Just reviewed my Pension Pot.

JPin

I decided to look at my pension pot today, I am 39 and it is due to mature when I am 55.

The pot currently stands at a reasonable £75k, I contribute 9% and my company contributes 11.5%. The fund appears to be a growth fund (drawdown l/s), this means nothing to me. 

I am not sure if I need to do anything.  What should I be looking at here?

Marcon

JPin said:

I decided to look at my pension pot today, I am 39 and it is due to mature when I am 55.

The pot currently stands at a reasonable £75k, I contribute 9% and my company contributes 11.5%. The fund appears to be a growth fund (drawdown l/s), this means nothing to me. 

I am not sure if I need to do anything.  What should I be looking at here?

Looks as if you are in a lifestyle fund with the aim of opting for drawdown at retirement, rather than buying an annuity.

Not sure what you mean by 'maturing' at 55 - you can't access your benefits until at least age 57 (it rises from the current 55 in April 2028).

JPin

Silly question from me but what do you mean by opting for a drawdown?

gm0

Your contributions at >20% salary are good. 

You are in a fund which will as you approach retirement - automatically manage asset allocation (how many equities, how many bonds and cash).  It will describe what it is in your scheme booklet or on your web site. 

Basically most "l/s" funds (which is short hand for lifestyling) start to dial down speculative investment risk (equities) towards government bonds towards retirement - for about 10 years - bit at a time. 

To an extreme extent for an "annuity focused l/s" where the danger is that there is a stock market crash close to "the day" that the money is taken to buy the annuity.  With drawdown you take money gradually so this is less of a concern and the ramp down in terms of risk is shallower typically. 

If you are happy with what it will do to "self manage" the mix of assets then leave alone. 

But if you want it to stay invested as you choose and not to lifestyle/self-manage then you need to switch to some other fund which will not have "lifestyle" in the title - "self select funds" or some other phrasing like that.  And then pick an investment you like that has the long term growth potential you are after for the next 20 years (and then on into retirement).

Opting for drawdown in the context of someone saving only means that this is the "assumption" (now) about how you will later choose to access your pension.  Which can be via tax free lump sum, annuity, drawdown, or mixtures of these things.

It does not commit you.  And if retirement is some way off the system and rules will have changed by the time you get there.

Marcon

JPin said:

Silly question from me but what do you mean by opting for a drawdown?

You've asked what you should be looking at, so maybe any information given to you by your employer, or your pension provider's website might be a good start!

See https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/taking-your-pension/what-is-flexible-retirement-income-pension-drawdown

Albermarle

JPin said:

I decided to look at my pension pot today, I am 39 and it is due to mature when I am 55.

The pot currently stands at a reasonable £75k, I contribute 9% and my company contributes 11.5%. The fund appears to be a growth fund (drawdown l/s), this means nothing to me. 

I am not sure if I need to do anything.  What should I be looking at here?

£75K is not that high in pension terms, but >20% a year going in is a good sign for the future.
Looking at your pension pot at 39 is probably 10 years before many people do.
What you should do is start to educate yourself on the basics of investing and pensions. It could mean a bigger pension income or retiring earlier than you could have otherwise. There is no rush, just take it steady.
Here is a starter for 10 and you will get plenty of pointers by regularly reading this and the 'Savings and Investments forum'
 Pensions: Everything you need to know for retirement - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)
Investing in stocks for beginners: how to get started - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

JPin

Albermarle said:

JPin said:

I decided to look at my pension pot today, I am 39 and it is due to mature when I am 55.

The pot currently stands at a reasonable £75k, I contribute 9% and my company contributes 11.5%. The fund appears to be a growth fund (drawdown l/s), this means nothing to me. 

I am not sure if I need to do anything.  What should I be looking at here?

£75K is not that high in pension terms, but >20% a year going in is a good sign for the future.
Looking at your pension pot at 39 is probably 10 years before many people do.
What you should do is start to educate yourself on the basics of investing and pensions. It could mean a bigger pension income or retiring earlier than you could have otherwise. There is no rush, just take it steady.
Here is a starter for 10 and you will get plenty of pointers by regularly reading this and the 'Savings and Investments forum'
 Pensions: Everything you need to know for retirement - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)
Investing in stocks for beginners: how to get started - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

Thanks for the information, upon reflection I thought £75k might not be high enough but it's difficult to put a figure on where I should be. 

MK62

JPin said:

Albermarle said:

JPin said:

I decided to look at my pension pot today, I am 39 and it is due to mature when I am 55.

The pot currently stands at a reasonable £75k, I contribute 9% and my company contributes 11.5%. The fund appears to be a growth fund (drawdown l/s), this means nothing to me. 

I am not sure if I need to do anything.  What should I be looking at here?

£75K is not that high in pension terms, but >20% a year going in is a good sign for the future.
Looking at your pension pot at 39 is probably 10 years before many people do.
What you should do is start to educate yourself on the basics of investing and pensions. It could mean a bigger pension income or retiring earlier than you could have otherwise. There is no rush, just take it steady.
Here is a starter for 10 and you will get plenty of pointers by regularly reading this and the 'Savings and Investments forum'
 Pensions: Everything you need to know for retirement - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)
Investing in stocks for beginners: how to get started - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

Thanks for the information, upon reflection I thought £75k might not be high enough but it's difficult to put a figure on where I should be. 

TBH, only you can do that........much will depend on when you plan to retire, and what level of retirement income you'll want.....the resulting fund size needed can vary wildly just from those two factors....as they say, you can't plan a route unless you know where you want to be....

As Albermarle said though, at least you are taking an interest early enough to influence things........many leave it far too late, and often have pretty unrealistic aspirations......