At what point to stop investing (new money)?

B0bbyEwing

As I have a habit of having my questions misunderstood - I'm asking at what point to stop paying in (S&S ISA / SIPP for example), not at what point should you pull all your money out.

My mother is unemployed due to disability and is approaching her mid 60s. She has some thousands in cash savings. She had no retirement plan until maybe 5 years ago-ish when she started putting her allowance in to a SIPP after I asked here on the back of her request, if there was even any point at her age & it seemed to be that yes there was. 

What's generally seen as a point to stop putting in new money as far as investments go? I'd imagine at 110 years old it's probably not the best decision to be maxing things out for example. I also appreciate nobody has a crystal ball to know when they're about to check out either.

eskbanker

B0bbyEwing said:

What's generally seen as a point to stop putting in new money as far as investments go? 

There isn't going to be a one-size-fits-all answer, in that much will depend on how much she needs that SIPP money and when, so what does her retirement plan look like, in terms of assets, pension drawdown/income plans and anticipated annual expenditure?

masonic

It depends what her objective is and whether she will need the money herself. Assuming no, if it is to leave an inheritance to young grandchildren or great grandchildren, to be put into a trust and invested for them, then adding to investments until death may be appropriate. If leaving it to family who might wish to spend it in the short term, or to charity, then it would be better held in lower risk assets as she approaches her life expectancy. Obviously she should not invest money she would need to spend on herself in the short term.

born_again

B0bbyEwing said:

As I have a habit of having my questions misunderstood - I'm asking at what point to stop paying in (S&S ISA / SIPP for example), not at what point should you pull all your money out.

My mother is unemployed due to disability and is approaching her mid 60s. She has some thousands in cash savings. She had no retirement plan until maybe 5 years ago-ish when she started putting her allowance in to a SIPP after I asked here on the back of her request, if there was even any point at her age & it seemed to be that yes there was. 

What's generally seen as a point to stop putting in new money as far as investments go? I'd imagine at 110 years old it's probably not the best decision to be maxing things out for example. I also appreciate nobody has a crystal ball to know when they're about to check out either.

While not answering the question directly.
Does she get means tested benefits?
As that can effect the answer.

Voyager2002

Personally, I visited my doctor to ask how many years I was likely to have left (and the answer surprised me).

Usually there is a limit to how much you can put into a SIPP, and the tax advantages mean that it may well be worth putting money in up to that limit. If you expect to spend this money within the next few years then it might be better to keep it as cash within the SIPP or invest in gilts rather than going for equities.

I tend to think that the more you have in an ISA the better. Again, risk-free securities might be a better idea than investments, but these can also be held within an ISA.

B0bbyEwing

Thanks for the responses.

I know through my brother that my mother is concerned about money. She's told him she "may have to sell the house" when he moves out. As he's now bought his own place that will be very soon but it's also a baseless statement as I know she wont have sat down & crunched numbers which is why I'm trying to look in to things for her. There's no mortgage on the house so she wont be saving herself there. The house also isn't large either but I'm drifting off topic - suffice to say she's worried she wont have enough.

born_again said:

B0bbyEwing said:

As I have a habit of having my questions misunderstood - I'm asking at what point to stop paying in (S&S ISA / SIPP for example), not at what point should you pull all your money out.

My mother is unemployed due to disability and is approaching her mid 60s. She has some thousands in cash savings. She had no retirement plan until maybe 5 years ago-ish when she started putting her allowance in to a SIPP after I asked here on the back of her request, if there was even any point at her age & it seemed to be that yes there was. 

What's generally seen as a point to stop putting in new money as far as investments go? I'd imagine at 110 years old it's probably not the best decision to be maxing things out for example. I also appreciate nobody has a crystal ball to know when they're about to check out either.

While not answering the question directly.
Does she get means tested benefits?
As that can effect the answer.

