easily confused

alifpb66

hi..
ive got a large amount of money given to me through inheritance, and instead of feeling happy im feeling overwhelmed and scared.:(

im 50 and not the brightest of people when it comes to things like how to save etc.
i have done some research but just getting more confused.
i want to put about £30k away for my retirement, but dont know where to start, im waiting for advice from IFA, i know i will have to pay them but the thought of trusting them too is a worry.

money has always been tight, so dealing with the inheritance feels very surreal.

i am in debt because of my husband not being good with money (long story, hence dont really want him knowing much about the inheritance)

i just wondered if i could put this bonus money away so at least i hopefully wont need to struggle too much when i retire.
any advice really would help.

MallyGirl

if it is for retirement then an obvious option is to put it into a pension but there are limitations.
you cannot pay more into pensions than you earn in the same year (if you are a very high earner you can carry forward from previous years)
- are you working?
- do you already contribute to a pension?

alifpb66

oh my.....really

im classed as self employed (thats complicated too) i only earn about £5k a year
im not atm paying into a pension

im just getting so nervous as my head is just not absorbing info x

MallyGirl

I would definitely look into a basic pension - something like a stakeholder pension. You get 20% tax relief from it even though you won't be paying any tax on that income.
On a £5k income you would be able to put in £4000 and the government would top that up with £1000 tax relief to make the £5000 gross figure you are limited to. It would obviously take a while to get all £30k in this way but it is worth doing what you can
If you have debt I would address that too.
If you don't trust your husband to be sensible with the money then I would put the rest in a savings account in your name alone.

Albermarle

As you are struggling to understand then it seems the best option for now could be the simplest solution.
This would be a straightforward savings account at your local bank or building society ( preferably building society as they pay better interest than banks)
The money will be safe and easy to access when you want to spend some of it.

Later ( say in a few months ) when you have calmed down and got used to the idea of having the money , you could always change and move the money somewhere else.

xylophone

https://www.cavendishonline.co.uk/stakeholder-pension

The basic option - if your earnings are £5000 this tax year, you could contribute up to £4000 into the stakeholder and the provider will claim tax relief up to £1000 and add it to your pot.

Savings rates here

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html

xylophone

And have you obtained a state pension forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

alifpb66

yeah..... apparently i should get £169.00 a week in 2033

xylophone

apparently i should get £169.00 a week in 2033

Remember that this will be index linked, currently under the triple lock (but this may change).

Marcon

An investment bond which lets you draw up to 5% (of your initial investment - the 5% includes any adviser commission) tax free each year might be one possibility, to add to pension savings?

cfw1994

Marcon wrote: »

An investment bond which lets you draw up to 5% (of your initial investment - the 5% includes any adviser commission) tax free each year might be one possibility, to add to pension savings?

Interesting suggestion....any recommended bonds? (Something I’ve been meaning to investigate more myself!)