is paid off and 65th birthday plus I will own the house quicker.
Will I be disciplined enough to save hard once the mortgage is clear? maybe not but there's always equity release where you don't make any payments while you're still alive and the debt is paid when you move into long term care or pass away.
Living on an asteroid mining uranium.
Push the mother in law down the stairs.
I retired last year, at of course 65, and now I’m just enjoying the fact that our glorious state is paying me £11,000 p.a. because it’s a lot easier than having to go out and earn it.
<span style="color: #444444; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: #eeeeee;">thinking that the rate we (I) pay on the mortgage is higher than the % return my pesnion is accruing. It makes more financial sense to clear all debt before saving.</span>
Given current interest rest rates, tax relief on pension contributions and employer contibutions to pensions I’d be amazed if that was a good idea.
6 numbers and the bonus ball is my plan.
No one mentioning crypto? Get in now, worth a 5k punt to my mind and hope it comes true.
I've been giving this a lot of thought recently. I'm in my mid 30s and no real pension to speak of, however I am now into 2 years of a corporate job which does have a pension.
However, I just can't see myself doing this for the next 30 years as I'm bored silly.
My new plan is to take on freelance consultancy work, buy a narrowboat and travel the UK canal system for the next two years.
I'm just hoping the state pension will be ok by the time I reach retirement; or that I somehow make a stash of cash in the meantime.
I was made redundent at 55 so I took the pay off & also took my pension early. The main thing is to ensure you have enough money to live on going forward, is your pension sufficient for your financial commitments or do you need to top that up with maybe part time work?
I was fortunate that my pension covers running the house & my financial commitments so I do not need to work again if I choose too. That then leaves you with an additional 40 hours of free time each week & how are you going to fill this time? Do you have any hobbies or passions other than surfing STW all day 😉
I decided to live the dream for a year & I basically spent as much time as possible riding my bikes. As I now had a 7 day weekend I could pick & choose which days to go riding, if it was going to be wet then I wouldn't stress about it and ride another day. My fitness & endurance has improved and I have never regretted the decision to retire.
yes thought that after I posted, it doesn't take into account employer contributions. Dammit I want the mortgage paid off quicker but don't want to pay for it!!
As it stands my mortgage will be paid off at 61 which gives me a bit of time mortgage free before retiring at 65.
Where we've all gone wrong is getting married and having kids + moving to a larger property. If I hadn't got married & had kids I'd be living in a 2 bed terrace and mortgage free by now. Free to go cycling every evening and travelling the UK to go cycling every weekend. Ahh well.
Whats your plan?
Save as much as possible whilst I can, as you never know what the future holds. Currently saving more than half my gross salary each month...
I was offered redundancy/early retirement 2 years ago (at age 55). It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. The kids have both flown the nest and are (mostly) self-sufficient. My wife has another 2 years to do then she will join me at our home in France.
On the whole life is pretty good, I think retirement suits me, I'm always busy doing up our house/garden in Limousin or riding my bike.
The "plan" is to forget retirement age as I think that will more away faster than I can move towards it.
With a bit of luck, I'll be physically able to work until I've cleared the mortgage.
Without children, I guess we'll sell the house to one of those iffy schemes that lets you keep living in it and hope that death comes before the end of the money.
I'm paying into a company DC pension but I really don't think I can rely on that.
I enjoy my work and am self employed so i hope to carry on till i get fed up. Pensions will kick in at 67 so thats some way off, preinvestment in rental properties has helped so i could spend that income but choose to save it.
Every year those pension forecasts depress me, c 2.5k per 100k index linked.
Seeing how everyone is going to be broke, I wonder if we will start to see communal living becoming the norm in retirement. It could solve both the financial and the loneliness crisis on the horizon.
"Every year those pension forecasts depress me, c 2.5k per 100k index linked."
Does anyone buy an annuity anymore though?
I didn't fancy handing my hard earned over to a Ponce in a shiny suit so stuck it in S&S Isas instead. AS a result I was able to retire 3 years ago instead of having to work until my 55th Birthday next year.
A "plan" had nothing to do with it. All down to luck!
I’m about to hit 40 and currently work 2 days per week term time only.
I basically worked a lot in a good job until 2 years ago so was lucky to be in a good enough position to “semi retire” at 38.
I squirrelled a load away so have invested it in a few rental properties so my plan is to have a part time job I enjoy and live off the income from that and the rental houses.
It’s worked great for the past 2 years so I can’t see any reason why I can’t do this forever. Well, until the kids hit university age at least.
I have the same plans I had in the last two threads.
Depends how you define retirement. I’ve no intention of working full time until I’m at an age where I can withdraw my pension fund. I’m 41 next month, my plan is to pay off my mortgage this year and then assess what I do for a living. Likely a reduced working week, a year off altogether, and get off the treadmill. No guarantee that you’ll live long enough to take the cash in your pot, I intend to live life - starting with not worrying about paying a mortgage.
