35 no pension.

Lokolo

Can't really give more info because it will depend on the individual and which provider they tend to go with (as there are a lot of pension providers out there).

All I'd do is make sure you have questions to ask, make sure you know how much you can afford to put in, how much will they charge etc.

- on a side note, have you got a budget? or in any debt?

pKaTz

no mortgage. no debts. cc's paid in full each month.

MacsReturns

pKaTz wrote: »

Now that you say that ISAa are seen as capital, I can see why a pension would be a better option.

The other side of that particular coin, though, is that pension income when you draw it, is taxable, ISA interest is not. It's a choice of when you have your tax relief, not whether

Personally, I'd rather stash my pot somewhere I can access it and make my own decisions, not have it out of reach until some far off day in the future. Realistically, retirement age is so far in the future the one thing you can guarantee is that what is in force today will almost certainly be different - state pension, S2P, pension credits, any other benefits... which of these will still be around? No-one knows - there could be six changes of government (and therefore economic and social policy) in that period.

You could do worse than an S&S ISA, but I'm not an IFA just an opinionated saver Good luck with whatever you decide.

jamesd

pKaTz, ISAs being seen as capital only matters if you end up on means tested benefits before retirement. Meanwhile, the money in them can be used to support you so you don't end up on benefits for a while. You can look on it as not getting benefits or as preventing yourself from being so badly off that you need benefits.

What you might usefully do is enough for any work pension to get employer matching but then S&S ISA investing for any more money that's available. This can then be part of your emergency fund and you can try to accumulate enough to live on for a few years, over time. Maybe not live on well, but just enough to pay the critical bills and expenses, nothing more.

As time goes on, this will gradually increase your ability to survive short periods of unemployment, beyond the six months that you'll get contribution-based JSA for or paying for things that the low JSA income just isn't sufficient for. Contributions-based isn't affected by savings.

For means-tested JSA, savings of up to £6,000 won't affect how much you get. Above that you'll be treated as having £1 of income for every £250 of savings and you can't get it if you have more than £16,000 in savings. Other benefits may vary.

So for you, at least the first £6,000 can get you some extra safety margin if you're out of work, without affecting JSA. That's a fair bit of money to have in reserve when you're already used to living on a low income.

C_Mababejive

Only read the first page but am in broad agreement with Bristol pilot.

You simply dont earn enough to be able to save enough for a decent pension.

I am not a great supporter of state spongers but leaving that aside, and from a purely selfish point of view, if i were in your position,i would do my own saving in hidden assets so that when you finish work,you can get your basic state pension plus all the bolt ons such as council tax benefit/housing benefit etc.

I am not professing any great expertise and no doubt i will be berated but it seems to me that modern pension investment vehicles are heavily exposed to the stock market. Look what that did to things like endowment linked mortgages and annuities. you could easily find yourself denying yourself for decades to invest in this mythical golden retirement and then when you get there,find that a chunk of it has evaporated. A am fortunate to have a FSPS but the powers that be are even plotting to steal those from those who have invested in them...and why? Because when times are good,they love the profits but when times are poor..they wont take the losses and prefer to offhand them to investors.

Even Mr Cameron is trying to rob FSPS members and the industry is spreading this myth that FSPS are a thing of the past. Why? They worked for decades so why cannot they continue to work??

Answer..becuase the modern day Robin Hoods to manipulate the system want to steal from ordinary people to prop up a failing industry.

Man is born free and all around,he is in chains.

puddy

but surely if the op starts paying a small amount now (whether thats in isas or a pension) when his income goes up, he adds a bit more, his wifes income may go up etc etc, surely thats better than nothing

im in sort of the same boat. i have debts which will finish next may. I will then have the money for those to pay into a pension or regular isa payments. i only have a very small LA pension (about 2k pa), state pension and one isa of 3600. so next may i want to pay in 300pm to someting, im not bothered what but i need to get paying into something. im 39 and have little time left, but hope that when the mortgage is paid off when im 50, i can pay that (560) into the pot each month too

im inclining toward isas, as i dont want an annuity. I will be seeing an ifa early next year on dunstonh's advice to see what is right for me.

dunstonh

The OP said he was working and earning £12k but he also said his partner was working. No mention of what she was earning.

So, there is a second income.

If they both get even just the basic state pension each, they will be above the threshold for pension credits. The OP is still young enough for a contribution to make a difference. We don't know the spending habits and don't know the affordability. In Norfolk, we have a lot of low earners (the county has one of the lowest average wages in the country). You find many are very careful with their money because that is how they were brought up to be.

Lokolo

dunstonh wrote: »

The OP said he was working and earning £12k but he also said his partner was working. No mention of what she was earning.

So, there is a second income.

If they both get even just the basic state pension each, they will be above the threshold for pension credits. The OP is still young enough for a contribution to make a difference. We don't know the spending habits and don't know the affordability. In Norfolk, we have a lot of low earners (the county has one of the lowest average wages in the country). You find many are very careful with their money because that is how they were brought up to be.

I think she is earning about the same as it says in the first post.

dunstonh

Lokolo wrote: »

I think she is earning about the same as it says in the first post.

so it does. LOL.

So, thats approx £24k going into the house. £24k doesnt mean you cant afford things. It will depend on the lifestyle (so that bit in my post doesnt change!)

pKaTz

Many thanks for your words of wisdom.

Yes My wife and I earn about the same, £12,000.
I have cash ISAs of about £11100, and my wife has £3600.
We try and save £100 each month into my sons CTF, and also £100 through 2 reg. savers also for my son. (so effectively £300 for son).

We don't spend on extravagances, and can probably afford about £200 for my pension each month.

I may be inclined towards some kind of S&S tracking type, as I don't want a lot of risk - and want some surety that there will be growth.

I am working towards maxing out my wifes ISA this year, as I have done mine already.

I am seeing a chartered IFA on monday, and am working through the Q's that I should be asking him. I am not sure as to whether he is chartered or not means that his fee's will be higher. But will see.

I do see that my income can go up. and hopefully to around £16k, but I thing that is seen as low too.

But I think after a good long session with an IFA I will be sorted.
I may just get some advise and go with someone like cavendish- is that a good thing.

Just One thing.
Over on the savings forum, there are people with 3 "TSB Vantage accounts" and they must have Maxed their ISAs,. Why dont they put their money into a pension instead - or are they mainly retired people who want to maintain some liquidity with their money rather than locking it away in a pension.