Which pension scheme to join?

Zither

Hi All,

I'm after a little bit of initial advice about planning for a future pension - a little bit clueless about this sort of thing.

I'm currently 34 and have recently left working in local government where I've been paying into the LGPS for the last 10 years or so.

I'm due to start a fixed term job (contract up to 2 years) next month. The new company offers its own pension scheme. However, I'm not sure if it's worth joining a scheme for a short time. So, my questions are:

1 - should I join the new company's pension scheme for a short term?

2 - if not, what is the best type of 'independent' pension scheme to join (e.g. independent of a specific work place) that I can take anywhere?

3 - any other notable considerations for deciding on a pension at this point in my life?

Sorry these are a bit vague but not quite sure where to start - any pointers v welcome!

Thanks

Z

bigadaj

Two reasons in favour of joining an employers scheme are that they should contribute, so if you didn't you are effectively turning down salary, and that these schemes are often cheaper than personal pensions with lower charges.

So for most people that translates as contributing enough to maximise employer contributions; any more is personal choice but easier if the sums involved are subject to higher rate tax or are salary sacrifice/ smart pensions.

The new company scheme is presumably a simple defined contribution scheme, which means that you can normally transfer the pot into another scheme at a new employer or a personal one if you leave this company, or it can be left where it is.

It's likely that the new scheme will be worth a fraction of your lgps scheme but you have a good basis on what you already have in the lgps scheme which puts you in a better position than many.

atush

Join the scheme.

Deciding to do anything else means throwing away money.