Thoughts on over paying mortgage rather than private pension

[TheGingerCatsWhiskas]

Married home owner

would only be able to get a private pension

over paying morgage by 500 a month sounds more of a safe bet to me

I am reluctant to commit all extra money to a private pension due to the ever changing goal posts

Look at the interest rates, but an ISA/S&S ISA would be the other option

(This assumes that you have some sort of pension and are just considering paying in extra, rather than you have no pension at all. If you don’t have anything, then pension)

Thing is, you get tax incentives when you save into a pension.

Why not do a mixture?

Homes can be tricky to sell to downsize.

I have a decent pension but also overpay the mortgage a bit

Generally paying into your pension is best long term. I did a mix but erred towards mortgage, which is now cleared but I would have been significantly better off focusing far more on the pension. The tax relief and how well the stock market has done beat the mortgage interest hands down. I have to be honest the relief of not having a mortgage was high, but now the focus is on retirement I do slightly regret not doing it the other way round.

Financially this would be a batshit crazy move for most people in most circumstances right now. I do understand the feeling of safety paying off your mortgage gives you though.

Use online calculators to work out the saving on your mortgage interest if you overpaid versus the growth on investing £625 (your £500 plus £125 tax relief) a month. Use 8% as a benchmark for growth on investing (100 year historic average). Or use 5% if you're a pessimistic person!

But
What do you mean "would only be able to get a private pension"? Have you not paid NI contributions and your retirement is currently not funded in any way at all? Or do you mean you will be entitled to a state pension, but you're not employed or are self employed so you don't have a workplace pension?
Also are you over 40?

We did a mix but then lucked out and paid the mortgage off before we were both 40 due to a stellar return on an investment.

Yes I’m entitled to state pension
But I’m self employed

Ok how stable is your self employment? Do you share finances with your DH? Can his income cover the mortgage alone? Is his job stable? Do you, as a couple, have an emergency fund to cover at least 6 months of household costs? Do this first!

As a self employed person you could open a SIPP and choose how to invest it yourself, which often gains better rewards and lower fees than workplace pensions. I would invest mostly in a global tracker, plus a small percentage in some other riskier options eg special situations, depending on your age and risk tolerance.
When you retire, if you still have a mortgage you could clear it with the tax free lump sum from your pension.
If you want to retire early or don't want to tie up all your money so it's inaccessible until retirement, you could invest a proportion of your £500 using a s+S ISA in the same funds as your pension.