My DMP Journey...

Monkeyballs

Sunday 16/11/14;

Plans for my future set in motion... Today I increased the %age I pay into my company pension scheme

I'm now paying 10% which is obviously dependent upon my gross earnings but means in a normal month my contributions will be £220 pcm before tax while the actual cost to me (deductions to my take home) are about £140 (I think) but it also means I get the maximum employer top up of 12.5% which is about £250

My thinking is that while it is a wedge, it means I'm paying £470 into my pension each month for a cost to me of just £140 and that seems a good deal really...

Also, I checked out my current pension pot and it stands at a whopping £17,348! No idea how LOL I've certainly put that much in there in the last 8 years so I assume it's mostly employer contributions and interest Roll on retirement when I can take a cut of my savings and buy a nice little hole in Spain somewhere LOL

MB

Mara_uk7

Im ashamed to say Ive totally lost track of my pension pots, firstly my NHS one from when i was nursing, then 15 years worth of civil service, and latterly my personal one that I had to take a break on when finances got tricky ... Its on my to do list to catch up on in the New Year !
Shouldnt be too bad tho, I hear the cost of living is easier in Spain !

in_need_of_direction

And thanks to April announcements, you can get the cash and don't have to buy an annuity.

Monkeyballs

Monday 17/11/14;

Ha ha ha haaaaa... I knew it was going to happen, I must be psychic! No ESA payment into my account today.

So another call, further delays, etc. I really hope I get to speak to someone sensible again this time like last time (but I'll refrain from holding my breath).

Does this happen to everyone? Is it just me? Am I being to critical? This is the third (or fourth?) time that my new certificate "hasn't been received in good time" and has caused a delay although I admit that once it's in place the payments arrive in good time (so presumably it's human error).

I can't wait until I don't have to deal with them again... Please God make it so I don't have to deal with them again...

MB

Monkeyballs

Mara_uk7 wrote: »

Im ashamed to say Ive totally lost track of my pension pots, firstly my NHS one from when i was nursing, then 15 years worth of civil service, and latterly my personal one that I had to take a break on when finances got tricky ... Its on my to do list to catch up on in the New Year !
Shouldnt be too bad tho, I hear the cost of living is easier in Spain !

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

And thanks to April announcements, you can get the cash and don't have to buy an annuity.

Hola amigos

All this talk of moving to Spain has motivated me to start looking into language classes in my home town I'm not entirely joking about moving to Spain (time and finances will tell) so as I hope to retire in about 27 years I have plenty of time to learn El Lingo!

INoD, yeah I wonder if the ability to get at all the cash saved and not have to buy an annuity will still be in place when I retire of it will have ruined too many peoples lives by then? In todays consumer driven world I sort of foresee people taking all their life savings in one lump, doing something stupid and then suffering (and complaining about it) further down the line... Personally, if I retired with a large enough pot of money I'd rather take enough to buy a property and then live off the rest, what would be best is yet to be decided (and a long way off) but I aim to be a damn sight more savvy than I have been to this point! LOL

MB x

in_need_of_direction

I was just totally resentful of having to pay a management fee while investing in a pension pot and then another to be able to use it.

Monkeyballs

Ok... So, I have called JC+ and spoke to a very nice, very apologetic lady who has confirmed that this medical certificate hasn't arrived either (what, are they EATING them?) but she has booked me an appointment to see someone at my nearest branch where they will scan across a copy of my certificate and arrange a same day payment...

Now I just need to actually be able to speak to someone at my GP surgery to request a copy but I'm now on my 19th attempt to call and I keep getting "all lines are busy, please try again later" which is frustrating since my GP merged with another "larger" surgery at the start of the month with the promise of improvements but I know I'd have got through to someone at the old surgery by now...

Edit; I got excited for a moment as I got an answer phone message... It said to cancel an appointment press 1. to request a repeat prescription press 2. Huh??? So I went with 2 and was asked to leave my name, address and what I need and to allow 2 days to collect???? HUH??? LOL Now I've tried again but never pressed either and am in a queue...

MB

Monkeyballs

Yeahhh... Really unimpressed now...

I have managed to speak to someone on reception who has explained that all though I'm phoning a local number she doesn't actually work at my GP but she can arrange for a print out to be done today but then she told me that I have to wait for 2 days to get it signed??? !!!!!!???

So, I then asked why it would take so long since in the past I'd picked it up within a few hours only to be laughed at down the phone and told that that won't be happening again!!!??? I explained I have a JC+ appointment in about 3 hours and why only for her to turn snotty and tell me that the GP's have better things to do with their time EVEN THOUGH none of them have arrived yet and must be walking past reception since she said she will try to grab one as they come in and go past.... Grrrr... Some improvement there, thanks for the help! God help me when I actually need an appointment :mad:

MB

Monkeyballs

Hang on, reading it back now it doesn't make sense? If she isn't at my GP how will she get one to sign it when they walk past??? Please don't let her be lying...

MB

Monkeyballs

I'm such a little ray of sunshine right now...

Went to my GP to pick up the reprinted certificate but needed to take a taxi - £4.80. Then I walked around the corner to the Jobcentre, checked the time and I was about 15 minutes early so I hovered around and went in (still a few minutes early) only to be told that there might be a 5 minute delay

The (admittedly, actually very nice) lady asked me to take a seat and when I explained my problem said that I didn't have to wait and she would get the certificate scanned straight away and I could go... LOL I think she may have taken pity on me since I was on one knee and holding the hand rail by the door mind you...

Now I'm home (another taxi - £5.20) and the first thing my Mum says to me (well, second after "get up off the floor") is go make a cuppa tea and slip for the paper

I'll go later (she's not happy) because I need drugs, a lie down and sympathy LOL gimmie an hour and I'll be ok hopefully

MB