Pension Advice

pigsmightfly

Hi,

I am currently looking into setting up a pension. I currently don't have one and have never paid into one (my employers have never offered them so haven't been able to do one that way).

I am nearly 30 so thought its about time I started looking to the future. I am on maternity at the moment but may not be returning to work.

I have no idea about pensions and how they work etc. so any advice on where I should start, what would be best for my circumstances etc. would be very much appreciated.

Thanks x

atush

Well, if you are not working you are limited in what you can out in to 36oo per year (2800 before tax relief which you get from the gov).

Once you go back to work, you can put more in. Does your OH have a pension? If not they need to as well.

Do you have a cahs savings pool? Will it cover 6 months spending? If not , raise the cash savings too.

pigsmightfly

atush wrote: »

Well, if you are not working you are limited in what you can out in to 36oo per year (2800 before tax relief which you get from the gov).

Once you go back to work, you can put more in. Does your OH have a pension? If not they need to as well.

Do you have a cahs savings pool? Will it cover 6 months spending? If not , raise the cash savings too.

Thanks, any ideas where I can start to get one set up for now as I may not be returning to work for a couple of years yet.

OH had one through his previous employer but isn't contributing to one at the moment so we are both starting to look now.

Very low savings as well I'm afraid as I've been working very hard at paying my debt off.

sleepless_saver

You could have a look at this basic guide for starters, especially the bits on stakeholder and personal pensions.

But in your position, I'd be paying off any outstanding debt and putting a bit aside for emergencies before starting a pension.

pigsmightfly

sleepless_saver wrote: »

You could have a look at this basic guide for starters, especially the bits on stakeholder and personal pensions.

But in your position, I'd be paying off any outstanding debt and putting a bit aside for emergencies before starting a pension.

Thanks will take a look

atush

I agree, with debts you need to sort them out pronto. and consider part time work after maternity leave as you can't really afford to stop work for a few years if you are carrying debt around.

Try the debt free board where you post an SOA and they will help you trim your spends so you get get debt free fast. Then proceed on the pension front and increase savings.

pigsmightfly

atush wrote: »

I agree, with debts you need to sort them out pronto. and consider part time work after maternity leave as you can't really afford to stop work for a few years if you are carrying debt around.

Try the debt free board where you post an SOA and they will help you trim your spends so you get get debt free fast. Then proceed on the pension front and increase savings.

Thanks, I agree too. I am nearly sorted with my debts now that's why I've started looking into pensions etc.

Re going back to work it wouldn't be of any benefit as the amount I would be charged for childcare is actually more that what I would earn :eek: We are better off me looking after the baby and my partner working full time at the moment.

pigsmightfly

Hi guys,

This may seem like a really stupid question to some of you but I really have no idea on pensions as I've never looked into them before so don't judge (:)) but do normal banks such as Halifax etc. do pensions or is it normally separate companies?

Any good recommendations to get me started?

Thanks

atush

Your bank will have an advisor who could hook you up with one, but it is the worst way to go about it as they are not independant.

For a stakeholder you could go direct to a company such as AVIVA, thru a platform like Cavendish online, or for a larger pension an independant finactial advisor- you can find one on unbiased.co.uk.

The best pension to get when you go back to work is an employer's pension where they contribute money as well as you. But you can keep your pp or stakeholder going too ;-)

But in the meantime. after paying your debts off, build up a min of 3 months salary/spending in a Cash isa or other instant access acct (but 6 or 12 months is better).

As you know only too well, if you need something and have to buy it on credit, the interest charges will be high and you end up paying twice over for the goods. So having emergency cash to go to when the boiler breaks down, the car craps out or your OH is made redeundant will help keep you out of debt.

dunstonh

but do normal banks such as Halifax etc. do pensions or is it normally separate companies?

Banks do them but they are generally the worst place to buy.

https://www.unbiased.co.uk gives you the database of IFAs and they will be better than your bank.

pigsmightfly

atush wrote: »

Your bank will have an advisor who could hook you up with one, but it is the worst way to go about it as they are not independant.

For a stakeholder you could go direct to a company such as AVIVA, thru a platform like Cavendish online, or for a larger pension an independant finactial advisor- you can find one on unbiased.co.uk.

The best pension to get when you go back to work is an employer's pension where they contribute money as well as you. But you can keep your pp or stakeholder going too ;-)

But in the meantime. after paying your debts off, build up a min of 3 months salary/spending in a Cash isa or other instant access acct (but 6 or 12 months is better).

As you know only too well, if you need something and have to buy it on credit, the interest charges will be high and you end up paying twice over for the goods. So having emergency cash to go to when the boiler breaks down, the car craps out or your OH is made redeundant will help keep you out of debt.

Thanks atush