please help complete ignoramous!!!!

pavlovs_dog

evening all

hope you can help me with this one

i've just been invited to join the work's pension scheme, and i dont know what to do. im a student, and although the job is my main source of income, it is only a part time job. i forsee me working there for the remaining three years of my degree, but per annum, i am only realistically taking home between 5-8000.

in many ways, i feel too young to start thinking about pensions etc, but with everything you hear in the paper about how pension scheme are going to pot, population is ageing etc it makes you think.....


...only i still dont know what the answer is!!!!


can you help me make sense of what i should do?

(forgot to say, i can choose to contribute btwn 3-5%, and the company will contribute double whatever rate i pay)

gustav

If the company is matching it then take it. Its free money after all. Go for 3%. You'll barely notice it missing from your pay (couple of pints worth), but will be glad of it later.

dunstonh

You dont say your age but £30pm at age 18 (increased annually with inflation) would provide around £10k income in retirement in real terms. To start at age 25 and get the same would cost around £70pm. To start at age 30 would cost you around £150pm.

You are going to hit hurdles throughout your life which you could easily use as excuses why you shouldnt pay into pension. It would follow this process:

I'm too young
I am buying a house
I am starting a family
Children going to university
Oh dear, I'm 50 and it's too late and i need to put in over £1000 a month to get what would have costs £30pm at age 18.