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?

This thread is making me feel very nervous. I’m 32 and don’t have one. Worked in crappy start ups with no pension scheme from 22-27, haven’t worked since as have been raising babies. Now I’m back at uni requalifying as a healthcare professional so won’t start properly working until I’m 35. I’m hoping I can pay in around 15% into my NHS pension instead of the 9.5% I’m supposed to and that will make it all ok... 😕

I'm 26 with a 6 year old and 10month old.

I've been paying in for 3 years in the automatic scheme at work.

It's never to early to save.

Started at 18 then 4 year gap for uni now 23 paying 11% plus employers contribution

Only two years ago at 36. Before that I didn't work anywhere that offered a pension.

Bit worrying really, hoping to make up for it when I get a full time job.

Started paying in last month for the first time ( I'm 37) being a single parent has been tough financially and so I've never had an opportunity to pay until now
I wish I could have started sooner but living costs were high and my mortgage was more important and immediate than a pension at that time.

Not sure I'll ever catch up now but that's life for some .
I hope inheritance will counter some of the deficit when the time comes

8% of my income since I was 21, increased that to 11% a couple of years ago. My employer puts in 12%.

Still not entirely sure what that will give me as a pension if I'm honest.

Been paying into employee pensions since early 20s where employer contributes too

What do people think about paying lots into a private pension (self employed so no employee contributions) vs overpaying on mortgage?

Since I started my first proper job at 25. I qualified at 30, so increased my contributions as I had a pay rise. I have recently increased it to 15% of my salary + employer 5% and the tax relief, so currently my pension statement shows just under £600 going in per month. I'm going on mat leave again in march though, so it will be reduced for 9 months after my 3 months of full pay runs out. Once my DC are at school and we don't have nursery fees, I will see an IFA about the projections / put it into layman's terms about what I need to do/change to retire before I'm 68. I'm a little nervous that it only has circa £15k in it at the moment with my age.

Thanks to the pp earlier who said you need £400k in a pension pot to retire on £20k. That's useful info.

The rule of thumb is that you pay in a % equal to half your age when you start to contribute. So at 27, you should pay 13.5% of your salary. The later you start, the higher the % as you'll have fewer years to save. But you can work on the premise that something is better than nothing, and at minimum just pay in what you need to get the highest employer contribution as well.

NHS final salary scheme does say on annual reward statement equivalent to a pot of so you can have final salary with a nominal pot.

24

@BonnesVacances does that include employer contribution? I'm hoping so otherwise I'm stuffed ha.

I started last year at 28. Was a SAHM previously.

Mine is a workplace pension, it's not a lot but it's something. As a single mum I can't afford to put any extra away into a private pension yet. My plan long term is to be mortgage free by 50 and then I can plough most of my salary into my pension until retirement. I won't be able to retire before state pension age, assuming it still exists by then.

23/24 - first full time job

Started at 23 in first graduate job, then a few years later joined the Civil Service and have a final salary (no longer available), so it's not really comparable. The private pension pot I paid into at 23-27 has done pretty well though. Can't remember how much I put in, maybe £300/month, probably less.

Can you get a LISA (Lifetime ISA)? You could put in whatever little you can spare, and the government tops it up by paying you 25% of whatever you put in. If you get an app-based one you can just add £10 here and there. It's better than nothing.

Make sure you're the parent claiming child benefit (or a least registered for it, if your OH is a high earner), as that will help cover your NI payments whilst you're off with the children, as you know. Some people know about the NI but it's in the child's father's name and I don't think that's any good.

24, when I first started working full-time (I did a PhD). I'm glad I did because I never got used to having the money I'd have if I didn't pay it in. It took me a while to realise that one of the reasons we seem to have less cash than friends earning similar salaries if that between use DH and I put £500 a month into our pensions and most of our friends don't pay into a pension at all.

@vickielisabeth

I'm not a financial advisor, you should probably consult one.

Obviously it's good if you have finished paying off your mortgage when you retire, as your reduced income will go a lot further without mortgage/rent payments. So many people are long-term renting now I think there will be a nightmare in about 30 years time when the first millennials need to retire but are still paying rent.

However, one thing to consider is that, assuming your mortgage interest rate is historically low at present, you could potentially make more on your money by investing in a private pension. Pension schemes have higher risk profiles (and hence higher returns usually) because they're invested over long periods, so you might be looking at a much higher return. You might need to compare not just the direct difference in interest rates, but the overall impact of paying off mortgage earlier (obviously as the mortgage sum reduces, more of your money goes to paying off the loan and less on interest, and that happens more quickly if you overpay).

As you're self-employed and can find remortgaging tricky sometimes, it might be worth improving your loan to value ratio on the mortgage, if that would get you a better mortgage deal (lower rate) next time.

You need an excel spreadsheet and/or a good IFA. The individual circumstances will impact on the recommendation I imagine and you'll need someone to model it. If you can't afford an IFA, then you could model it yourself but it would be tricky.

Basic one at 23 then teacher one at 28. Only PT now so not well paid but still put £150 pcm into the teacher pension scheme, I am always short of cash and often run out week 3 in the month. I am forecast to get about £5k per annum on retirement at 67. I can't afford to pay into a pension. Also I am not exactly looking at a wealthy retirement. I have been paying in almost 20 years an my employer also contributes. I guess in another 20 years it will be worth a bit more. But hardly a gold plated pension.
Only saying this so you can see that you need to start saving asap. Very few of us can 'afford' it but I really don't want to be struggling for food and heating when I have retired.

22

26

25, defined benefits scheme. I also buy additional voluntary contributions through the same pension scheme. I've recently upped this amount.

@Pollaidh thanks that's really helpful

47! Yes I know that's a bit old but that is when I started. I am pleased with what I receive every month from the pension fund, no complaints.

I've always paid into employer's scheme, so a couple of years from 23-25. Then a 5 year break. Then ever since. Between my contributions and my employer's contribution, an amount equal to just over 30% of my gross salary is paid in each month (roughly 10% comes out of my salary, and employers pays in roughly twice that).