I am aged 49, am single, rent a flat, and have no savings and no pension. I am a newly qualified social worker...

[Butterflywing]

Which is financially best for me: doing an Assisted Year ( AYSE) as an NHS or Local Council Social Worker?

@Iris1980

Also if you train to be a practice educator you usually get paid extra for that too so that’s another option for more money. Think you can train to be PE after two years

I'm a PA no extra cash for me 😢

Congratulations OP! You are right to treat your pension as a priority now and are able to add additional contributions on top of your employer’s contributions.

@bridgeofslides that’s a shame. It’s not much where I work but you get an extra £10 per day every day you have student so if you have a couple a year it adds up.

Well done to anyone else who has retrained!

I am keen to hear how much extra I could make as a PE or BI assessor? Or both?!

Thanks!

What area should I go into?

What happens in an Annual Review Team? Would that be very bureaucratic?

What about older adults? Is that rewarding?

Well done. You have done really well. Try not to worry too much though, you can only do so much and need to enjoy and live life now too. The good thing is that you are thinking about it.

I think you can pay up some lost years of National insurance contributions. My dad however never had his full ni and no private pension. After my mum died (she had a good nhs pension and for various reasons he wasn't entitled to widower benefit) he had his money topped up hugely with pension credit so much so he was better off financially than before until he died too.

I've got a private pension with over £300k of contributions in it. My pension forecast from it is really really low though and I suspect that by the time I come to take my pension they will have removed the right to a state pension from people that have a private pension over a certain amount anyhow.

If you want to contribute more to a pension now I would look and see if you can open a sipp separately to your workplace pension. You'll get all the tax credit as extra contributions and can invest in whatever suits your risk profile. You can also withdraw 25% tax free at I think 56 so given your age it is a good savings plan (as you get all the tax credit on the way in and free of tax on the way out).

It depends on where you work some LA pay overtime on BIA assessments or you can pick this up as extra work from agencies.
Most LAs well behind on BIA so usually lots to pick up once you have qualified - again usually need two years to undertake the BIA qualification. This may change when liberty protection safeguards come in but I would imagine still the opportunity to pick up extra work- and money.

Also depending on your own life situation EDT usually pays well but impacts on nights/weekends.

As a rule children’s usually pays better but more burnout and pressure. Plus I work in adults so probably bias but I’ve worked in both and much prefer adults. Take my hat off to anyone who can’t stick in children’s.

Children's sw is hard hard going I've been there 12 years

Can stick it obviously not can’t!

@Butterflywing

How will I find out all that before I start though how good the management is?

What would doing an AYSE on a Review Team entail?

I’d ask questions in the interview, or beforehand. Particularly around supervision, caseloads, mentoring, whether they have peer group supervision as well as management supervision.

Perhaps ask to visit the office, get a sense of the team. Often, the manager of the post will be one of the interviewers and you can get a lot from that interview - I remember my first ever SW interview was awful! I wouldn’t have taken that job if they’d begged me. Still, nearly eight years on I still haven’t heard from those interviewers so I can only assume they’re not offering it to me 😂

@Butterflywing

I didn't know I had to apply for an AYSE early? When I was on placement I was too busy looking after my DC, studying and working, I had no time to apply too!

Thank you for saying well done to me for retraining, it took a huge amount of effort, stress and tears. But I got there and my children are very proud of me.

I am worried about the future though as I haven't been in a position to save or have much time for myself over the years.

Really? When I was in my final year there was a huge amount of discussion in the group about ASYEs, all the local authorities advertise around the same time in the spring, it was also discussed in tutor groups, how did you miss it?

@Iris1980

Also if you train to be a practice educator you usually get paid extra for that too so that’s another option for more money. Think you can train to be PE after two years

You don't get paid extra in most local authorities any more. It's part of the expectation of a senior that they supervise students. No extra pay involved.

