28 years old, NHS Scotland worker pension advice please

dunstonh

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14920735

Pensions and ISAs dont make or lose money. Where you choose to invest does that. Most people place some of their money in the stockmarkets and stockmarkets go up and down (as well as providing a dividend income). The media fixates when the markets go down but dont report when the markets go up.

For example, this article was dated Sept 2011. Yet in October, you had the best month on the markets for 25 years.

Annuity rates tend to follow interest rates (consequences rather than explicitly). So, they have fallen back. But that doesnt make them any different to savings accounts which have also fallen back.

The other two articles are near copy and paste repeats of the first.

http://www.mindfulmoney.co.uk/9976/economic-impact/where-next-with-the-financial-crisis-pension-fund-default.html

A "what if Hitler won the war" style report on predicting doom and gloom scenarios. A crystal ball opinion.

The (valid) links indicate that the issues exist with all options. Nothing is going to be perfect. If you use cash savings, you are subject to inflation risk and shortfall risk and interest rate fluctuations. If you use stockmarket or other risk based assets you are subject to investment risk and get short term fluctuations in value which will see losses as well as gains. Whether you invest unwrapped, in an ISA or pension you will get the same (and it has always been the case).

So, again, I have to say that no horror stories. Just media playing short term negativity as doom and gloom sells.

doughuelas

dunstonh wrote: »

Pensions and ISAs dont make or lose money. Where you choose to invest does that. Most people place some of their money in the stockmarkets and stockmarkets go up and down (as well as providing a dividend income). The media fixates when the markets go down but dont report when the markets go up.

For example, this article was dated Sept 2011. Yet in October, you had the best month on the markets for 25 years.

Annuity rates tend to follow interest rates (consequences rather than explicitly). So, they have fallen back. But that doesnt make them any different to savings accounts which have also fallen back.

The other two articles are near copy and paste repeats of the first.



A "what if Hitler won the war" style report on predicting doom and gloom scenarios. A crystal ball opinion.

The (valid) links indicate that the issues exist with all options. Nothing is going to be perfect. If you use cash savings, you are subject to inflation risk and shortfall risk and interest rate fluctuations. If you use stockmarket or other risk based assets you are subject to investment risk and get short term fluctuations in value which will see losses as well as gains. Whether you invest unwrapped, in an ISA or pension you will get the same (and it has always been the case).

So, again, I have to say that no horror stories. Just media playing short term negativity as doom and gloom sells.

Many Thanks!

With full admittance of being extremely naive on this subject its really difficult to sift through the media articles and make any sort of decision

More reading beckons!

thanks again

jem16

doughuelas wrote: »

Many Thanks!

With full admittance of being extremely naive on this subject its really difficult to sift through the media articles and make any sort of decision

More reading beckons!

thanks again

What you have also to remember is that those articles don't apply to the NHS pension scheme as it's a defined benefit scheme.