I retired at 50 do most folks want never want to retire ?

Bogof_Babe

bendix wrote: »

What is a company operated pension?

Thanks was accidental but no worries lol.

I mean a scheme where contributions are deducted from your pay all your working life, then you leave and they pay you a monthly income until you die. You never really need to understand it because it just happens.

Far too simplistic for you I know. It works though.

DD2_2

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

My frozen pension was a final salary one, and the company it was with has been taken over, then the taker-overs were taken over again, so I really have no idea where it is held now. The current owners of the company are overseas I believe (Heineken).

I thought pension providers were meant to send annual reports to their members, but I haven't heard anything for years. The reason I am a bit blase about it (sorry this machine won't type accents) is that for most of my working life it was a non-contributory perk, and only for the last ten years or so was I contributing. I am relying on my other capital assets and state pension to see me through old age. Anything I get from the work pension will be a bonus.

Here is a link to track down your old pension:

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/atoz/atozdetailed/pensiontracing.asp

Good luck.

bendix

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Thanks was accidental but no worries lol.

I mean a scheme where contributions are deducted from your pay all your working life, then you leave and they pay you a monthly income until you die. You never really need to understand it because it just happens.

Far too simplistic for you I know. It works though.

Perhaps, but I'm still not clear what sort of scheme you mean, based on your description. Do you mean a final salary pension scheme administered by your employer (or on their behalf by another company), or do you mean a personal pension money purchase scheme which might be organised by your employer, but is essentially yours and transferable from company to company.

There is a world of difference. And I'm not splitting hairs for the hell of it; it's an important point because it shows that vague descriptions and vague understandings of the most important financial decision of your life can - frankly - be disatrous and life-changing.

As dunstonh has said before, we pretend to be money savvy by searching for an extra 0.1% on our !!!!y little cash ISAs and think we're money saver geniuses, and then fail to understand the most basic features of our pensions provision arrangements.

Bogof_Babe

a final salary pension scheme administered by your employer

That's the one. I was lucky enough to start working for that company back in 1973 when such things were a lot more commonplace.

Actually on thinking about it I might have had paperwork through at the times when the company takeovers happened, but it is not my main obsession so will have been filed! I'll check that out before I panic.

I certainly haven't had anything about what it is worth now though.,

EdInvestor

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

I certainly haven't had anything about what it is worth now though.,

With f/s pensions there's no requirement to send you bumpf every year because you already know what you will get as it's based on your final salary when you left.The pension will be uprated by inflation or 5% to retirement so should keep its value.

debtfreein4years

marklv wrote: »

I don't think pensions should be a top priority at your age. By all means make your contributions, but unless you're earning big money already I would suggest focusing on saving up for a house deposit instead. If you already own a property you can consider yourself lucky.

defo agree that if you know you want to (and will be able to afford to) own your own property at some point concentrate more on saving for as large a deposit as you can whilst still paying the minimum you can into your pension. £10 a month is better than nothing and thats just a couple of drinks or magazines a month which wont be missed.

dazcouz

Hi, could someone give me some advice please. I am currently 22 nearing 23 and have not set up a pension scheme yet. I have savings of £25k which I have saved on my own up over the past 3 years at work. My main goal was to build up a decent deposit to go on a flat. But was wondering whether it would be a good idea to start a pension. There is no pension scheme at work and to be honest I don't see myself staying there too much longer due to the very poor pay (£15k) and failed promises. My plan for a while is train up to be a train driver as it has been my dream for a while. Train drivers earn £30K plus and have a good pension scheme I believe as well. Anyway what would you do in my shoes? Thanks

JCB2020

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Thanks was accidental but no worries lol.

You never really need to understand it because it just happens.

It is important that you understand the terms of your "Defined Benefit" scheme.
It can seriously affect how you live in retirement. For instance what proportion of salary will you receive. It may be a career earnings related scheme based on say your last 5 years salary. Suppose you are subject to long term illness. What about any dependant provision.

To simply leave it up the the pension scheme operator on the assumption that you will be OK when 65 comes round is short sighted to put it mildly!

Bogof_Babe

Thanks for your concern, but my pension was never going to be megabucks. When I finished work at nearly 51, after 29 years, I was only earning £15K a year, so any pension I get from work will be pin money rather than what I intend to live on.

I'm a lot more concerned about savings interest rates than I am about my paltry potential pension!

marklv

dazcouz wrote: »

Hi, could someone give me some advice please. I am currently 22 nearing 23 and have not set up a pension scheme yet. I have savings of £25k which I have saved on my own up over the past 3 years at work. My main goal was to build up a decent deposit to go on a flat. But was wondering whether it would be a good idea to start a pension. There is no pension scheme at work and to be honest I don't see myself staying there too much longer due to the very poor pay (£15k) and failed promises. My plan for a while is train up to be a train driver as it has been my dream for a while. Train drivers earn £30K plus and have a good pension scheme I believe as well. Anyway what would you do in my shoes? Thanks

You're very young. Forget about putting your money into a pension - this is not a top priority right now. Training to be a train or tube driver is an excellent career move, as you will always be well paid and almost certainly never out of work, as demand for trained drivers is likely to increase sharply in the foreseeable future. And yes, rail companies are some of the very few employers who still provide good pensions - and you also receive heavily discounted rail travel nationwide. Transport trade unions are very active in protecting member interests, so it's very unlikely that you will be exploited or bullied by your employers. Holidays are generous as well - tube drivers get 8 weeks! Not sure about train drivers.
I know for a fact that there are quite a few unemployed graduates who are becoming train or tube drivers and finding that the money is better than in so-called 'graduate jobs'!

Continue to save up for your flat/house deposit and concentrate on getting your career sorted. The pension can wait a while longer.