totally flustered with numbers

corsadavid

i am currently paying into what i thought was a good pension scheme with my company, im currently 27 and only just started with paying into it 6 months ago..

currently £470 a month is being paid into it which works out at 20% of my monthly salary.. 6 % from me 14% from my employer and a £200 pension bonus in february...

my wife will recieve a final salary pension which is contributed as £120 a month less than i pay into mine...

i was assuming that i would recieve close to a final salary pension depending on the market of course with whats being paid in...

am i being nieve in thinking i will and is it worth it



thanks

margaretclare

If your employer is adding 14% to your 6%, totalling 20% of your monthly salary to be invested, then of course it's worth it! It's free money, isn't it? You'd be daft to chuck away 14% every month!

Andy_L

corsadavid wrote: »

i am currently paying into what i thought was a good pension scheme

it is.
(min length filler)

dunstonh

i was assuming that i would recieve close to a final salary pension depending on the market

That very much depends on your age, your chosen retirement age, and the investments you choose along with when you started.

am i being nieve in thinking i will and is it worth it

making assumptions on how much you are going to get would be silly. However, 14% from an employer is an excellent contribution and your 6% isnt really costing you 6%. Nothing will come close to matching what you are going to get out of that pension.

However, whether its enough is a different matter. At age 27 though, if you keep it up then you should do fine. "assuming" fine is what you are after

27col

Sounds like a good deal to me, stick with it.
I suspect that most people of your age think that they are never going to grow old, but it taint so. One day, in the not too distant future you will say to yourself. "where did the last 38 years go" I know that I did.. The sooner you start contributing to your pension the better retirement you can look forward to.
That is, if you can prevent Basher Brown taxing it off you, or some smarta*** financial wizard type losing it for you.

MikeJones_2

Hi corsadavid,

By the comments in your post, you've at least got your head screwed on and are inquisitive about your pension. Sadly, many people ignore pensions until it's too late. That's not a criticism of anyone - merely a personal observation.

I'd simply add to the above comments that it would really serve you well to go one step further and take some time out NOW and learn about WHAT your pension scheme is, HOW it works and WHAT choices you have. Go into detail and don't be frightened to ask your Pensions or HR Department or Scheme Administrators.

You can take as MUCH or as LITTLE interest in it after that - but if you don't learn about it now, you'll have no one to blame in the future if it fails to do what you THOUGHT it was going to.

One of the most common problems (and complaints) about pension provision (especially defined contribution schemes - a.k.a. 'money purchase schemes') is that they fail to match the scheme members' / policyholders' expectations.

However, it seldom is the fault of the person who advised or 'sold' the pension, or a product provider, or indeed the employer who provides access to a pension scheme. Indeed, if your employer is so responsible as to offer you 14% as an employer's pension contribution, that is the sign of an employer with a paternalistic attitude to employees.

If you want a list of things to consider enquiring about (to start with) post back.

Hope that helps.

Mike

I work in the field of Pension Education and Pension Guidance in the UK. I am a current member of the Specialist Pensions Forum as well as being a Voluntary Adviser for The Pensions Advisory Service. I work with scheme members, employers, trustees, scheme administrators and advisers on most things to do with employer sponsored pension schemes. The views expressed by me in this thread are my personal opinions. You should seek professional advice from an appropriately experienced and qualified adviser. I am not an IFA.