Self Employed

tsmiggy

I am Self Employed aged 56,and will be relying totally on the state pension.I am not in a position to invest from my current earnings,as like a lot i am suffering with the recession.

The only exception to this is,that i have £11000 sitting in a ISA paying 2.5%.Am i making the correct use of this money or would i be far better doing something else with it,to provide a better income when i retire.

cheers

dunstonh

I am Self Employed aged 56,and will be relying totally on the state pension

Are you aware that as you are self employed you do not get the full state pensions? You only get the basic state pension. That is currently £5000 a year. If you have had periods of employment in your life you may get a bit more than that. You should get a pension forecast to check this.

Am i making the correct use of this money or would i be far better doing something else with it,to provide a better income when i retire.

To be honest, and brutally frank, there is nothing you can really do now to help yourself. Yes you can get a better rate of return but in the scheme of things it isnt going to make a great deal of difference.

scoobydo_2

I too am a self employed woman I pay class 2 contributions and have a small £30 a month pension I am43 at the moment and a lone parent but am very worried as to how I'll live once I retire . Any advice welcomed

EdInvestor

tsmiggy wrote: »

I am Self Employed aged 56,and will be relying totally on the state pension.I am not in a position to invest from my current earnings,as like a lot i am suffering with the recession.

The only exception to this is,that i have £11000 sitting in a ISA paying 2.5%.Am i making the correct use of this money or would i be far better doing something else with it,to provide a better income when i retire.

cheers

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/StatePensionforecast/DG_10014008


Get a state pension forecast above.

I would then start to study the ins and outs of the pensions/benefits system so you understand how they work abd interact with each other.

Many other aspects may be important, eg do you own your own home?

tsmiggy

Thanks for the replies,i have previously had a pension forecast,and in total its £108.75 a week.In reply to the other question,yes i do own my own house,and luckily i am mortgage free.

Depending what i can do with the £11000,i was hoping to put that towards my retirement,in one way or another.Of course i am well aware that it will not earn me at great amount as it stands.

cheers

EdInvestor

It would appear you may be able to improve your position in due course by down sizing/ equity release,takinga lodger, which hopefully might push you above pension credit level. The £11k won't make much real difference - useful as an emergency fund and to cover those things that people always need in retirement ( new boiler, replacement car, unexpected child demands etc...)