Is it worth me having a pension?

nedster636

Hi
I am thinking about starting a private pension but can only afford to pay in about £50 per month at the moment. I am hoping this will go up but at the moment and for the coming year I cant see it changing much.
I am self employed but only earn about £200 per month profit. It is part time. I am 30 and dont have any other pensions or savings for the future.
My husband will be qualifying as a teacher soon and took a career break to go to uni so we have a reasonable family income.
We own our own house outright and it is currently worth about 160k.
I dont really want to pay into a pension unless it is going to be worth doing, is it worth just saving the money into an account instead?
I know I am not talking about much money but even a couple of hundred a month when I am old will make a difference to us.

Thank you to anyone that might reply - I havent really got anyone to ask about this sort of thing!!!!

atush

Generally having a pension is worthwhile, but you really need to invest more to make it worth it in the long run.

If you should save into a pension or elsewhere right now will depend on if you have other savings, esp 6 months spending in cash and make use of your annual ISA allowances.

dunstonh

I am thinking about starting a private pension but can only afford to pay in about £50 per month at the moment. I am hoping this will go up but at the moment and for the coming year I cant see it changing much.
I am self employed but only earn about £200 per month profit. It is part time. I am 30 and dont have any other pensions or savings for the future.

Couple of worrying things there.

1 - you are self employed. That means you get less state pension than an employed person.
2 - you are 30 and not paying into a pension. That makes you a late starter and you need to catch up
3 - you can only afford £50 which isnt going to help you much. Better than nothing but it is not really taking it seriously.

My husband will be qualifying as a teacher soon and took a career break to go to uni so we have a reasonable family income.

Perhaps your husband can help fund your retirement planning. After all, he is going to benefit from it as well.

I dont really want to pay into a pension unless it is going to be worth doing, is it worth just saving the money into an account instead?

A pension will be better than a savings account but the problem is that its still £50. Any option is only as good as what you pay into it.