Savings and investments

iwblue · 7 January 2015 at 4:17PM

’m looking for some ideas to mull over and to consider what options I may have, as for the first time in my working life I will not have a mortgage to pay, however old age looms and I want to make further provision for this. I do have a pension plan as I’ll explain my current situation below. Any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I’m currently In the Civil Service Pension scheme “Classic” and I am also buying Added years via the Classic scheme and have been doing so for approx 13 years. I am 51 this year and I have 21 years in the Classic Scheme, this includes 3 “added” years.
As you may or may not know the pension schemes are changing as well as the pay in rates. I have the option, and I intend to take it and remain in the classic scheme for another approx 3.5 years before I have to move out of it. At which point what I’ve earned in Classic will then be held and I can take the benefits from the age of 60. I estimate I’ll have 25.5 years plus. Even though I will have to move out of Classic, I have been told I can continue to purchase my added years for the Classic Scheme at the same rate as now which means I will have a further approx. 6.5 years after my main Classic scheme has frozen at £117 per month of added years going towards my Classic scheme. Which will give me, I think, an extra 2 years to add to my time in classic. So approximately 27.5 years in total, give or take. Hope this makes sense.
My dilemma; I don’t want to tie up all my “spare” money until I’m 60 or even older.
My goal; I’d like to go partial retirement late fifties and possibly fully retire early sixties.
As the personal pension rules have changed, and,
I have just completed paying off my mortgage I have £500 per month to save.
How best do I achieve my goal, or adopt a savings plan with flexibility and capital growth?
I do realise there is no perfect answer as everyone is different and I could be dead tomorrow, which would render all this useless! I should add I have no dependents.
Should I put all the money into a personal pension (mortgage savings and added years = £617 per month.
Go down the ISA route
Combination of the two, ISA and PP.
Remain in the added years, and just save the £500 in an ISA, PP, or some other option.
Something I haven’t thought about?
I also have £26000 in an old personal pension (started in 1988) that I stopped paying into in 1995, An IFA told me some years ago that because the pot was small the charges incurred in transferring to a provider with lower charges wasn’t worth it as it wouldn’t offset the costs in moving it on. So I monitor the value as best I can with limited knowledge of investment strategies.
I don’t have to make any immediate decisions but need to think things through and try to make a decision in the not to distant future.

Many thanks in advance