300k pension pot

tommyedinburgh

Is a prospective 300k pension pot decent?

Where would it sit with regards your typical pension pot?

I was late starting my pension so have been trying to recover it somewhat. Trying to enquire here if I should put more into it.

gary83

How longs a piece of string?

Nobody can answer that question without other information, It depends on your age, lifestyle - how expensive you plan your retirement activities to be, your other expenses (mortgage paid off, continuing to pay rent etc) and a whole host of others

tommyedinburgh

gary83 wrote: »

How longs a piece of string?

Nobody can answer that question without other information, It depends on your age, lifestyle - how expensive you plan your retirement activities to be, your other expenses (mortgage paid off, continuing to pay rent etc) and a whole host of others

£300k - retiring at 65
Mortgage will be paid off
Lifestyle is modest currently and that won't change
Retirement activities will consist of supporting my football team

TadleyBaggie

When I retired my drawdown SIPP pot was 227K. After 4 years of drawdown of roughly £1K pm (pre-tax) the pot has grown to over £250K.

jonnygee2

Gary is right. There are a lot of dependencies. But, 300k is probably alright, if you own your home mortgage free, don't foresee any huge expenses coming up, and are eligible for a full state pension from the start of your retirement.

It's not going to be enough to fund five star holidays in the Caribbean obviously, but it would be enough to keep you out of poverty and keep a bit of spending money in your pocket, when added to state pension. An annuity would probably get you around £1000 a month, for example, which added to state pension would be enough for most people in the country.

I suspect 300k is either around or above average. More is better, always.

SonOf

Is a prospective 300k pension pot decent?

In what context? Now or in 30 years time? or for someone wanting £3k a year income or £30k a year income?

£300k - retiring at 65

How far away is 65?
You are retiring under the state pension age. So, how are you going to fund the gap? (1-3 years of funding the gap could erode a lot of the fund).

Lifestyle is modest currently and that won't change

Modest by what definition? One person's modest is another person's extravagant.
If you are working 7-8 hours a day where you dont spend much money, what will you be doing in those 7-8 hours extra free time?

Albermarle

I suspect 300k is either around or above average.

You see a lot of different figures being mentioned about the average size of pension pot:
Some include people without any pension provision at all , or include all ages ( so young people with only small amounts ) In these cases the average is low , around £25K I think .
Some include those with final salary pension ( calculating an equivalent pot size ) which brings the average up a lot . Also if you only look at pots at retirement this brings the figure up.
However you calculate it though I think the average is way below £300K ( perhaps not on this forum though )

JoeCrystal

tommyedinburgh wrote: »

Is a prospective 300k pension pot decent?

Where would it sit with regards your typical pension pot?

I was late starting my pension so have been trying to recover it somewhat. Trying to enquire here if I should put more into it.

It might sound decent, but it might not be enough for your needs. As others already pointed out, it depends on your requirements. In my case, I am aiming for £600k in today's term in 35 years, but I only got 82k so far so still a while to go!

Albermarle wrote: »

You see a lot of different figures being mentioned about the average size of pension pot:
Some include people without any pension provision at all , or include all ages ( so young people with only small amounts ) In these cases the average is low , around £25K I think .
Some include those with final salary pension ( calculating an equivalent pot size ) which brings the average up a lot . Also if you only look at pots at retirement this brings the figure up.
However you calculate it though I think the average is way below £300K ( perhaps not on this forum though )

There is an ONS spreadsheet that breaks the median down based on age, gender and employment status if I remember correctly. I see if I can find it.

cloud_dog

tommyedinburgh wrote: »

Is a prospective 300k pension pot decent?

Where would it sit with regards your typical pension pot?

I was late starting my pension so have been trying to recover it somewhat. Trying to enquire here if I should put more into it.

Ignoring SP etc.... Based on general levels of draw down (3.5%pa), the pot would give you an income of approximately £10500pa.

Where does this sit with regards to your level of acceptable pension income?

Linton

Divide your £300K by 30=£10K. That is the order of magnitude sustainable inflation adjusted annual income it would be reasonably safe to expect were you to start taking it now. The chances based on 100 years of history are you will do better, but it is far more sensible to aim for safety and be pleasantly surprised than the alternative.


Is an annual £10K together with State Pension and any other income you may have sufficient to provide you with a comfortable retirement? If yes you are doing fine, if not you need a larger pot. If you dont know work it out on the basis of what you are spending now. How much pension anyone else has is irrelevent.

Albermarle

Also you do not mention any other savings or investments, apart from the pension ?