Is 69 too late to start a Pension?

Scotvic

I'm male, 69, self -employed and have been hopelessly disorganised with money all my life, so that I have virtually NO money to come in when I retire, other than my state pension (currently deferred). I know!
Anyway, I could now afford to put about £200 per month away (though I'd be most comfortable with a scheme where this amount was flexible, in case I had good or bad months) - is it worth my while to start up a new Personal Pension at this point in time? And if so, could anyone recommend a safe, reliable plan that does not charge excessively high fees? (I know SIPPS are cheaper, but honestly, I just KNOW I am not the sort of person to manage this myself, I need to be managed!
If not - what other savings options make more sense?
Thanks for any opinions / advice.

skintpaul

ISA may be a better option- don't think the admin charges on a pension would be viable.., or even setup allowed at your age?

xylophone

You can contribute to a pension and get tax relief until you are 75.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/pension-tax-relief

Would a simple stakeholder suit?

http://www.candidmoney.com/retirement/stakeholder.aspx

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/stakeholder-pensions

http://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/pensions/stakeholder-and-personal-pensions/aviva/

kidmugsy

The advantage of a pension over an ISA will be greatest if you have such a low income in retirement that withdrawals from the pension will be untaxed. 25% is automatically untaxed (the famous Tax Free Lump Sum) the other 75% is taxed as income. If the amount of that that you withdraw each tax year keeps your income in the 0% income tax band, then you won't have to pay tax on it. (Or if tax is deducted, you can claim it back.)

You are allowed to contribute to a pension up to your 75th birthday.


But have you already got an emergency cash fund accumulated? If not, high interest current accounts are a good place to build one up. Could you trust yourself with that?

GoodSon

Hi,


Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone know if I can transfer my Friends Life Stakeholder Pension to Cavendish Online - I see that my plan is one they promote as being able to get reduced charges on.


If so, would a transfer be 'in-specie' to keep the funds I have, or would I need to sell and buy back?


Thanks for any help and, again, sorry to butt in on this thread.

kidmugsy

Rather than apologising twice, why didn't you start your own thread?

GoodSon

True enough - bad form


I'll do just that.

Orwell

No admin charges on some SIPPs like Fidelity (but check all T&Cs).

Scotvic

Many Thanks. The high interest current accounts are probably beyond me as it seems you have to have a certain sum to invest in the first place (£2K or £3K) to quaify for the high interest- I don't, right now - and because you have to pay in about £500 per month or more - I probably can't. I don't know how you get round that.
I'll look into simple stakeholder pensions. I see that the Virgin one charges 1% - is that reasonable?

greenglide

you have to have a certain sum to invest in the first place (£2K or £3K) to quaify for the high interest- I don't, right now - and because you have to pay in about £500 per month or more - I probably can't. I don't know how you get round that.

As long as you have over £500 or so in the account(s) to get any interest you simply set up standing orders from one account to another and back again.

The £500 that you must have credited each month doesnt have to be "new money".

You dont need large sums for this either - the TSB account is 5% up to £2,000 pounds so ought to work.

dunstonh

I'll look into simple stakeholder pensions. I see that the Virgin one charges 1% - is that reasonable?

One of the worst pensions on the market. Expensive (you would find an IFA gets cheaper even with the cost of advice factored into the pension). It also has a poor quality investment selection.

However, Virgin is better for the people that want to pay in £20pm or thereabouts. Mainly as not many others exist that will go that low.