Simply Not Worth Their While?

Saga

I tried to find a financial adviser on Unbiased and VouchedFor but I get the feeling that because of my age (50s), low but OK salary, rubbishy pension forecast, only £40K savings and no other assets I was not matched with any IFAs at all so couldn't get a free first consultation.

I would like some advice on maximising a return on the little money I do have but it seems a bit uphill. Even if I do just pick and pay a random IFA the above seems to suggest that beyond any professional exterior they'd just be laughing at some sad poor minnow wasting their time and not really worth any effort.

Has anyone on low-ish income and with few assets managed to get matched with an IFA and had a good experience?

ColdIron

For relatively low sums an IFA would probably use a single multi asset fund, you can do this yourself

AskAsk

IFAs won't be suitable for you as they advise you where to invest your money and as you say, you don't have a lot, so their services won't be that useful to you.  My banks have always offered me free advice from their IFAs but I only ever went to one and I found him pretty useless so I have avoided IFAs since that time, even when they are offered for free.

I didn't have a lot of money in the bank then I don't think so I wonder why they offered me the IFA?? 

If you don't have a lot of assets then I would be looking to protect that 40k and not take any risks with it.  So you want to be looking for a long term fixed savings account or if you feel lucky, the premium bonds.

Some more learned members on this board will be able to advise you I am sure.

Alistair31

I think you’re now in the right place. Time to open the notebook…

JohnWinder

Advisors, as a generalisation, feel they need to be paid decently, but most people realise that people of limited means simply can't stomach what might be reasonable charges. If you had to pay the a surgeon's fee all from your pocket you'd probably avoid surgery also. Fortunately we have an NHS, but unfortunately are getting rid of the nearest equivalent for retirement funding - defined benefit pensions. But while setting your own fractures is not for the faint-hearted, you can be confident of doing a reasonable job of managing your own finances/investments with some decent guidance and a fair bit of reading yourself. Then you'll be in an even better position to afford an advisor and be confident that the one you choose is suited to you. May the Force be with you.

frugalmacdugal

AskAsk said:

My banks have always offered me free advice from their IFAs but I only ever went to one and I found him pretty useless so I have avoided IFAs since that time, even when they are offered for free.

I didn't have a lot of money in the bank then I don't think so I wonder why they offered me the IFA??

Hi,

banks don't have IFAs (Independant Financial Advisors) they have Financial Advisors, who will only offer you products from their own bank, whereas an IFA can offer whole of market products.

You would be offered the 'free' service in the hope that you would be suckered in and buy one of their products.

Y'all take care now.

Albermarle

low but OK salary, rubbishy pension forecast,

If you supply some more details, then you will hopefully get some useful pointers from the forum .

What exactly is your position in regard to pensions ? Do you just have one or more than one ? Are they DC pensions ( where you have a pot of money ) or DB pensions ( a promise to pay a guaranteed income ) ? How much do you pay in each month ?

Have you checked your state pension forecast ?

bugbyte_2

I started off by reading this guys site:

https://monevator.com/

and built an investment strategy largely on what I learned there.

Saga

Albermarle said:

low but OK salary, rubbishy pension forecast,

If you supply some more details, then you will hopefully get some useful pointers from the forum .

What exactly is your position in regard to pensions ? Do you just have one or more than one ? Are they DC pensions ( where you have a pot of money ) or DB pensions ( a promise to pay a guaranteed income ) ? How much do you pay in each month ?

Have you checked your state pension forecast ?

I'm early 50s earning only £30K pa. I have no debts and £12.5K in a HTB ISA, £26.5K in premium bonds and about £500 in a regular saver. I'm saving about £600/mth split between the PBs, the HTB ISA (comparatively good interest rate) and regular saver.

Because of health problems throughout my life my current workplace DC pension pot is projected to be worth a very sad/laughable £45K at retirement at 67 if I last that long. My employer is already paying their maximum into my workplace pension so any more I pay in wouldn't be matched. I've eight years' worth of gaps on my basic state pension (six of which I don't understand because I was a full-time student including PhD working all hours 7 days/wk so not sure how I was supposed to work to pay NICs – you can tell I was  very financially literate). More than six years have passed so I can't fill these gaps. I also have a DB pension from a previous employment currently projected to give about £1500 per year.

I have always rented but my OH & I were hoping to find somewhere suitable to buy. Sadly my OH died nearly a year ago (no assets/DIS/pension etc). We didn't have any children and were not married. My health requirements mean finding somewhere both suitable and affordable to buy is difficult although I do look frequently but maybe will never happen.

Without a property to appreciate in value I was hoping I could get advice on investing a small-ish proportion of my savings and ongoing monthly payments long term or suggested alternatives, for example become a BTL landlord (although it would have to be managed by an agent).

