27 and don't have a pension - advise please?

leni

I need a pension, I'm female, 27 and don't have one!

Never took out my employers one as when I joined in 2002, I was 21 and on a 6 month contract - So didn't think it was worth it. My job has been extended each year with 6 months/1 year contracts and I'm currently in contract until March 2009 and then it's a gamble again (I work for charity and have to secure funding from grants or commissions).

Is it worth me getting a private pension or going for the work one (6% my contribution, 4% them).

Who should I go to for advice? My partner has a good work pension and my family have pensions other than the state one so not sure what to do:o

Thanks in advice for any help!

ruggedtoast

What kind of pension is it? If you have 4% employer contributions i'd go for that anyway.

EdInvestor

Yep, always go for the free money.

leni

even if my contract ends in 12 months?

EdInvestor

leni wrote: »

even if my contract ends in 12 months?

Perhaps you should learn from history.

msmicawber

Well, as someone who is 20+ years older than you and has paid into a pension for nearly 30 years with the prospect of having virtually nothing to live on when/if I retire, I'm not sure it's something to worry about just now. I would recommend looking for other ways to save and look after yourself in the future. Could you take advantage of the fact that property's relatively 'cheap' at the moment and buy a flat so that you have somewhere to live, then save when the situation is more settled?

JayZed

Who cares if your contract ends in 12 months? That's still a year's worth of free money - take it!

In any case, I wouldn't count on being able to rely on the state pension in 40 years' time...

Trayn123

I'd be inclined to agree with msmicawber on this one leni.

There are lots of other things to have money tucked away in. They don't necessarily have to be called a pension. First thing is to make sure you've taken out a full ISA allowance for this year. If you've maxed out your mini cash amount at £3,600 then I'd say the next thing to consider would be to make this into a stock market linked investment. I know this may seem like a crazy idea given the current climate, but you are a mid-twenty year old looking way off into the future, so the stock market should be a safe bet (ish, maybe, fingers crossed he thinks).

The pension that your employer offers would look a lot more attractive if they took your money out of your pay packet before calculating the tax (rather than after). It would look even more attractive again if you happened to be a higher rate tax payer.

Does that help young lady?

CLAPTON

so you pay 6%.. the tax man gives you 20% back .. so you only actually pay 4.8% and your emplyer adds another 4% .. so you pay 4.8% for the benefit of 10% ... a pretty good deal

at worst you leave... well ok you can transfer the pension to your next job or to a personal pension or leave it there

dunstonh

The free money from the employer beats everything else. You would be a fool not to join it.

10% contribution at your age is enough to see you with a comfortable retirement.

ruggedtoast

Bearing in mind that we'll all be bartering cans of beans soon anyway.