31 Should I be thinking about my pension?

rfowler

Am 31 and in full time employment the last 7 years, should be I be thinking about my pension?

We have one at work (I have been working here 5 years now) where we pay nothing into but employers pay in 7-9%.

should be I be thinking about my pension? My wife is working full time too but she is thinking of giving up work and being a full time house wife.

Lokolo

What do you mean 7-9%? Usually it would be fixed. Will the company pay more in if you pay in some? (so will they match extra contribution)

Theres a nice calculator here to work out what you need to pay in approx, to get an amount when you retire:

http://www.h-l.co.uk/pensions/interactive-calculators/pension-calculator

slyracoon

Yes you should be thinking about it and probably should have started paying into one by now.

I started paying into my pension when I was 16.

edinburgher

What do you mean 7-9%? Usually it would be fixed. Will the company pay more in if you pay in some? (so will they match extra contribution)

Good point - personally I'd only pay in enough to get any match from the employer and the rest can be invested in a S&S ISA where you have an awful lot more control and flexibility over what happens with it. That said, this assumes that a) you have the patience not to spend any money earmarked for the ISA and b) you're comfortable managing your own investments (or can find an IFA who you trust to do so).

I started paying into my pension when I was 16.

That makes my 22 look positively foolish

rfowler

Should i pay into my work pension or shall I put it into a private pension fund?

JasX

At 31 you've already left it somewhat late, I think the analogy often quoted is Person A starts aged 20, puts away £200 per month until age 30, then stops putting anything into their pension at all until retirement at age 65. Conversly Person B doesn't bother with a pension until age 30 then puts in £200 per month for the next 35 years until they retire age 65, guess who has the bigger pension -> Person A! (actually they are roughly equal but person A just nudges ahead -check for yourself on the calculator link).

Usually best to stick with your employer pension scheme JOIN IT from day 1 and put in the maximum you can to claw the maximum you can in employer contributions.

Standalone/personal ones are almost always pretty poor compared to employer ones due to high fees and no employer contributions but check on the detail of your employer's scheme, what ways can you put more money into it, how is it invested and what fees are there? compare that to the other options (personal pension, SIPP, ISA etc).

dunstonh

Am 31 and in full time employment the last 7 years, should be I be thinking about my pension?

You are only 7 years too late but better late than never. Its a shame you didnt start 7 years ago as you will effectively have to pay double per month now to make up for that delay.

There is a guide saying that says you should aim to have £35k in your pension by age 35. That will be hard for you to do but its still not terminal.

We have one at work (I have been working here 5 years now) where we pay nothing into but employers pay in 7-9%.

So, for the last 5 years you have turned down free money?

should be I be thinking about my pension? My wife is working full time too but she is thinking of giving up work and being a full time house wife.

Basic state pension is £5000 a year. Do you fancy just that?

Should i pay into my work pension or shall I put it into a private pension fund?

Nothing will beat free money.

andy208833

Lokolo wrote: »

What do you mean 7-9%? Usually it would be fixed. Will the company pay more in if you pay in some? (so will they match extra contribution)

Theres a nice calculator here to work out what you need to pay in approx, to get an amount when you retire:

http://www.h-l.co.uk/pensions/interactive-calculators/pension-calculator

:eek::eek:blimey just looked at this, bit of a wake up call!! Luckily i have a pension already but if i want a decent income need to sort my life out and start a new one.

saverjustice

What do you mean by 'free money' dunstonh?

Tammer

saverjustice wrote: »

What do you mean by 'free money' dunstonh?

Dunstonh's talking about the 7 to 9 % of salary that the employer was willing to pay into a pension for rfowler if he'd joined their pension scheme.

The OP doesn't actually say whether he joined the employer's pension scheme or not. If he didn't have to pay anything, why would he not have joined?

saverjustice

No he didn't say that did he?