Voluntary contributions or SIPP saving.

rosebrid12

Hi thanks for letting me join. I would like other viewpoints on my situation.

I'm 48, working full time since 2016 and in a lucky situation of being able to save a lot of my income in that my partner's house is paid for and our only extravagances are a holiday and a couple of UK trips a year. My NI contributions will get me 174 a week state pension at the moment out of a possible 203. I paid a couple of voluntary contributions this last year to increase it to that point. I still have the option of paying more which is my query. I have 22,000 invested in SIPPs ,the majority of which is Hargreaves Lansdowne in which I have no complaints about at all. I also have workplace pensions totalling around 5500 (PensionBee extricated my first workplace pension out of Carey and has made a good little sum so far and current workplace pension is with Nest). I am contributing 50 a month myself to those two myself as well as the salary contributions to Nest which is automatic, mine and my employer's. Would it be best to keep on doing that and the SIPPs rather than pay another £1000 worth of contributions to HMRC which I have the option of doing for a while yet?

12 years of full contributions

18 years to contribute before 5 April 2041

21 years when you did not contribute enough.

The above is what my NI record says. I will only get the 174 working right up to retirement now til 2041. That is why I am pondering the pros and cons of pulling out 1000 out of savings to buy another couple of years or whether it is just better to keep doing the private stuff. I can use ISA savings to do it so it isn't a problem, appreciate there might be no definitive long term knowable answer but will be interested in what others think, thanks.

molerat

VCs give an excellent return - £800 spent will likely give you a total return of around £6K at today's rate.  But it is a gamble, spend £800 today and walk in front of a bus tomorrow it is lost.  A difficult decision when you are 18 years away from retirement.

rosebrid12

I am wondering that as because the state pension is index linked it will pay out more eventually than investing privately. (I can do both). But the 1000 I am talking about is in a stocks ISA with Hargreaves that is also performing well.

I have unfortunately depleted cash savings lately but will build them up again if I can.

badmemory

Are any of the years actually part paid, as in 21 years when you did not pay enough, & available to pay now, so the last 16 years.