Why do posters here have disproportionately higher than average pension funds...

ZeroSum

Bravepants said:

Of my peers at work, some are more into owning big cars and big houses, some have gone through a divorce and some have no idea how their pension even works, some don't think about how much higher rate tax they are wasting and can't be bothered to think about it. I like to think that I have taken the middle ground of all of these, and I am likely to retire earlier than them. :-) Horses for courses.

There's loads who just don't grasp the whole concept of deferred gratification. Instead preferring to live for the moment. There's a few at work who are on decent money & no obvious big outgoings, yet are constantly skint the week leading upto payday.
And they think its funny that they have nowt & end up working to 70,. 

Thrugelmir

jampot7us said:

Really interesting thread here guys..Thanks...would be interested to peoples views on companies offering share options rather than larger pension % to peoples salary...Dont wanna pull the thread away from op though...

Share options have a specific objective in mind. The cost to the company is also likely to be neutral. Different to other benefits which are a cost irrespective of company's own financial performance. 

TBC15

People who have an interest in finance will do better than those who are ignorant on the subject. About sums it up.

[Deleted User]

ratechaser said:

Deleted_User said:

People who lose lots of money don’t tend to brag in chatrooms. Not sure why.

Part of me also wonders if the fish caught in anglers’ chatrooms was actually the size they tend to report. 

Oh I've certainly lost money in the past as well. Quite eye watering sums TBH. All that money over 10 years into an employee share scheme for a certain well known and very very busted bank. And that's just for starters. If I thought that would be of interest to anyone I'd be happy to share, but the focus of most of these threads seems to be 'what should I do' rather than 'what shouldn't I do'... 

Besides, I doubt anyone else going to repeat my mistake of investing in Lehman stock based on a big employee discount again. Hahahahahahahaha!

At least I can laugh about it now...

People learn from mistakes a lot better than from successes or others telling them what to do. 

Investing lots in your own company is a typical error. People tend to trust them. And the discount is a nice sweetener. Then the company goes bust and they lose money at the exact same time they lose their jobs.

I buy my employer’s discounted shares but I never let the running total exceed $10k.

My best lesson came during the dot.com crash when I let myself be carried away by the headlines and bought into a dumb technology fund just before the crash. It was only 1K but turned into 200 quid in no time and at the time my own stupidity felt very painful. 

Still, the worst mistake would have been to lose trust int the stock market and stop investing, as some did.  That is the killer for anyone’s chances of a comfortable retirement. 

[Deleted User]

jampot7us said:

Really interesting thread here guys..Thanks...would be interested to peoples views on companies offering share options rather than larger pension % to peoples salary...Dont wanna pull the thread away from op though...

Share options are great. Free money, take them. Just dont accumulate the shares to the level of them making a meaningful part of your overall portfolio. 

Of course, often its the technology start-ups that pay in options. These guys use options to replace part of your salary. May work out. Or not.

couriervanman

OP I've always loved these posts as well your not the only one
Its always somebody who is mortgage free in a £500k house with £150k in isa,generous pension pot £350k increasing by £1k a month top up with a partner who has retired a few years earlier on £20k a year.+ £100k savings. And they always ask will i have enough to last for 20 years,plus they forget the £180 a week they will collect at 65. 

IvanOpinion

antdon said:

Why do the majority of posters in this forum appear to have much larger pension pots than the average person in the UK???
Oh! And surely if your pot is so large you should be speaking to an IFA?

In my case I felt very let down by my IFA who, continued to take a monthly fee from my investments yet failed to contact me even once over a period of several years (including failing to return phone calls).  I had a choice of finding a new IFA or taking control myself ... I did the latter.  Initially I went for some simple multi-asset funds but, as I have gained more knowledge I have branched out and diversified a bit.  With hindsight, I now believe that the IFA put me into, what I would describe as, 'safe' under-performing options.

I have been trying to reach out to an IFA about some pension queries I have but so far they have all focused on me handing control of my investments over to them (at significant initial cost and ongoing annual fees).  From this board I have received sound advice from several posters including Bowlhead and Albermarie (many thanks to them) - much better than how local IFAs have treated me

antdon

Deleted_User said:

People who lose lots of money don’t tend to brag in chatrooms. Not sure why.

Part of me also wonders if the fish caught in anglers’ chatrooms was actually the size they tend to report. 

Lol ...  My thoughts exactly......

antdon

couriervanman said:

OP I've always loved these posts as well your not the only one
Its always somebody who is mortgage free in a £500k house with £150k in isa,generous pension pot £350k increasing by £1k a month top up with a partner who has retired a few years earlier on £20k a year.+ £100k savings. And they always ask will i have enough to last for 20 years,plus they forget the £180 a week they will collect at 65. 

Lol...  I can remember a poster a couple of months ago saying  they will have £1000000 in their pension pot when they are 35.... and asking will it be enough.....lol  omg perhaps it's an age thing.......

pensionpawn

couriervanman said:

OP I've always loved these posts as well your not the only one
Its always somebody who is mortgage free in a £500k house with £150k in isa,generous pension pot £350k increasing by £1k a month top up with a partner who has retired a few years earlier on £20k a year.+ £100k savings. And they always ask will i have enough to last for 20 years,plus they forget the £180 a week they will collect at 65. 

As posted elsewhere, this forum is going to be mainly frequently by people who are taking their pension provision seriously, and hence have contributed a lot along the way, and wish to share tips (and learn, as I have done) about best practice. Most will have significant pension pots because they have significant salaries / windfalls. We know there are huge variations in salaries around the country however the pension rules apply to us all (below certain thresholds). That said, for those of us on more modest incomes though can afford steady and gradually increasing contributions over ~ 32 years, we can still generate an LTA sized pot (and today's values) at 55. Around £100 / month (net), not including employer contributions, increasing around 11%-12% pa and growing at an average rate of 8% over the term would do the trick. Also, as posted elsewhere, the longer you are invested the better the growth should be. I started my first pension at 23, my youngest daughter at 17. Some people salary sacrifice huge amounts towards the end of their working careers as the kids have left home etc. Little acorns, large oaks and all that. The main thing is not to be consumed by the idea of needing a huge pot. Yes bigger is better, and certainly is in this case, however your pot only has to be proportional to your current standard of living, and time to enjoy it / not sacrificing too much to achieve it is also key.