Sod all. Never knew private pensions existed until I started teaching at 30. Never knew that they could be topped up until 40. Too late then. Pensions are too expensive to contribute to. Also I have a cynical idea that money I can't touch may be stolen. At the least it will be taxed so any spare cash in spent on house or things that can be sold for cash and the income hidden from the tax man. He can see a pension, he can't see oil paintings and sovereign's for example. No kids so I can spend the house value. A safe a bet as relying on theoretical money.
Just bought a mahoosive run down farmhouse with a stonkingly ginormous mortgage. At first glance this may not seem the best retirement plan ever however we intend to portion a chunk of as a holiday let (we're in the lakes- just) and use that to pay a fair bit of the mortgage. Meaning by the time we hit our sixties we'll have a hurt big fancy farmhouse with an established business we can sell for bazillions and move to Monte Carlo and buy an air craft carrier and drink ten thousand year old champagne from hollowed out Faberge eggs and that.
I'm going to wait till I'm 55-60 then knock over a bank
possible outcomes
I get away with it and move to spain
i still get 3 meals a day and housed free of charge by her majesty
I get offer by armed rozzers with guns
all seem viable options
Im hoping that in 30 years time, basic income will be standard and I won't have to worry about it all.
Mortgage finishes at 65. Kids will be 35 and 33 by then if they're still at home they'll be contributing, if they're not home we'll either downsize or equity release, and scrape by on my meagre local government pension and three private pensions. As soon as the kids fly, our expenses drop and we hope to pay down the mortgage earlier, because there's clearly no point in paying significant excess into private pensions.
I fully expect to be one of those wrinkled mechanics you see in LBSes when I retire from what is laughingly called my career.
Early retirement? I'm winning the lottery.
I’m lucky to be in a job with a decent DC pension scheme. I put in 6% and they contribute 12.6%(about to rise to 15.6%) as I’m a higher rate taxpayer that means every £100 that goes into my pot costs me £18 of “take home pay”
I also have a RAF pension kicking in at 60, which is when the mortgage pays off.
48 and had a pension since I was 18. Got 20 years in average salary schemes and 10 in 2 private schemes. Hopefully be retired before 60 or at least reduced hours. My back was buggered up by a driver 2 years ago and it' no where near normal and the experts reckon t will get worse with age and I won' make normal retirement. Mortgage is paid off in 6 months though. My wife's pension hasn't grown well so she is trying to put more in.
A mix of several options:
A stocks and shares ISA that should give me a reasonable cash free sum each month
A number of smaller pensions
10 yrs of a good final salary scheme
A reasonable SIPP which I quite actively manage and is showing good returns
A reasonable sized house which will be mortgage free in 3 yrs (when I am 56)
So downsizing is an option and although I would like more time to spend out doors before I get too old, I would probably just reduce my hours as I quite enjoy what i do.
I also have the British dream of buying in the South of Spain although that is probably never going to happen but I could see myself spending a few months there every year.
37 and really started working and paying into pension at 30 when I finished Uni. I'm considering moving job specifically because the pension which is offered is 15% company + whatever you chose.
I figure with my own contributions over 25-30 years , I'd be looking at around £0.5-0.6m by retirement and as a family, closer to £1m. With a completely paid for house, the interest on that would be £30-40k PA before tax. At today's money it'd be fine, but in the future...who knows??
One piece of advice I would give is that just because you begin investing in a pension at an early age (which is always a good thing) dont assume that it is being well invested and is growing as you expect. I am not talking about losing your investment etc I mean that many funds grow barely above what you invest each year meaning even after a period of investment spanning decades you may still be disappointed by the growth, even with compound interest.
I withdrew a pension from an employer I had been with for 8 years and invested it in a SIPP. Even though the employer contributions where good (which meant it was better for me to benefit from them even with slow growth) I still made more in 2 years as a SIPP than I had made in 3 years as a pension in spite of zeoro contributions!!!
If you want a good retirement you HAVE to take responsibility and understand what you are doing.
We’ve got a huge mortgage which runs until I’m 67, but we also have +60% equity in a nice house, which if needs be we could downsize from and reduce/kill off our mortgage.
That's about it for us – although we do stand to have a decent inheritance from my wife's parents although it is all tied up in a beautiful family home which has enormous sentimental value. As my wife's two brothers live abroad it would inevitably lead to us almost to be expected to take the house (with several acres of land) on to keep it in the family. But we don't think we want to. At some point in the future there is going to be difficult discussions to be had.
"Pensions are too expensive to contribute to"
£100 of investment costs you £80, £60, or £55 depending on your marginal tax rate?
Seems cheap to me.
[i]If you want a good retirement you HAVE to take responsibility[/i]
This, very much
[i]and understand what you are doing.[/i]
or, if you don't, pay for the advice of someone who does
[i]One piece of advice I would give is that just because you begin investing in a pension at an early age (which is always a good thing) dont assume that it is being well invested and is growing as you expect. [/i]
However... this is where cheap, index-linked funds come in. Over the long term, they're often a better bet as a fire-and-forget option for the inexperienced passive investor.
