Can anyone advise me?

Risinfromthegutter

I have been wanting to start a pension for a long time, but seriously cannot afford to.

My income and my expenditure generally just break even each month.

However, I have been thinking that by investing a small amount each month into a stakeholder pension, I could, perhaps, recoup the amount in Working tax credits.

Is this correct?

I earn 12600 per annum, my partner earns 3000 per annum (approx).

We receive 39 per week CTC and 25 per month WTC (though this appears to be reducing to 11 per month from 05/04/07!)

If I were to say, for example, put 10 per month into a stakeholder pension, are my tax credits subsequently likely to rise by the same amount?

I know this is a small amount but i would increase this substantially, as my salary is likely to triple in the next couple of years or so.

Any help would be hugely appreciated

chickencow

Not sure about the tax credits I'm afraid, but I think the minimum payment most insurance companies accept is £20pm

firesidemaid

are you sure you're not entitled to more benefits? that's not a large income if you have children. have you visited https://www.enititledto.co.uk to check?

Risinfromthegutter

I have checked entitledto.co.uk, I am in receipt of all the benefits I am entitled to, however the amounts I am receipt of differ somewhat from the amounts given on the entitledto.co.uk site, but HMRC claim that the amounts are right, ive tried contesting this but its like banging my head against a brick wall.

JoeK_3

I would suggest that you start saving into a cash ISA on a monthly basis. Visit your local Marks and Spencer store and ask them for a leaflet.

It is always advisable to have a cash reserve fund when planning for a rainy day and an instant cash ISA would help with this.

As your income improves you can start to put in maximums of £3,000 per annum and maybe after that, you can consider a personal pension plan.

JoeK