Pensions Planning: The NUMBER

PJM_62

Can I recommend the Meaningful Money website/podcast/videos .

I got all my pension knowledge from there.

Pete explains it all so clearly.

handful

PJM_62 said:

Can I recommend the Meaningful Money website/podcast/videos .

I got all my pension knowledge from there.

Pete explains it all so clearly.

Hmm, I don't doubt your recommendation but the advisor there shares your initials. Are you him by any chance?!

MeteredOut

Not sure I'd trust any financial advice from someone who spams their own company to forums (although the middle name of that podcast person is Benedict, not something starting with a J so might just be a coincidence)

najan49

handful said:

PJM_62 said:

Can I recommend the Meaningful Money website/podcast/videos .

I got all my pension knowledge from there.

Pete explains it all so clearly.

Hmm, I don't doubt your recommendation but the advisor there shares your initials. Are you him by any chance?!

No he doesn’t, that would be PBM.

ader42

The Meaningful Money channel on YouTube is worth watching.
As is James Shack.

handful

najan49 said:

handful said:

PJM_62 said:

Can I recommend the Meaningful Money website/podcast/videos .

I got all my pension knowledge from there.

Pete explains it all so clearly.

Hmm, I don't doubt your recommendation but the advisor there shares your initials. Are you him by any chance?!

No he doesn’t, that would be PBM.

I didn't go as far as researching middle names!

MeteredOut

handful said:

najan49 said:

handful said:

PJM_62 said:

Can I recommend the Meaningful Money website/podcast/videos .

I got all my pension knowledge from there.

Pete explains it all so clearly.

Hmm, I don't doubt your recommendation but the advisor there shares your initials. Are you him by any chance?!

No he doesn’t, that would be PBM.

I didn't go as far as researching middle names!

Took less than 2 minutes thanks to google and companies house.

PJM_62

Such a suspicious lot you are . 😀
Fair observation I guess.
No I'm not him. Just a fan. I learned loads from his site and recommended it to all friends and family that ask me for personal finance advice.

Check my previous on here to see me asking about my university workplace pension.

MarriedWithKids89

ader42 said:

The Meaningful Money channel on YouTube is worth watching.
As is James Shack.

I concur. I also use CFIRESIM.COM as a guide to work out if/when I might be able to afford to retire. 

Phossy

Approaching 58, Self-employed with a deferred final salary from a previous role that has a retirement age of 62 linked to it. Wife, also approaching 58, has a small deferred final salary from her teaching career that she can take at 60.With the kids due to be gone in 1 to 2 years (fingers crossed!), my mind has moved to retirement. I have played around with lots of numbers, read lots of posts and I am slowly getting to a target. What I have learned is that I will need to retire before we really know what we need and in reality we will adjust to whatever the situation is, as we have done all through our lives to date. However, as I have taken so much from reading posts on this forum, I will leave my perspective.

Little number first - £ 1542/ month  or £ 18504/ year (after tax - all the numbers I present will be after tax)

This compares well with the minimum presented on the retirement living standards website (sorry I can't post links)

Now it gets more complex. I have considered our retirement needs from two points of view - income post-67 and income pre-67. The Income pre-67 I have set at two levels - I will take the maximum lump sum available to me and use this to bridge the gap from our deferred work pensions to a 'moderate' £ 2883/ mth and a nominally more comfortable £ 4000/ mth (to sort of match the post-67 income I expect). The lump sum will be invested; for the data below it assume a 4% net growth (I have looked at smaller numbers too). The lump-sum is abviously larger the later I take it.

Setting the scene on what our income is likely to be post -67 (from mine and my wife's work pensions and 2 state pensions)



Using the lump sum to bridge to age 67, investing the lump sum with a 4% growth and then withdrawing sufficient to maintain either a monthly spend of £2883 or £4000, the graph shows how much lump sum would remain at 67, should I retire at a range of ages. 



This  'band' of incomes and lump sums paints a better picture for me to make some decisions on. My current view (which fluctuates more than the numbers) is that:

- If my contracts dry-up, I'll likely retire now rather than seek new opportunities.
- 60 seems a sweet spot (and gives flexibility if growth rates are lower) financially and also aligning with the kids moving. So my current aim is be to draw my pension at that point, though possibly stop working some time prior to then (likely 6 months before).

There has been a lot of sums involved in this, but going through the process has helped me refine my thinking. The aim had been to give me some peace of mind. At some level it has done that, however, until I make the decision I think I will always be fretting (even though I know we are in a fortunate position).

Hope this has been of interest and hopefully some use.