She is or at least was (one of them stopped I know that). If you're leading to state pension qualifying years then I checked that a few years ago & whatever benefits she were on qualified her for the full amount so she doesn't need to buy any years. She gets a portion of my dad's pension as well each month which I should add to the info.

As for what she wants - well what she needs is to be able to live. Not be struggling to feed or heat herself (she isn't, I'm just saying that's a need, obviously). Beyond this & getting in to wants, she's pretty simple (no not like that) - she's not interested in cruises every other month, flashy cars, buying big TVs etc etc. She sticks to simple living, not through being forced to but that's what she enjoys. 

eskbanker

B0bbyEwing said:

I know through my brother that my mother is concerned about money. She's told him she "may have to sell the house" when he moves out. As he's now bought his own place that will be very soon but it's also a baseless statement as I know she wont have sat down & crunched numbers which is why I'm trying to look in to things for her.

It sounds like you only have fairly sketchy details about your mother's finances at this stage, so it's probably premature to be asking about when to stop feeding a SIPP in isolation from all the rest of the planning?  Once you've ascertained more detail about the state of play, you can share more detail about the circumstances in order to get more meaningful informed guidance rather than guesswork, but determining when to stop paying into a SIPP will entail consideration of when the money needs to start being accessed.

B0bbyEwing

eskbanker said:

B0bbyEwing said:

I know through my brother that my mother is concerned about money. She's told him she "may have to sell the house" when he moves out. As he's now bought his own place that will be very soon but it's also a baseless statement as I know she wont have sat down & crunched numbers which is why I'm trying to look in to things for her.

It sounds like you only have fairly sketchy details about your mother's finances at this stage, so it's probably premature to be asking about when to stop feeding a SIPP in isolation from all the rest of the planning?  Once you've ascertained more detail about the state of play, you can share more detail about the circumstances in order to get more meaningful informed guidance rather than guesswork, but determining when to stop paying into a SIPP will entail consideration of when the money needs to start being accessed.

I actually have to the penny details to be fair since I have all her login details. My mother asks for money to be put in to savings & so I search out the savings account & transfer the money, open the accounts, so on & so forth. I keep log of everything so it can all be shown at any moment. Any transfer or opening is done with my mothers request/approval. 
Which is why I was surprised about the talk of selling the house, which I thought was quite dramatic. I did wonder if she was trying to guilt him in to not moving out which would be quite sad if so.

NedS

Even if not working, tax relief is available on pension contributions of £3600 gross (£2880 net) up to the age of 75, so would appear to make sense to continue to contribute as long as tax relief is available. Beyond that, stop investing more once you have enough?

eskbanker

B0bbyEwing said:

eskbanker said:

B0bbyEwing said:

I know through my brother that my mother is concerned about money. She's told him she "may have to sell the house" when he moves out. As he's now bought his own place that will be very soon but it's also a baseless statement as I know she wont have sat down & crunched numbers which is why I'm trying to look in to things for her.

It sounds like you only have fairly sketchy details about your mother's finances at this stage, so it's probably premature to be asking about when to stop feeding a SIPP in isolation from all the rest of the planning?  Once you've ascertained more detail about the state of play, you can share more detail about the circumstances in order to get more meaningful informed guidance rather than guesswork, but determining when to stop paying into a SIPP will entail consideration of when the money needs to start being accessed.

I actually have to the penny details to be fair since I have all her login details. My mother asks for money to be put in to savings & so I search out the savings account & transfer the money, open the accounts, so on & so forth. I keep log of everything so it can all be shown at any moment. Any transfer or opening is done with my mothers request/approval. 
Which is why I was surprised about the talk of selling the house, which I thought was quite dramatic. I did wonder if she was trying to guilt him in to not moving out which would be quite sad if so.

The point wasn't really so much about knowing current account balances but familiarity with the overall retirement plan, and in particular the role of the SIPP money in that - the answers to your original question will vary according to whether the SIPP money will all be needed imminently, or not at all in her lifetime, or any of the many permutations in between.