Idiots guide pension advice

Mimi09

I really do not have a clue about pensions, so any advice in 1 syllable format would really be appreciated!

I'm 39, have 3 small pensions;
2 years worth as a teacher (need to chase and get some info on this)
Aviva stakeholder £5k worth
Aviva stakeholder £4 worth
Both Avivas were whilst i worked in the iom, now back in UK,

I left my career in 2006, and am getting state pension credits as a carer to disabled child. I'm looking at starting up pension payments again but assume i won't be able to put into existing plans as they were IOM plans. Therefore thought I would start up another Aviva stakeholder, however I cant get an online quote as i don't work?? Is this right.

My questions are
1) should I try and put the existing Avivas into one pension?
2) Is it worth me starting up another pension at £50pm, or should I fill my ISAs?

The amounts are small and I don't think its worth paying a financial advisor.
Any advice would be greatfully recieved.

middlepuss

Hard to answer your questions but in general terms the more you save the greater your income in retirement will be.

I'd always go for a mix of ISAs and pensions, so if you have pensions perhaps now go for the ISA option.

atush

Not sure abt consolidating, might not be cost affective- check the charges.

You def need to make some sort of provision for retirement- do you expect to ever get back into work? How much in savings and investments do you have outside of a pension? Are you on any benefits? Do you have a spouse/partner and are they paying into a pension?

We don't really know enough abt your situation, so general advice is to make sure you have 6 months spending in cash (ISas if you pay tax, best rate and use form R85 if not) and pay into a pension of some sort. Saving into investments such as a S&S ISA is also a good idea but there are some times this isn't as wise (such as if you are or will go onto benefits) as they are taken into acct, and pensions are not. But they are more flexible as you have access to them any time you need.

gadgetmind

Mimi09 wrote: »

Therefore thought I would start up another Aviva stakeholder, however I cant get an online quote as i don't work?? Is this right.

What income do you have? If none, then the most you can contribute is £2880 pa (which HMG gross up to £3600) and you can start an Aviva stakeholder via Cavendish online.

Do you expect your retirement income to be entirely within your personal allowance? Pensions are a tax play so you need to look at tax now versus tax later.

Mimi09

Thanks for your replies;
I have £2800pa carers allowance
£1k in savings - it is a priority to build up our emergency fund
OH has a council pension plan
We are focusing on overpayments of the mortgage, have reduced the term to 7 years and should be mortgage free 2019 (I'll be 46). The idea is to then put the payments into savings approx £1k pm

I'm planning on putting £100pm into emergency fund pm
£50 ISA pm
£50 pension pm

Does this sound sensible?

middlepuss

Mimi09 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies;
I have £2800pa carers allowance
£1k in savings - it is a priority to build up our emergency fund
OH has a council pension plan
We are focusing on overpayments of the mortgage, have reduced the term to 7 years and should be mortgage free 2019 (I'll be 46). The idea is to then put the payments into savings approx £1k pm

I'm planning on putting £100pm into emergency fund pm
£50 ISA pm
£50 pension pm

Does this sound sensible?

If you don't pay income tax, and you will not pay income tax when you retire, then put £2880 into a pension plan each year. That nice Mr Osborne will chip in and your £2880 becomes £3600 in your pension pot. When you retire, assuming you will be under the income tax threshold, you won't pay tax on income from the £3600s-plus-investment-gains (hopefully) that have built up in your pension pot.

And do ISAs too when you have funds available. Money put into an ISA won't attract a sub from HMRC, but income from it will be tax free even if you are a taxpayer.

Within your pension pot and within your ISA, don't keep long term savings in cash, an index tracking unit trust or something similar should do a lot better than a cash account over the longer term. There is a risk of course, but with cash there's a risk (greater risk???) it gets eaten away by inflation.

atush

If you can find a low enopugh cost S&S ISA, 50 per month is fine. If your charges are going to 30 or higher, i;d look at an investment trust savings plan instead. WIth 50pm you would probably be looking at a stakeholder pension, but if you can find a cheap enough PP, you might get better access to a larger number of investment funds to choose from.

Yes, you must build up the emergency fund, so get your OH to contribute as well. If you put ity in an easy access ISA in his name it will be tax free.

middlepuss

It's quite easy to set up a SIPP pension on the Hargreaves Lansdown website and to set up a regular savings. Ditto ISAs. There might be better/cheaper providers - I don't know - but Hargreaves Lansdown's site is easy to use and their people are very helpful if you ring them up.

atush

the problem is, if someone wants an 'idiots guide' to pensions that kind of means they won't now where to invest their money? Which is why I don't rec a DIY/Sipp to such individuals.

But they can learn, afterall I was a scientist and didn't know much about money and investments and economics and I learned over the years.

So, the question is, do you want to learn? Or would you rather someone else do it? You can DIY with 'lifestyling' as an option. Wouldn't be my choice, but lots of people who dont want to or cant choose their investments go this route.

davidnaud

Hi i left tesco about 18 months ago i was paying into a pension with them what are my options with this have i just let them have a years worth of my pension what can i do any advice will be a help