Prosperous soul in the making

enthusiasticsaver

savingholmes said:

ES it is true that the DB pension was worth around £4.5K p.a (from age 60) when I left the company in 2005 and is now worth closer to £7.7K p.a due to inflation and change in NRA to 65. A pension pot I found last year £2.8K pot is apparently 15 years old. I can potentially take it tax free at 55 as it is such a small pot.

Definitely yes it could be and you can actually forecast how much you will get at 65.  I would need to know the index linking formula and the incentive they offered to change the NRA to say for certain but you can usually get online access to them to confirm the value these days or the pension administrator will give you more information. 

I checked the value of mine on a spreadsheet by just taking the initial value when I left that employment and added the index linking for each year as mine was effectively deferred for more than 34 years from 1986 when I left to have my first daughter to 2020 when it paid out.  When I left their employment it was worth less than  £300 per annum but with 8.5% index linking each year as it was such an old scheme it came up to around £3600 per annum by the time I drew on it and will increase in retirement.  Yours is obviously newer (so you won't have the 8.5% index linking (probably nearer 5%)  and obviously less years) and you have the complication they have changed the NRA (mine stayed at 60) so there may have been incentives by way of increasing the value but time and index linking add massive value to pensions.  I worked out my sisters old pension the other day and she was massively surprised how much it will give her and a friend had forgotten about an old bank pension (roughly same age as mine) and she has been given the option of taking it this August but she gets a lump sum offer too which I did not get due to mine being GMP (guaranteed minimum pension) only. 

Often with the smaller pots you get the option to take them in full.  A lesson to everyone not to ignore old pensions.  They could be worth a lot more than you think. 

enthusiasticsaver

savingholmes said:

I tackled another couple of frogs this week. Ordered a couple of birth certificates as can't find mine. I finally have access to old pension. It was from 2005 and has nearly doubled in that time despite the 08 and current crisis.

This is the beauty of old defined benefit pensions.  Economic crises have no effect on them and this is why companies have moved away from providing them because they are expensive. The employer (pension company) takes all the risk of stock market falls. 

enthusiasticsaver

PurpleFairy26 said:

Enthusiastic saver thanks for the above. I too have a small DB scheme and although a few years away from retirement I have been asked by the trustees to review it and they are paying for advice on it with one option to transfer. So your comments are much appreciated. 

At least they are paying for advice for you.  Is it worth less than £30k transfer value? 

PurpleFairy26

enthusiasticsaver said:

PurpleFairy26 said:

Enthusiastic saver thanks for the above. I too have a small DB scheme and although a few years away from retirement I have been asked by the trustees to review it and they are paying for advice on it with one option to transfer. So your comments are much appreciated. 

At least they are paying for advice for you.  Is it worth less than £30k transfer value? 

Hmm, I don't know actually. I'll. one back to you on that one. Purps. 

savingholmes

Well I've bought yet more compost online. Mr A had sold out. Many of our local suppliers haven't got any. My potatoes need topping up and I have other things to plant out for which I need more soil. I definitely skimped on setting up my no dig beds and I think I have lost a few plants because of it. Really looking forward to eating our veggies in due course. Just hope they all survive long enough.

Spoke to OHU today who said increase hours slowly rather than as fast as I planned so that was nice in a way. I just have one day left to work this week and then am off until Tuesday of next week. DH gets paid tomorrow. The list of things I need for my book seems to be growing. I am waiting for the tax code and confirmation of company set up before I buy more stuff. Trying to give myself 'cooling off' periods on things I want to buy. One thing I am considering investing in is a way of getting advance book reviews... that another $97 and they all just add up. However there's no point putting my book out there if no-one knows about or reads it. I also hope that if I invest in something like that - if there are any errors left in my book they will be flushed out. Still I don't know if this is all just procrastination still. I'm thinking of possibly launching the e-book ahead of the physical one which would mean I didn't have to wait for my covers to be done in all different formats... Still unsure. 

 Night all

MovingForwards

Would it be worth buying a bulk bag of compost? A ton bag is normally around £100, but it's dropped in your front garden / drive, unless there is big vehicle access to your back garden. Means lifting and shifting to get it to your garden, but potentially saves a load of money. The companies have been working throughout up here as it's easy to do social distancing.

It's great OHU are still looking out for you. What can't happen is a set back. Don't rush, health is more important.

Releasing the ebook will keep costs down, so go with that, earn some money and that can fund the physical book. Have you had a friend / proof reader go through it?

savingholmes

Well DH was paid more than normal as he got his overtime from when the crisis first hit. That's all being swallowed up by my book launch though but good that it is reducing the impact on our savings / EF. 

hugglemonster

I really didn't know so much went into publishing a book, well done I hope it gets sorted soon and at not much more cost. Anything we can do to help?

Glad Occy Health are so supportive of you, definitely ease back in when you're ready.

Enjoy your day, my potatoes are like triffids now and need to start the next batch chitting.

H x 

Tahlullah.H

Hi. Just caught up on your diary and all the in's and out' you have been through. What comes across, despite your down moments is your endless positivity.  Paying off a debt, doing the garden, getting the book done, losing weight and sorting the pension.  These are all positive.  Don't lose sight of that.  You are doing great.

savingholmes

Thanks Hugglemonster and Tahlullah. I work hard on staying positive. Thanks for taking the time to catch up  and comment. 

Lots to celebrate today. I got sent flowers and choccies already for my birthday tomorrow which was good. The kids are part way through making my cake - and DS cleaned the kitchen. DH and I managed to go on a walk in the sunshine with the dog at lunchtime which was really nice. We went to a local green space - think woods and green rather than anything manicured. My radish has sprouted. The spinach I sowed only at the weekend has also sprouted. My strawberry plants are developing fruit. My broccoli and caulis are starting to push up the insect netting suggesting they are happy. My kitchen window sill tomato plant (that I bought as a plant) is flowering already. I got stuff through the post for my birthday - opened 2 of the cards so far - have others to open tomorrow. DH asked DD to wrap me loads of pressies which is nice so think from the family I will do better than normal. 

I rounded down the  next target card by £127 so it was a round £8K. Still debating how much to save for EF and how much to overpay. Messaged my cleaner to ask if she has plans to return - she may be able to do a couple of hours at weekends. Right now I'd take anything! We need the help. She has now received her grant from the government.