Is my pension contribution "worth it"

agarnett

Thanks jamesd. Now we are getting somewhere. Would you mind telling atush that nothing I have said save for wrong guesses about mgdavid's career has been debunked yet?

The JLT advised decision on my DB was made in 2013 and we are now wholly in global bonds. There are around 20,000 deferred members and that's 10x the active members. It was closed to new members a long time ago.

Daniel54

agarnett wrote: »

Thanks jamesd. Now we are getting somewhere. Would you mind telling atush that nothing I have said save for wrong guesses about mgdavid's career has been debunked

That's a shame.I thought you might have learned something useful.

You should have the courtesy to reply to atush yourself

If you are actively encouraging your own children not to save for retirement ,at least suggest they come here to obtain an alternative view

Happy Christmas anyway

agarnett

Daniel54 wrote: »

That's a shame.I thought you might have learned something useful.

You should have the courtesy to reply to atush yourself

If you are actively encouraging your own children not to save for retirement ,at least suggest they come here to obtain an alternative view

Happy Christmas anyway

But do remember that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Father Christmas :rudolf:

My kids are perfectly able to do the math, plus they also know where to find the cr¤p in the loft that demonstrates how a whole raft of household name pension providers ultimately are crooked one way or the other.

So if you or your kids still wish to mix it with any of those providers (and they are becoming fewer as they merge and scheme), you'd better be on your toes.

My kids, and I expect the kids of most of the posters here, are capable of sorting wheat from chaff, but the majority in the UK are not.

To suggest otherwise is totally misleading and makes me wonder if you have an agenda or how many commentators here have that peculiarly British disease of being unable to accept you might be being ripped off to one degree or another. Of course you are too clever for that to happen?

But look at the price you are paying for your road fuel. The UK's motorists must be completely gaga to keep accepting the retailers' blatantly rip off and most definitely cartel-rigged prices of the past couple of months or more.

Yes Happy Christmas, and let us hope for further enlightenment before we embark upon a same old, same old, UK New Year ... oh sorry ... I was forgetting ... this year it starts differently ... it's VIP seats only in London this year close to the action, so for the first time in quite a few years, as with any suggestion to walk blindly into a 'free-money' pension, I'll give it a complete miss.

taktikback

I'm amazed that the main commentators are still persisting with trying to persuade you. Look - if you don't want to invest in a pension for a bunch of reasons -that's fine -don't do it. If you want to believe the world is a conspiracy targetted at you as an individual- then also fine. I believe you have entertained us with a suprisingly intelligent anti-pension argument. It doesn't stand up to any rational scrutiny, but the structure and style of your lines of questioning and argument are impressive - almost that of a seasoned politician.

If you don't want free money and tax relief then that's fine -as long as casual observers don't read to much into it -there's no harm done....

agarnett

taktikback wrote: »

I'm amazed that the main commentators are still persisting with trying to persuade you. Look - if you don't want to invest in a pension for a bunch of reasons -that's fine -don't do it. If you want to believe the world is a conspiracy targetted at you as an individual- then also fine. I believe you have entertained us with a suprisingly intelligent anti-pension argument. It doesn't stand up to any rational scrutiny, but the structure and style of your lines of questioning and argument are impressive - almost that of a seasoned politician.

If you don't want free money and tax relief then that's fine -as long as casual observers don't read to much into it -there's no harm done....

Happy Christmas taktikback! Just signed in while the turkey is doing its thing and the kids are doing theirs!

Don't be amazed. This thread started when a youngster with no money asked if pensions are worth it. I was a youngster once and represent a fairly typical pension profile for someone of my generation - possibly a better than average profile when all is said and done, but a very messy one courtesy of the crooks who have infested the pensions world.

