Paying into two pensions - Possible? Stupid?

savingcyclist

Afternoon folks,

I'm hoping that this isn't too stupid a question but I've been searching and not come up with anything that has helped so far.

Can I opt into my employers workplace pension (either automatically or voluntarily), to take advantage of their minimum contribution, whilst also paying the bulk of what I feel I should be putting away into a private pension (e.g. SIPP or otherwise)?

I'm 27 and was aiming to sacrifice 15% of my salary overall - as per the 'half age rule' - employer offering £5/week or minimum AFAIK - not sure how this will work.

Thanks in advance.

Linton

Yes you can. For your personal pension you pay in the net amount (after tax) and your pension will be credited with the tax.

vm2pensioner

Yes, you can, up to certain limits. The link below might help:

http://www.hl.co.uk/pensions/sipp/how-much-can-i-invest

savingcyclist

Thanks for the link and confirmation.

Andy_L

Possible: Yes
Stupid: Maybe, maybe not. The company scheme may have negotiated a bulk-buy discount and thus has lower charges. A personal pension may have lower charges and/or a better selection of investment options.
As a 3rd option you might be better off investing the extra into an ISA instead of a pension

Paul_Herring

jaselowe wrote: »

Can I opt into my employers workplace pension (either automatically or voluntarily), to take advantage of their minimum contribution, whilst also paying the bulk of what I feel I should be putting away into a private pension (e.g. SIPP or otherwise)?

Yes. I do this with mine.

I'm not enamoured of the current company scheme (or rather the company administering it,) so I'm only in it to get their contribution, and the bulk of my contributions go into my personal scheme (which, coincidentally, started life as the scheme at my last employer.)

Sobryma

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Yes. I do this with mine.

I'm not enamoured of the current company scheme (or rather the company administering it,) so I'm only in it to get their contribution, and the bulk of my contributions go into my personal scheme (which, coincidentally, started life as the scheme at my last employer.)

I would make sure you contribute to employers to the maximum extent to get your employers contribution as its free cash - i.e. if they match up to a certain level go to that level.

atush

Possible? Yes.

Stupid? Most likely not.

Paul_Herring

Sobryma wrote: »

I would make sure you contribute to employers to the maximum extent to get your employers contribution as its free cash - i.e. if they match up to a certain level go to that level.

I do. And that amount is (currently) 0% of my salary. 25% of my salary goes into my other pension.