But we've had this discussion before... 😉
Two pages and nobodies mentioned coke 'n hookers????????????
"<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I’m going to wait till I’m 55-60 then knock over a bank</span>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">possible outcomes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I get away with it and move to spain</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">i still get 3 meals a day and housed free of charge by her majesty</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I get offer by armed rozzers with guns</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">all seem viable options"</p>
Even that's a non-starter these days, thanks to an increasingly cashless society, you'd have to knock over a large hub bank in the centre of a major town or city to get anything worth the risk and then you'd be lucky to get 10k if you hit at the right time and got 4/5 clerks to open their drawers before the bandit screen came crashing down.
Sad times.
Just to echo this sage advice
<£100 of investment costs you £80, £60, or £55 depending on your marginal tax rate?
Seems cheap to me.>
When your looking at investments this is very hard to beat. House prices don't beat this return. And remember to include all you costs in your investment like council tax on the huge house, maintenance, heating it suddenly dosent look like a sound investment choice.
Retired 55, advice? Plan and it will happen.
Plan it [i]early enough[/i] and it will happen
mattsccm- how do you know that this thread isn't really a sting monitored by the tax man who stalks these pages, looking for slips made by the unwary..?
Retirement. Seems so far away. At least 24 years (60) to get my full 40 years in on our final salary scheme, plus my AVC’s.
I don’t plan to do full time till then however. We can job share so (as it stands) I’d do 2 days a week. Couple that with pension I’d be on pretty much the same as fulltime but with a greatly reduced work load and a much reduced physical and mental impact on me as I age.
Thinking 55 for that move (still another 19years, so possible it’ll no longer be an option of course). A lot can change between now and then obviously that’ll make that no longer an option but if I do need to work full time till I’m 60+ then my pension estimates should allow me a comfortable life if they come off.
I will add however that the thought of doing my job till I’m 60+ doesn’t appeal. Even now as I’ve aged I find the shifts are draining me more than they did and occasionally I need a ‘wasted’ day to recharge whereas I used to be fine.
I fully expect to never recieve state pension.
Just to cheer you all up,
A gent at my place (did well for himself) retired a couple of years ago to go twitching in his Ferrari (not a joke) ... stone cold dead sunday morning aged 51.
I was rather upset by this news ... not only was he a nice guy but he played "it" (work/life/etc) brilliantly but still, it seems, ended up a loser?
You cant win ??
And I'm left worrying, whats the point?
In the process of properly getting my "exit" plan together and now left thinking even at 55 it might be too late.
Oh well
We had the good fortune to buy a house in 2000, aged 23, so we've got a relatively small mortgage and a relatively large amount of equity. There's about 15 years left on the current house/mortgage, at which point I'll be 55. When we next remortgage, we're going to work to reduce the term, so it'll be paid off earlier.
We also had kids relatively young. This has had the double benefit of us being relatively young (5) when they finish uni (theoretically, that's nine years away for the youngest) and that we've never got used to a Double Income No Kids lifestyle.
My Teachers' Pension isn't as good as it was, but it's still pretty good. We should be able to go part-time in our fifties and/or find something that brings in enough income, then retire relatively comfortably.
I only need enough to buy the 2037 equivalent of a Dawes Galaxy (probably a Dawes Galaxy) and then the food to fuel riding it all day every day.
I'm just trying to decide what to do.
As a contractor, and a Ltd company, I hear all kinds of conflicting advice.
But, as I'm 43 next birthday, and still got 20 yrs on a small (£180k) mortgage. I think it might just be a case of putting £1k a month into a pot, and taking it from there..
[i]I think it might just be a case of putting £1k a month into a pot, and taking it from there..[/i]
Pretty much. Pay it from your Ltd company as an Employer contribution, and it reduces the corporation tax liability. And do more than £1000 if you can (I did £1500 FWIW, same situation).
This is significantly on my mind.
41 and well paid but savings aren't much and pensions are scrappy from too many job changes. Recent remortgage means a 25 year term to 65....
I don't want to be like my father and still working as he heads towards his 70th birthday, but neither will I be like my FIL who's on an amazing final salary pension and is continually surprised when I tell him these things don't exist any more.
So in the last few days I've set myself a retirement date of 61 (i.e. 20 years from now). I now need to (1) determine what my income expectations are (a lot lower than today!) (2) decide how best to achieve that (i.e. pension/investments/cash mix) (3) up the mortgage payments to significantly shorten the term.
Question is, where to start..!
My part-time working plan involves private tutoring for maths/science. I'm qualified as a primary teacher, but teach A-level physics, so could tutor maths from SATS up to GCSE easily enough. That'll easily keep me in beer money for a few hours a week.