Nest Pension at 51 years old

dunstonh

For many it may be useful to know that you can in extremis, eventhough you shouldn't.

Certainly can be possible in a low cost area and you live a frugal lifestyle. However, blowing it at 55 when it could be more useful at 66/67 is not ideal.

After all for younger people the main drawback in pensions is the fact it is locked away for decades, if it's available in only a couple of years then that is a major drawback addressed.

you call it a drawback. I call it a positive. It prevents earlier access to funds. Many people need that layer of protection to stop them having access to easy money. A pension is a pension. not a savings account.

kidmugsy

Suppose that in retirement you get £8k p.a. State Pension and that the Personal Allowance against income tax is £11k. Then you could take £3k p.a. from a pension without having to pay any income tax. That's why saving in a pension is attractive. But contributing extra to the NEST scheme isn't especially attractive to you because the employer contribution seems to go in anyway whatever you do.

The great disadvantage of pensions is the they are inflexible: the money is locked away until you are 55. So one possibility would be to save the £100 p.m. into a monthly saver account that pays good interest (4% p.a. to 6% p.a. available) and then move the money into a pension when you are 55 - when it would remain available if you should need it.