Aged 50 with only 3 years of Teachers pension- advice desperately needed!

financiallyineptacademic

Hi - due to staying at home to raise kids etc, i am now on my own aged 50 with just 3 years of Teachers pension contribution. I have paid off my house but desperately want to know what steps i can take to max my pension in terms of income rather than tax free lump sum. I can currently afford to pay up to £700 per month but suffer from extreme anxiety and don't imagine i will be able to manage working full-time indefinitely and thus anticipate having to drop to working P/T (2.5) in 3 years or so.
Should I purchase additional pension through Teachers Pension?
I've been told if i pay £302.40 per month for 5 years, i'll be guaranteed an extra £1000 a year. Anyone got any ideas- will be so grateful.

Linton

Is the £1000/year inflation linked or fixed? From a quick calculation ISTM if its inflation linked it would seem to be a reasonably good deal, otherwise you may do better with a private pension.

chucknorris

financiallyineptacademic wrote: »

Hi - due to staying at home to raise kids etc, i am now on my own aged 50 with just 3 years of Teachers pension contribution. I have paid off my house but desperately want to know what steps i can take to max my pension in terms of income rather than tax free lump sum. I can currently afford to pay up to £700 per month but suffer from extreme anxiety and don't imagine i will be able to manage working full-time indefinitely and thus anticipate having to drop to working P/T (2.5) in 3 years or so.
Should I purchase additional pension through Teachers Pension?
I've been told if i pay £302.40 per month for 5 years, i'll be guaranteed an extra £1000 a year. Anyone got any ideas- will be so grateful.

I'm buying additional pension in the TPS, IMO it is great value, I am buying the max that I can (just over £6k PA, costing about £77k), I will finish paying for it next August and will I retire shortly afterwards, if I could buy more I would do so for sure. I consider it to be the best investment that I am making at the moment (by some margin).

PennyForThem_2

just as an aside you need to check your entitlement to state pension too (staying at home with kids). You need the full picture before you make decisions.

Was anybody else the named recipient of the Child Benefits for your children?

penwise

chucknorris - is it index linked and does it include some spouse protection?

PennyForThem_2

penwise wrote: »

chucknorris - is it index linked and does it include some spouse protection?

The OP is on their own. That implies death or divorce or single parent

financiallyineptacademic

Linton wrote: »

Is the £1000/year inflation linked or fixed? From a quick calculation ISTM if its inflation linked it would seem to be a reasonably good deal, otherwise you may do better with a private pension.

Many thanks, for replying.
I will check out if it is inflation linked.

financiallyineptacademic

PennyForThem wrote: »

just as an aside you need to check your entitlement to state pension too (staying at home with kids). You need the full picture before you make decisions.

Was anybody else the named recipient of the Child Benefits for your children?

Thanks, for your interest. No, just me as named recipient for Child Benefit.

financiallyineptacademic

chucknorris wrote: »

I'm buying additional pension in the TPS, IMO it is great value, I am buying the max that I can (just over £6k PA, costing about £77k), I will finish paying for it next August and will I retire shortly afterwards, if I could buy more I would do so for sure. I consider it to be the best investment that I am making at the moment (by some margin).

Many thanks, for your reply. It is very useful to hear this. I wish I'd thought about additional pension 3 years ago!

jem16

Linton wrote: »

Is the £1000/year inflation linked or fixed? From a quick calculation ISTM if its inflation linked it would seem to be a reasonably good deal, otherwise you may do better with a private pension.

penwise wrote: »

chucknorris - is it index linked and does it include some spouse protection?

Additional Pension with the TPS is index-linked from the moment you buy (not just in payment) it so it will keep its value.

There are also two options - one where you can have spouse protection and one where you don't. Obviously the 2nd option is cheaper to buy and if the OP doesn't need it, it doesn't need to be bought.

xxdeebeexx

Hi, sorry to hijack the thread.
I'm very interested in adding to my Teachers pension - where do I find out about it please?


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