I am only commenting here because there has been almost no balance - almost all the commentary is by people who already have substantial investments and for some reason they want youngsters to believe it is achieved simply through starting young and poor and being disciplined and just jumping in to a warm friendly pensions pool (doesn't everybody?). They probably did just that and now they have more time on their hands, they have forgotten how blindly they did and do not wish to acknowledge that too many others have suffered too many atrocious injustices with their pensions - look at our friend gadget for example who hates that I have sorely criticised his favorite pension provider - the one that lets him, the rich man, play to his heart's content with his funds within his big successful employer's group pension plan. What he fails to acknowledge is that there are far more deferred members of defunct group pension plans whom that same pension provider company has treated abysmally. They specialise in what they disgracefully call zombie funds. How dare anyone call an existing retirement fund for a live person who hasn't yet reached retirement, a "zombie" fund? But the industry does just that, all the time. They see it as a profit grabbing opportunity. What they actually mean is that because of employer mergers or financial difficulties or redundancies, no-one is minding the stores with the shutters down, but they still have the key to all the back doors.

It is sickening. It is a form of looting by the security firm!

Now because those who have done alright Jack and are apparently blissfully unaware of their pension providers wrong-doings just round the corner out of sight of their successful employers' shiney doors, they have time on their hands and big bucks to play with in their SIPPs and DC funds, they can of course be far more knowledgeable about how they can keep it and grow it. Afterall, they also work with people still in the same funds and boats, and there ARE people minding their store as well as themselves.

So what they fail to understand is that little of their knowledge of how to start and safeguard is transferable to youngsters with no money. You can't just gaily plunge into a pension plan anymore trusting those who put it under your nose. That is the big difference between then and now.

Many commentators will have you believe that the easy compounding route with no-brainer government designed incentives is well managed and thought out and is still the warm pool they started in.

It simply doesn't. It is shark infested, and you enter it at your peril. If you have a shark cage and enjoy the challenge, then jump right in. If you don't, think twice, and if you decide to try it, then keep thinking every week or the sharks will outwit you. They are constantly looking to bite off more chunks than you would ever consider they had earned, and they are also gambling and scheming for their own benefit in ways you probably will never understand with your retirement fund, not managing it.

:snow_grin

kangoora

We get it, you've been badly burned with your pensions in the past. However, just as much as your 'pensions and pension companies are evil stance' there are also probably 100's of thousands of people perfectly happy with their pension who haven't been raided. Just because of your bad experiences (and other people in the same scheme as you) doesn't mean that pensions are automatically terrible things to invest in.

I've got 2 DB schemes, due to mature in yeasrs time - one is under the PPF so I'll get a 10% reduction on it's final value. But at least it didn't disappear when the company went bankrupt and the government stepped in to keep up payments to existing and new pensioners when they retire. I've also got a current DC scheme where my company contributes 9% to my 7% and then I get tax relief on top - saving anywhere else would be insane as I would lose at least 33% of my total contributions/savings........

There is no other form of investment where you get a 25% uplift as soon as you hand over the cash and, later on, if you never get to build a large pension pot, a good proportion of it can be withdrawn tax-free.

I'm struggling to understand what you are proposing as an alternative to a pension. If someone can't afford to put a couple of hundred quid in a pension there is no way they are going to be buying a BTL property which is the other option (bar starting their own business). Putting it in 'safe' bank savings means you will be guaranteed to lose money vs. inflation.

For good or bad, pensions are pretty much the only game in town to maximise your savings for retirement, especially if you don't have access to significant amounts of capital to try other things.......

atush

I am so very glad i am a responsible parent who advised their children to join a work pension scheme. Of the 3 all of whom went to uni, the one who has ggraduated alredy has a lot in savings and a healthy growing pension fund paid into by The govt and his employer.

I feel very sorry for alf's kids and the poor outdated advice they are getting

kangoora

atush wrote: »

I am so very glad i am a responsible parent who advised their children to join a work pension scheme. Of the 3 all of whom went to uni, the one who has ggraduated alredy has a lot in savings and a healthy growing pension fund paid into by The govt and his employer.

I feel very sorry for alf's kids and the poor outdated advice they are getting

Been on the post-Xmas dinner booze Atush?

atush

no, haven't had any since dinner lol.

Am fed up with A, alf and B my new tablet lol.

Got a new windows phone and that is taking some working out. Had windows for years on laptops but the phone is far harder to navigate than my (very) old android.

I do feel really sorry for his kids who will be disadvantaged for life if they dont join their employers pension and opt out.

colsten

kangoora wrote: »

I'm struggling to understand what you are proposing as an alternative to a pension.

Judging by his MSE posting history, agarnett is against everything and has no alternatives to offer for anything.