SSI, LISA, SIPP or increase NHS Pension Contributions?

Descrabled

Adamc said:

Descrabled said:

NHS Pension

The NHS pension is fantastic value. I have a small NHS pension and two company pensions  The inflation addition to the NHS payment each year after retirement can't be beaton. You also have tax relief on your contributions.

I paid 15% of my gross income into my pension schemes for the last 30 years of my working life.  The best financial decision that I ever made!

How did you go about researching the best arrangement for your needs? Did you take expert advice or DIY? What happens to your pensions (and additional contributions) should the worst occur? 

I talked to two, supposed experts on pensions, at different times and their advice was in one case very bad and would have cost me about 20% of one company pension. The other expert advised me to leave my then final salary scheme, poor advice as can now be shown.

I was brought up to be financially aware so it was easy to do the calculations and make decisions. My first wife had died and I was a single parent with a salary just above the lower tax rate.  So additional contributions were good to keep me within the lower tax band and I decided to make added years contributions so that I could retire early when my parental duty was complete.

My company pensions were, and still are, protected thanks of course to what occured with the Maxwell pension problems. My NHS pension and state pension are backed by the tax payer; thanks.

I did retire in my mid 50s and took a job in the NHS as my two sons were at university. I loved every minute working in the NHS. The NHS provided an excellent 3 day retirement course and this was the only advice that I received that was useful as a guide to retirement, but by then the financial commitment had already been made.

Adamc

Reg_Smeeton said:

Adamc said:

Hi 

I'm looking to invest around £500 per month to save for retirement. I'm a 34 year old junior grade NHS employee earning £43K and paying 9.1% in NHS Pension contributions. I do a little overtime on bank so on average earn an extra £300 per month. I have student debt of £16K.

Where are people in my position advised to put their money? I'm finding the pension implications a little difficult to fully comprehend. Although I love my job I hate the conditions and environment I work in. I'd love to have the option to drop days later on or retire early. 

So many of my colleagues have joined the private sector so that's also an option but at the moment I'm staying in the NHS. 

I’m in a similar position to you, age and circumstances, just in local government instead.

My personal hierarchy of savings (in order of priority):

Additional contributions into the Local Gov Pension Scheme (paid at source)
Emergency cash savings held in a range of regular savers and easy access accounts

Once my cash savings exceed a certain level these are then distributed into:
SIPP and LISA (to bridge gap between 58/60 - state pension age)
S&S ISA (for retirement pre 58/60?)

All things equal, if I remain in my local government post until the age of 40, I will have accrued enough in the LGPS to cover my essential outgoings, when I start to claim it alongside state pension at 68 (or whatever age that will be by the time I get there). I’m hoping this will take a lot of pressure off my work life and I can either begin the transition down to 3/4 days a week or move to a lower grade position. My current role can be both very physically and mentally demanding and not sure that doing it full time well into my 50s and 60s is realistic!

Did you consider a lifetime ISA for S&S?

Reg_Smeeton

Adamc said:

Reg_Smeeton said:

Adamc said:

Hi 

I'm looking to invest around £500 per month to save for retirement. I'm a 34 year old junior grade NHS employee earning £43K and paying 9.1% in NHS Pension contributions. I do a little overtime on bank so on average earn an extra £300 per month. I have student debt of £16K.

Where are people in my position advised to put their money? I'm finding the pension implications a little difficult to fully comprehend. Although I love my job I hate the conditions and environment I work in. I'd love to have the option to drop days later on or retire early. 

So many of my colleagues have joined the private sector so that's also an option but at the moment I'm staying in the NHS. 

I’m in a similar position to you, age and circumstances, just in local government instead.

My personal hierarchy of savings (in order of priority):

Additional contributions into the Local Gov Pension Scheme (paid at source)
Emergency cash savings held in a range of regular savers and easy access accounts

Once my cash savings exceed a certain level these are then distributed into:
SIPP and LISA (to bridge gap between 58/60 - state pension age)
S&S ISA (for retirement pre 58/60?)

All things equal, if I remain in my local government post until the age of 40, I will have accrued enough in the LGPS to cover my essential outgoings, when I start to claim it alongside state pension at 68 (or whatever age that will be by the time I get there). I’m hoping this will take a lot of pressure off my work life and I can either begin the transition down to 3/4 days a week or move to a lower grade position. My current role can be both very physically and mentally demanding and not sure that doing it full time well into my 50s and 60s is realistic!

Did you consider a lifetime ISA for S&S?

To clarify, yes my LISA is S&S