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Pay Mortgage up and put money in Pension ?

Hi,
 I have just been left some money from my late mother and as I am hoping to  retire in 2 years .
Question I am asking is 
 Should I clear my Mortgage of £25,000 off at the end of my deal in April 2022 saving me £400 a month and pay the £400 into my Post Office Pension for the 2 years , or wouldn't it be worth it with only 2 years before retirement.
Many thanks

Comments

  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 29,167 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Only you can weigh up which is best. In terms of return 

    Your mortgage gives you certainty - if you pay it off - it's done. You know exactly how much £ a month that would free up.

    If you put it into your pension if you are a basic rate tax payer - you will get roughly 25% uplift from the government in tax relief- far outstripping the interest rate your mortgage costs. So that would be around £6.2K If you are a higher rate tax payer the uplift is even more.

    The risk with putting it into your pension if you are on a Defined Contribution pension is that your pension could go down or up and there is no way of knowing which it will do over a 2 year time frame. If you were able to buy added years as part of a Defined Benefit pension scheme - and the additional money was guaranteed - then that could be a real winner. You've not really given enough information.

    Do you have any debt? Do you have a 6-12 month emergency fund? These are also important things to consider.

    Only you know your personal circumstances and how much risk you can afford to take. I am not an IFA.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £167.4K Equity 38% 3/4/26
    2) £2.5K Net savings after CCs 14/4/26 (but owed £1.1K) so £3.6K
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £38.5K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.3K) = 44.4K of £127.5K target 34.8% 17/4/26 (If took bigger lump sum = 66.4K or 52%)
    4) FI Age 60 income target £17.1/30K 57% (if mortgage and debts repaid - need more otherwise) (If bigger lump sum £15.8/30K 52.67%)
    5) SIPP £5.3K updated 17/4/26
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