What age did you start paying in to a pension?

[Legoeverywhere92]

I'm 27 with a 4 year old who starts school next September so currently unable to put anything away and always opted out of pension contributions at work. I know I get a few years of N.I credits from child benefit but I'd like to retire with something decent so I'm not left in the same position as my mother who never worked and gets £113/week state pension (that's nothing).

When did you start saving, and how much did you put away per month?

Any tips on savings or good websites on saving for a pension/annuities etc?

I started paying into my nhs pension when I was 22 and just qualified as a nurse so some 15 years ago now.

23 or 24 - 7.5% of my salary with 8.5% from my employer - got made redundant at 30 - decided to put £1k of the redundancy package as a lump sum in my pension pot - got a new job now where my employers put in 10% contribution - to be honest I think by the time our generation retire there will hardly be a state pension so trying to put in as much as possible - it is also always on my brain as my husband is 15 years older which does affect things

Started at 22 in my first graduate job. I work in the NHS so pension is reasonably good. I don't choose my contribution, it's a % of salary. I'm 27 now and it's roughly £350 a month.

If I ever opted out, I'm not sure I would opt back in. This is why I started straight away, having never had full pay without pension, I don't miss it. I do often feel like I come away with quite little considering my salary as it is a big chunk of it. DH's pension isn't very good, so mine needs to make up for that too though.

I started paying in at 18 when I began my first full time job. Now mid 50s. I believe you have to have 30 qualifying years of NI contributions to qualify for a full state pension (which is peanuts) so it's never too early to begin putting something away into a separate scheme. I just hope there's still some life left in me when I finally retire to be able to enjoy any pension income!

I started putting in with my first job at 23. I put 10% of my salary in every month and my employer also contributes.

@VanGoghsDog
That's a huge amount every month - did your funds perform badly???

No. What a ridiculous question!

You need £400k to draw £20k pa. How do you think one gets to £400k? How much have you got? How are your funds doing?

For those paying £300+ per month, do you have any spare to play with? or do you live frugally? Difficult to achieve nowadays with so many temptations

I have paid in ever since I started my full time job. It’s not too late now if you can

21!

@Vangoghsdog is correct. You need to put a shedload away.

I didn’t start until I was 30. Before then I worked for a big four accountancy firm. Mine didn’t make any employer contributions and the fees charged by the provider for their scheme were high. Anything I put in would have been quickly eroded by the fees: more than 2% of the balance, annually.

I decided that it would be better to save for a house in a TESSA (what ISAs were called in days of yore) then start a pension when I joined an employer with a decent occupational scheme. Which I did aged 30.

I’m self-employed now (aged 47) and I put a fuck tonne of money into my SIPP. I max out my annual tax relief allowance and I use brought forward relief too. It buys me choice over and above my occupational pensions, all of which are tied to state pension age. I might not want to wait until I am 68 to retire.

For those paying £300+ per month, do you have any spare to play with? or do you live frugally? Difficult to achieve nowadays with so many temptations

DH and I own a modest car, which we share. We don’t spaff money on his’n’ hers range rovers on PCP schemes. I like clothes and shoes, but I exercise restraint. If I wanted a new Chanel handbag every month, I could buy one. I don’t. I’d sooner enjoy the money later, when I want to retire early.

@Iamthewombat you sound as though you know what you are doing

Any advice you could give someone with only state contributions from 16 and a small amount in nest pension

Nest not best!

I was 22. I think you should start putting something in if you can at all.

I think I was 21. It automatically comes out weekly with my paycheck. I’m 24 now so three years of putting money into it but not sure how much I’ve saved!

Before auto-enrolment I was never offered a pension anywhere I had worked nor was I ever given advice about them either.
I started paying in around 27 years old and now pay around 5% of my income which is all I can afford right now. My home is already paid for so I am not panicking about not have a decent pension.

After Uni at 21. Best decision I ever made

19 when I started working, most of this has been in the NHS scheme.

My partner throws money away and only puts £50 away per month. He's 26 and started his pension last year. He goes on about getting a TESLA (with what money) so I'm kind of glad that were not married as I'd like my own pension and I'm now determined to put away as much as I can.

Oh and since I've always paid, and comes automatically out of my salary, I've never missed it.

When I went into local government at 19 years old. Superannuation. I think it was about 8%?

The only bit of advice that my dad gave me that I listened to was to pay into a pension as soon as I started working. That was 20 years ago. Because I've always done it I dont miss the money. As soon as my kids are independent in about 5 years I will increase my contribution.

NHS pension since 1991, now 48. Only part time for the last 16 years though but can draw my contributions up to 2015 at 55 without penalty.

At 21 when I qualified as a teacher. As I've always paid it I have never missed it, if you know what I mean.