Linton

Saga said:

Albermarle said:

low but OK salary, rubbishy pension forecast,

If you supply some more details, then you will hopefully get some useful pointers from the forum .

What exactly is your position in regard to pensions ? Do you just have one or more than one ? Are they DC pensions ( where you have a pot of money ) or DB pensions ( a promise to pay a guaranteed income ) ? How much do you pay in each month ?

Have you checked your state pension forecast ?

I'm early 50s earning only £30K pa. I have no debts and £12.5K in a HTB ISA, £26.5K in premium bonds and about £500 in a regular saver. I'm saving about £600/mth split between the PBs, the HTB ISA (comparatively good interest rate) and regular saver.

Because of health problems throughout my life my current workplace DC pension pot is projected to be worth a very sad/laughable £45K at retirement at 67 if I last that long. My employer is already paying their maximum into my workplace pension so any more I pay in wouldn't be matched. I've eight years' worth of gaps on my basic state pension (six of which I don't understand because I was a full-time student including PhD working all hours 7 days/wk so not sure how I was supposed to work to pay NICs – you can tell I was  very financially literate). More than six years have passed so I can't fill these gaps. I also have a DB pension from a previous employment currently projected to give about £1500 per year.

I have always rented but my OH & I were hoping to find somewhere suitable to buy. Sadly my OH died nearly a year ago (no assets/DIS/pension etc). We didn't have any children and were not married. My health requirements mean finding somewhere both suitable and affordable to buy is difficult although I do look frequently but maybe will never happen.

Without a property to appreciate in value I was hoping I could get advice on investing a small-ish proportion of my savings and ongoing monthly payments long term or suggested alternatives, for example become a BTL landlord (although it would have to be managed by an agent).

Even though your employer wont be contributing more into your pension making further contributions yourself could well be one of your best options because of the tax benefits.  Given your current pension levels you could be in the position of getting tax relief on the money going into the pension but wont pay tax when you withdraw it.

Sadly PhD students dont get NI credits but I would be surprised if you wont be at or near a full SP by 67.  You should get the SP forecast to see how many years you do have to pay to get a full SP: https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension
If you have any questions on what the figures mean you can ask here.

Worried_fool

Saga said:

Albermarle said:

low but OK salary, rubbishy pension forecast,

If you supply some more details, then you will hopefully get some useful pointers from the forum .

What exactly is your position in regard to pensions ? Do you just have one or more than one ? Are they DC pensions ( where you have a pot of money ) or DB pensions ( a promise to pay a guaranteed income ) ? How much do you pay in each month ?

Have you checked your state pension forecast ?

I'm early 50s earning only £30K pa. I have no debts and £12.5K in a HTB ISA, £26.5K in premium bonds and about £500 in a regular saver. I'm saving about £600/mth split between the PBs, the HTB ISA (comparatively good interest rate) and regular saver.

Because of health problems throughout my life my current workplace DC pension pot is projected to be worth a very sad/laughable £45K at retirement at 67 if I last that long. My employer is already paying their maximum into my workplace pension so any more I pay in wouldn't be matched. I've eight years' worth of gaps on my basic state pension (six of which I don't understand because I was a full-time student including PhD working all hours 7 days/wk so not sure how I was supposed to work to pay NICs – you can tell I was  very financially literate). More than six years have passed so I can't fill these gaps. I also have a DB pension from a previous employment currently projected to give about £1500 per year.

I have always rented but my OH & I were hoping to find somewhere suitable to buy. Sadly my OH died nearly a year ago (no assets/DIS/pension etc). We didn't have any children and were not married. My health requirements mean finding somewhere both suitable and affordable to buy is difficult although I do look frequently but maybe will never happen.

Without a property to appreciate in value I was hoping I could get advice on investing a small-ish proportion of my savings and ongoing monthly payments long term or suggested alternatives, for example become a BTL landlord (although it would have to be managed by an agent).

A couple of points.

Firstly, studying does not earn one NI credits. Most people will work for enough years to have all the credits they need despite this: unfortunately you have been caught out. The rules have been correctly applied.

The tax position for a BTL property is not good: after paying an agent's fees and the other necessary expenses you could be looking at a loss, and after tax it is unlikely you would make much of a profit, certainly not enough to justify all the trouble involved.

If you pay to make up your National Insurance record and so eventually get a full state pension, then that together with the pension you mentioned from previous employment would give you about ten thousand a year: enough for a reasonable life if you don't have to pay rent. And your various savings (including your current pension) would be enough to buy an attractive home in the north of England, somewhere like Lancaster or Hull. While your position is far from ideal it is not too bad.

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