Need to start something asap

atush

So that makes it an employers contribution? why did you say there wasn't one?

How long have you worked there and thrown this 5% away?

Join it tomorrow.

They won't have to offer a scheme, if they give contributons to employees who have their own scheme (if it is compliant with t he rules and I can't see a PP not being)

xylophone

https://www.gov.uk/employers-workplace-pensions-rules

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2387897/Will-employer-pay-contributions-personal-pension.html might be worth a look.

fleetingmind

atush wrote: »

So that makes it an employers contribution? why did you say there wasn't one?

How long have you worked there and thrown this 5% away?

Join it tomorrow.

They won't have to offer a scheme, if they give contributons to employees who have their own scheme (if it is compliant with t he rules and I can't see a PP not being)

My company doesn't have it's own pension scheme. They will match up to 5% of anything I put into my own independent pension scheme. SO I have to find one.

I have been there 10 years but the 5% was only brought in end of last year.

I didn't realise they won't have to ever have one as long as they contribute.

MFW_ASAP

bigadaj wrote: »

I agree with what dunstonh says but finances aren't fixed, and there are different approaches that can be utilised.

Pensions are good in so far as you get tax relief and employer contributions, so it's normally recommended to contribute to maximise employer contribution and also any 40% tax relief.

Beyond that the isa contributions are useful as you can access this money which you can't with a pension, and potentially use it to bridge a gap before the state pension kicks in for example. Many people also look at overpaying their mortgages as well.

People seem to be obsessed with retirement at 55, and whilst it's nice to be able to retire at 55 that leaves possibly 30 years to finance and fill. Gradational retirement seems far better for most people to me, slowly reducing days or hours until full time retirement. Pensions need to be considered as a part of your wider finances, including loans and credit card debt, house and mortgage, savings and investments including isas as well as pensions.

It's amazing how something can become obsolete in just a couple of hours. This is no longer the case due to the budget changes.

The old ISA vs Pensions argument is over. If you save in a pension, you get tax relief on your contributions and on the investment gains. If you save into an ISA you don't get tax relief on contributions, just on the gains.

I do wonder if anyone will use ISAs for anything other than short/medium term savings anymore.

bigadaj

MFW_ASAP wrote: »

It's amazing how something can become obsolete in just a couple of hours. This is no longer the case due to the budget changes.

Take the point but that's not wholly accurate. There are still age restrictions on pensions, including I believe an increase in the minimum age they can be accessed, so diversification is still valuable.

MFW_ASAP

bigadaj wrote: »

Take the point but that's not wholly accurate. There are still age restrictions on pensions, including I believe an increase in the minimum age they can be accessed, so diversification is still valuable.

Hence why I said for medium and short term savings, ISAs are still valuable. For retirement savings the discussion is essentially over (except perhaps for those few fortunate people who can retire before age 55). Much better to save in a pension, especially for high rate tax payers. 40% tax rebate on the way in and 20% on the way out. I wonder how long the 40% tax rebate will last when they realise?

I haven't seen any reference to further increasing the age restriction from age 55, can you please provide a link?

amandajc

Would I be right in thinking that S&S ISAs are still the best option for those of us with long standing, final/career average, public sector pension hoping to fund early retirement? I'm 55 and a basic rate tax payer and hoping to defer my LGPS pension till normal retirement age at 66 but stop work at 60. (My pension would be reduced by around 27% if I took it at 60). I'm currently working hard at boosting my existing capital inside a S&S ISA.

I don't see that anything announced yesterday changes things for me (apart from the fact that I have 2 small pensions that I can take at 60 and which I may have more flexibilty with). Am I missing something? Should I be thinking about a SIPP instead of the ISA? I'm able to invest about £7,000 per year.

Many thanks for any thoughts.

dunstonh

I haven't seen any reference to further increasing the age restriction from age 55, can you please provide a link?

2028 it goes up from age 55 to 57. No doubt a measure to avoid people taking the money too early.

MFW_ASAP

dunstonh wrote: »

2028 it goes up from age 55 to 57. No doubt a measure to avoid people taking the money too early.

This seems at odds with Osborne's view that people should be allowed to control their own retirement monies?

It's put a dent in my plans to recycle one of my pensions into another at age 55.

Skibunny40

So if I turn 55 in 2028, does that mean I will still be able to take my pension at 55, or do I have to wait another two years? Will there be a set date in 2028 eg. 5th April 2028 as a cut-off point?