Pension projected fund prediction lower than I’ve paid in

[ImbarbaraB]

It just seems like there’s no point to it?

I earn so little that my contributions are totally £4000 and my predicted fund at retirement is £3700

Should I just opt out and save in a way that I can control it?

Also - if I stop paying into it I can’t take my money out of it yet but the pension company will continue charging me yearly admin fees on it for years to come so il actually potentially end up never seeing the money I put in

That's £3700 every year for the rest of your life though? How long have you been paying in?

That seems surprising as they'd have to be assuming that there'll be a negative return between now and retirement. It also doesn't seem to take into account any employer's contributions. Where is the number from? Are you sure it is not an annual pension amount?

Would you be able to give more details about the scheme you're in? What kind of fund is it (defined benefit or defined contribution), how long do you have to go? How much is your employer contributing?

If you opt out; you'll lose the tax benefits and your employer's contributions. Can you speak to a financial advisor to help explain your options?

How old are you and how long have you been paying in?

Pensions are long term investments. In many schemes you'll start off in share based and as you get to 50+ they will gradually start switching to more stable investments. Shares tend to do well long term, but over any term of 5 years may well dip, especially if that time includes brexit and a pandemic!

@TreeDice how can it be 3700 a year if the fund is only worth that much?

Have your earnings always been that ow? Because I am not sure that you should have been advised to take out a personal pension. That and there has been a bit of an anomaly

www.ageuk.org.uk/discover/2019/june/getting-lower-earners-a-fair-deal-in-pension-saving/

Opting out would be a mistake. Pensions have tax benefits & presumably you’re getting employer contributions.

Are you sure the £3700 isn’t the amount you’ll get each year? You really need to know this.

I’m 35, not too sure how long I’ve been paying into it. On and off 10 years maybe at a push

I’ve had maternity leaves in that time too and time out of work.

I can’t see it being a projected yearly sum, it doesn’t say that

It’s held with the people’s pension

It’s not a defined benefit type, just standard employer type pension

This is screenshot of what it says

Check if that's each year if so that's not great, but it's not awful.

I’ve only paid £4K in though so having £3.7 a year would be amazing based on that so it can’t possibly be yearly?

This is a long term investment. The early years may show little or negative growth as fees will eat up into the equity. I’d be asking what contributions me and my employer had paid in, and then think about how much you need to save for a reasonable retirement fund. What is your actual net salary?

Definitely not yearly. I’ve just looked at a statement and it says my yearly pension is £50 based on that

Is that £4 all your contributions or does it include employer payments too?

£4K obvs

Is there a pension helpline number listed on your pension account? Maybe you can ring them and chat?
I was lead to believe that if you are not on DB pension scheme, then you are on a DC one, so when you say it's your standard employers scheme, it could very well be DC. Double check this.

Also, how much does your employer contribute for every £ you put in??

In black and white 🤦🏻‍♀️

@Mia85 that’s in total including employer payments

Have a read through the Age UK link I put up and check your payslip, see what that says.

What risk setting is your fund set to?

Oh! Cross posted!

That looks strange, how is the projection made? Is there anyone you can ask?

I would expect your contribution to be bumped up by employer as well plus tax relief (depending up how yours is done)

What types of things is it invested in?

Is that £50 per month? That makes more sense.

Sorry cross posted - yes would give them a call and ask what is happening