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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

..to be slightly concerned at my pension pot age 30?!

116 replies

Zara87 · 17/10/2018 21:38

I have just checked and I have a grand total of £3790 in my pension.
I'm 30.
This is really bad isn't it Shock
How does this compare to the rest of you?

With my childcare bills at £1600 a month for the next 18 months, and 2 very young dc, there is no way I can pay any more than I already am!

OP posts:
DannyWallace · 17/10/2018 21:43

I gave up my career aged 28. Had a good pension with them but HATED the job and it made me unwell.
My husband has to move a lot with his job and I've now moved with him and just got a job where I can depending on where we are.
So, I'm a few years older than you and probably have less of a pension. But....I'm getting there again and will hopefully build it up as I'm hoping to stay in my current line of work z

Babyroobs · 17/10/2018 21:45

I don't know exactly what mine is but it's not great and I'm a lot older than you. Time spent abroad and then very part time when the children were young and then left the NHS a year or so ago for a less stressful role.

HermioneWeasley · 17/10/2018 21:46

You need to crack on, but lots of people don’t even start until their 30s, so keep going.

Pension planning rule of thumb - you need capital of about £300k these days to generate about £10k of annuity income. What do you think you’re going to want to retire on?

Original poster
Zara87 · 17/10/2018 21:51

According to my salary, the calculators say if want to retire on around £22,000 a year. The calculator is predicting I will have not much over £2,000 a year!
Can i ask - do a lot of people use things such as inheritance/House equity for pensions?
I think that's the only way we will ever top them up with a lump sum, not that we are expecting masses of money from anyone. I'm just baffled as to how people get to £200,000 or so!

OP posts:
medusa83 · 17/10/2018 21:54

I didn't have much at 30 - I only joined a pension scheme at 28 when I became a teacher as I'd not had one in my previous job. Plus my wages were low at under £17k for a 4 day week.

Now that I am 39 my DB would be £7k pa in today's money, if I quit work tomorrow, so factor in 25 more years or so teaching and full state pension and I'll be ok (as long as UK PLC remains solvent...).

So I wouldn't worry too much about not having much at 30, it'll build up as long as you keep contributing while you are working

Nacreous · 17/10/2018 21:56

I've been saving 10% of my salary from day one, upped to 19% (Inc employer contributions) once I bought a house, and now up to 23%. I might up it even more next year.

I'm a paranoid pension saver. There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip. And I want to save while I can afford to.

There's still time for you to fix things though.

Money saving expert has a rule of thumb of half your age at the time you start your pension. So for you it would be 15%. You might not manage it immediately, but if you have a student loan and earn over the threshold, it's surprisingly inexpensive to put extra in, because you don't have to pay tax, NI or student loan on contributions if they come out before you are paid.

LaurieFairyCake · 17/10/2018 21:59

I don't have one and I'm almost 50. No intention of starting one either. Prefer to try and pay my mortgage off, that's always been more of a priority.

I'm self employed though so I can't see how it would be worth it. I've got 2 old pensions somewhere, last time I checked it was going to be an extra £40 a month.

BitchQueen90 · 17/10/2018 22:03

Well I'm 28 and I don't have a pension pot at all. Had DS at 22 and thus haven't been able to afford to.

I'm concentrating on saving for a mortgage at the moment because I'm still renting. Then I'll have that at least.

I'll probably end up working until I can claim state pension. If that's still around by then! Provided I've paid off my mortgage I could survive on state pension to be honest. Bills are cheap where I live. But that's at the level it's at now. Who knows what will happen.

happyasasandboy · 17/10/2018 22:03

I'm just baffled as to how people get to £200,000 or so!

The easiest way to build up so much is to start early so that the early investment has a looong time to grow.

As a rough order though, working for 10 years at £20,000 and 20 years at £30,000 and paying a consistent 11.5% of salary (just an example %) into pension would mean you contribute £92,000 over the 30 years. The employer would also contribute, and there's 30 years of interest/growth to factor in. So a pot of £200,000 isn't beyond the reach of many.

As a completely unrelated aside, but on the theme of building up a pension over the longest possible time, it is possible to open pensions for your children. I save some money towards the more usual uni/house/wedding help, but also save into pension schemes. Small amounts invested in childhood have 60+ years to grow and will be vastly more valuable to the pension pot that money they can save into it later in life.

3in4years · 17/10/2018 22:08

I would have no idea how to look this up (to my shame!). I'm a teacher on my 3rd lot of mat leave.