Also re the asye start dates - the undergrads graduate in about September and get their registration in October/November so haven't officially started asye yet.
My la does a pathway where when you finish lectures and placement you can work as a family support worker until your rev comes through. These folk start working from Easter onward until about now.

The pandemic greatly affected my placement, no chance to talk to others much so I am trying to find out now I have finished.

What does SIPPS stand for?

Congratulations on all you have achieved.

You can check you NI contributions/credits here

Also, if you don't own a house or flat by the time you retire and have to rent then your pension would just pay a landlord. Seems unfair when others with no pension will have the rent paid by housing benefit.

Hope you can improve the housing situation too.

I pay extra into my LGPS pension through APC’s (Additional Pension Contributions). It comes out of my salary before tax and is really worth doing. You choose how much extra you can afford to pay. I pay an additional £500 each month.

Im a local authority social worker but work in an integrated team. I would suggest that LA is better paid and more potential to climb the ladder quickly. Im a team manager after 5 years of qualifying. In older persons as well, not childrens.

You won’t be due your state pension till you are 68 for a full state pension you need 35 years contribution.

Great advice so far thanks!

So far I have learned from this thread that I can pay extra into a LGPS, start a separate SIPP ( I will choose an environment ally friendly one) , top up NI contributions; earn extra if I do ED, Best Interest Assessor. What about AMHP? Would that be stressful?

Can anyone recommend a good female focused financial advice provider? Have heard of Hargreaves Lansdown, any good?

One reason I have requalified in a reasonably well paying field is that it will mean I can get on the housing ladder.

My DC are over 12 years' now and happy for me to start a full time job finally, they have been helping out a lot at home as they can see this move will benefit all of us: Team Butterfly!!

I wanted to contribute to society and the NHS social work bursary enabled this change ( and supportive and kind DC).

Have not had the time or £ to think about a pension or mortgage before as been working hand to mouth up til now even though this is shocking for some of you, it shows how different our lives are!

It's important for the next 19 years I work for as rewarding a Social Work team as possible, so a supportive adult placement sounds like the way to go.

Within adults, any suggestions?

What about hospital social work?

Thanks for your advice so far.

I am really excited about the future also knowing how proud my DC are of me and how without their help ( cups of tea when I am tired, dinners made when I get home, laundry done without being asked) it has made being widowed much easier and has given us all something positive to focus on and a future.

That's a lovely post OP. Good luck for the future. Hope you enjoy your new career !

Your children sound amazing I can't say my 13 year old is that helpful but he does understand how hard I work and how important my job is.

Social work is an amazing career. It's hard but it's a brilliant job. You need to find the right fit for you in terms of sector, manager and team and once you do you will love it I'm sure.

Congrats OP. I would start by finding out how many qualifying years you have for the State Pension. Like others have said, you can buy back years to boost what you already have.

Then when you start working, definitely look to maximise your pension through additional contributions. It saves some tax too.

Self invested pension plan. Try vanguard or Hargreaves lansdown.

My only direct dealings with social services was when my Father needed a nursing home after an operation on his spine sorted his pain but left him disabled. It was hard finding a home, not helped by my Fathers poor English. I lived a few hundred miles from him. But the hospital SW who helped find his place and dealt with paperwork was fantastic. I met him a couple of times but most communication was on the phone. He spent 12 years in that home, they were fantastic people. They arranged hospice care at the home so he didn’t have to leave and designated him one to one care towards the end. All thanks to that SW really.

I’m a SW- I have a friend who career changed in to SW in my university cohort. Same age as you, renting, and with limited pension and 1 child the same age as yours. Over 5 years she has bought a property by relocating to a cheaper area (the benefit of SW being that you can do it anywhere). She did her ASYE in a LA and has now switched to the NHS. In adult social care and mental health it is not uncommon to go between the two throughout your career. Everything you wish to achieve is definitely possible and within a decent timeframe, so do not let your age put you off!

I am so happy I posted, thanks everyone!