How much should i have at 55?

ManAtHome

james3333 wrote: »

yeh, saw it........i put in £120 and theyput in £120.... so i think/thought that was good!

It is good - if you took the £120 as salary to invest in gold/property/unicorns, you'd have less than £83 after (standard rate) tax and NI.

james3333

ManAtHome wrote: »

It is good - if you took the £120 as salary to invest in gold/property/unicorns, you'd have less than £83 after (standard rate) tax and NI.

thanks for the info peeps, food for thought...... at least i know there will be SOMETHING there for when i retire unlike some/majority of 'young' people......:money:

atush

Try to save outside your pension as well. This money can be spent whenever you want, but will be there when you retire if you can hold back spending it all ;-)

That is the best way to avoid debt, by saving for things before they occur/you buy them. From holidays to cars to house deposits, christmas, life - whatever. If you pay tax, shelter all you can in ISAs.

james3333

atush wrote: »

Try to save outside your pension as well. This money can be spent whenever you want, but will be there when you retire if you can hold back spending it all ;-)

That is the best way to avoid debt, by saving for things before they occur/you buy them. From holidays to cars to house deposits, christmas, life - whatever. If you pay tax, shelter all you can in ISAs.

yeh, iam doing this too, got 8k in isa (no debts, except mortgage!)

bendix

You've done the right thing to date, and you're on track. Don't be put off by small numbers now - you have decades to go before retirement and time is your friend.

However, you also need to avoid complacency. This is a serious subject, and it worries me that you might just relax and think it's all ok based on the number of supportive messages you have received.

You MUST increase your contributions annually. At the moment you put in 4.5% yourself (ignoring your employers contribution). A sound strategy is to increase it annually, so that when you are 33 you could increase it to 5% or 6%. Do the same every year. By the time you are 45, you should be contributing at least 20-25% of your income to your pension, either directly into the pension or by way of other savings.

Take this seriously!

Moby

Sage advice but........... all based on the assumption that you'll have a job over the next 30 years. There lies the rub!

mania112

Moby wrote: »

Sage advice but........... all based on the assumption that you'll have a job over the next 30 years. There lies the rub!

I think we all have to assume we will continue to work until retirement.

There's no way to factor that circumstance into a calculation.

Anyway, to the OP - you're doing great by having as much in a pension as you do. I've got no proof, but i'd guess you're probably in the top 1% of pension pot sizes at your age, today.

keep up the good work!

atush

Well there is one thing to factor in about having a job or not long term.

If you lose it, pensions are safe and not taken into acct of you have to receive benefits for a time. But ISAs and other non pension wrapped investments ARE taken into acct. But many feel more comfortable (and will be more comfortable) living on their own savings for a time rather than benefits.

de1amo

İm still wondering where the '55' comes from?--the state pension which is being added into the ball park figure wont start til the Op's late 60s so 55 would be unrealistic?

atush

The presumption is, you have enough savings outside the pension and any mtg is paid off, so that they can retire before their SP kicks in.