Lonecatwithkitten · 17/10/2018 22:09

I paid 10% into my pension from day 1, never missed it as I never had it. When the opportunity arose I converted the pension to a SIPP and bought commercial property that is leased back to my business. So my business pays 'rent' into my pension £75,000 in over the last 10 years. The income is then moved in to WRAP product that is eight very niche investment products. At 46 I have a pension pot in excess of 200K. I will be wealthier in retirement than I will be working.
To make a good pension pot invest early, pay for good advice and invest in niche markets/ property.

RedDwarves · 17/10/2018 22:12

9.5% employer contribution here. That is mandatory. Employers cannot legally avoid paying at least that.

In addition to that, I have been salary sacrificing and making tax-deductible personal contributions since I was 21.

'Straya. We've got 99 problems, but pensions shouldn't one of them into the future

medusa83 · 17/10/2018 22:13

3in4years...
The teachers pension scheme has a website...you can register online with your teacher reg number (or whatever it's called). They can give you updated benefit quotes each month.

It's worth keeping an eye on as my first employment missed out 4 years of pension contributions and I had to chase, repeatedly, to get it added.

blue25 · 17/10/2018 22:14

I'm 42 on a decent wage in the public sector. Projected pension (if I retire at 68) is 34k & state pension. Good pension attracted me to the job though!

Raspberry66 · 17/10/2018 22:17

Tbh OP that's not great but at least you've realised that and at 30 still have time to do something about it. You've had some good advice on how much you need to contribute up thread.

To anyone younger reading this thread my advice is START A PENSION AS EARLY AS YOU CAN AND MAKE IT A PRIORITY. The younger you start the less you need to pay in.

And if you get divorced and have spent time not contributing to your own pension because you've been out of the workplace looking after children then make sure that's taken into account in the financial settlement.

(I had a pension pot in excess of £400k at 50 years old)

Cornishclio · 17/10/2018 22:18

What percentage of your income are you putting in? My advice would be to up it gradually each year and you won't notice it after a while.

My DH paid 10% of his income from around the age of 25 and his employer matched it so 20% in total. His pension is brilliant and allowed him to retire at 58 so 8 years early. We did that because of the type of job he did which involved long hours and lots of travel and thought he would not want to be doing it in his 60s. We got used to doing it and it is the most tax efficient way of saving. We should have done the same for me but with 2 small children, a mortgage and me only on part time pay it was low priority to pay a lot into my pension so I stuck to the statutory 6% although I did have an older pension pre DC which I also transferred in and mine is a local government pension so a good scheme. I upped contributions when the DC were a bit older and our mortgage smaller. It is linked to my salary rather than an investment pot but I retired at age 58 on around 50% of my salary.

AnotherDayAnotherDollarRight · 17/10/2018 22:19

I don't have a pension. Which is worrying. I don't even qualify for the state one, due to career break, and then doing unpaid work in a family business.

As a couple we are asset rich, so that is my pension. Assuming we don't go bankrupt in the interim.

indianwoman · 17/10/2018 22:22

What is the state pension?

MacosieAsunter · 17/10/2018 22:22

I'm just baffled as to how people get to £200,000 or so!

£100 pcm for about 8 years, and 20 years of not being able to put anything in - and its at 202,000K. I've no idea how it got to that either, but Ive just drawn down 25%. Depends who you invest with I suppose, whether you are conservative or a risk taker with your investments.

Tigerbear · 17/10/2018 22:22

I’m 41 and have sweet FA of a pension 😬
But I’m saving to hopefully pay off my mortgage in approx 6 years, then I’ll have £650k to pay for a smaller place outside of London when I retire, plus more, and anything else i save in the meantime.

MacosieAsunter · 17/10/2018 22:23

What is the state pension?

£155pw

Original poster
Zara87 · 17/10/2018 22:28

Tha is for sharing everyone it's really good to know a lot of this.
I pay just 3% into my pension each month which is £70, and my employer matches that Blush
I just can't prioritise where to put my money! I save into my dcs isa's monthly, as well as my own isa (not loads in there, just enough to have savings to cover emergencies) and then have all my bills to pay meaning we have no money left.

OP posts:
serbska · 17/10/2018 22:28

I'm just baffled as to how people get to £200,000 or so!

Because they earn more, have generous employer contributions or lower outgoings!

I’m chucking in as much as possible at the moment at the expense of cash savings as I’m doubtful the HRT efficiency will continue for many more years so it makes sense to pull to make hay now.

notapizzaeater · 17/10/2018 22:32

By starting early, it has chance to grow

Original poster
Zara87 · 17/10/2018 22:32

@Macosie that's amazing!

Is a 3% contribution from my employer really shitty?

OP posts: