Can't afford a pension

greenglide

I really don't know how people afford to live when they have kids!

By not taking out car loans that they really cannot afford?

You appear to be earning well above the national average income but you choose (it is a choice) not to be able to afford to join the teachers pension scheme!

Madness.

maximumgardener

it may be worthwhile to downsize the car sooner than that......no harm in asking around .
you may get a deal especially if you pitch up last week of the month as these guys have targets to meet and you may get a discount to offset your cost?
thing is generally makes sense to get rid of your biggest debt first and thats likely to be your car.
you should move things around so you can afford your pension, you really can't afford Not to.....
(it should not be the other way round.)
sounds like you have time on your side in terms of age ....so good luck, don't panic and you will find a way.

missbiggles1

lottie-cat wrote: »

I've got to get rid of the car loan, I know that's my biggest expense (apart from my mortgage) and I can halve it by getting a smaller, cheaper car. Im not able to do that until around April of next year without incurring charges but it will be my priority. I also pay my student loan off around that time.
Thanks for all your replies, it seems the best thing to do is wait and opt back in next April and transfer my other pension over and hope that helps cover some of the missed payments.
You are all right about lifestyle choices, I could very easily return to work full time and earn an extra 12k but obviously I will miss time with my daughter. My childcare will be £800 per month... I really don't know how people afford to live when they have kids!

Do you mean you're making repayments on your student loan when you don't have to?:eek:

justme111

Watch out for conditions of rejoining. I believe if you do wirhin 5 years it all gets uprated or dinamised or whatever the term they use resulting in far better outcome than if you re join after 5 years. Crunch some numbers on car , may be worth it to take a hit of early repayment and not throw good money after bad. I would not go to work fulltime if you have young child, value of time with child is far higher than additional £12000 before tax even if you did not have to pay childcare

sandsy

justme111 wrote: »

I would not go to work fulltime if you have young child, value of time with child is far higher than additional £12000 before tax even if you did not have to pay childcare

Irrelevant and judgemental.

xylophone

it seems the best thing to do is wait and opt back in next April

It seems to me that the best thing would be to tighten your belt and rejoin now - you seem to have a history of "needing the money" which indicates that you might never rejoin?

With regard to transferring your SW into the TPS, might you wish to retire earlier than scheme pension age?

If so, it might be worth leaving the SW where it is on the basis that you might wish to call on it/add to it in later years to bridge the gap between when you want to retire and Scheme Pension Age.

mgdavid

lottie-cat wrote: »

.......
You are all right about lifestyle choices, I could very easily return to work full time and earn an extra 12k but obviously I will miss time with my daughter. My childcare will be £800 per month... I really don't know how people afford to live when they have kids!

I would have thought parents who are teachers get far more time with their children due to the length of school holidays when compared to jobs in industry and commerce.

Sounds barmy to me but of course we're all different...

Spidernick

OP,

You have the chance to join a really good DB scheme (even after all the changes), the benefits of which most of us in a DC scheme can only dream of, so if you choose not to do so (and it certainly is a choice, as others have pointed out) you will be making a huge mistake from your personal perspective. However, us taxpayers and the government will surely be grateful for your sacrifice!

justme111

sandsy wrote: »

Irrelevant and judgemental.

Eh? Op started talking about it so she obviously considered it relevant. I supported her decision in not to go full time and reassured it would be right one in my opinion anyway , it is the opposite of judgemental.

hyubh

justme111 wrote: »

Watch out for conditions of rejoining. I believe if you do wirhin 5 years it all gets uprated or dinamised or whatever the term they use resulting in far better outcome than if you re join after 5 years.

Within 5 years, and you re-establish the final salary link for pre-April 2015 service.

it seems the best thing to do is wait and opt back in next April and transfer my other pension over

Along with what xylophone has already said about that (i.e.: rejoin earlier, but perhaps keep the SW pension separate for the extra flexibility), it may not be possible to have the transfer anyway - you'd have to check with the scheme administrator. Reason being, the time limit may start ticking when you started your current employment, rather (re-)joining the pension scheme.