To ask if anyone else DOESN'T have a HUGE pension pot?

[PaprikaPringle]

I can't be the only one on MN who

doesn't already have 100s of 1000s in a pension pot
or a defined benefit pension awaiting me
or a stonking great property portfolio

Am I .....?

And if you have any of the above this isn't the thread for you

I do have a sizeable pot now, but I just wanted to say that I hadn’t saved a penny until I was about 30 (now in late 40s). So don’t lose hope if you are starting later in life.

I've got nothing due to health reasons, and being sexually attacked (can't prove it) and not being able to work afterwards. Now I'm trying to deal with that and having no friends or supportive family, and I'm raising two boys alone, both with serious health issues. Their dad is a selfish wanker.

God knows where I'll be in 10 years. Dead probably. I'm 30.

Im going to reliant on the state pension. I have nothing. And as a carer to my disabled ds I'm likely to remain that way........the mortgage on my £24000 is however paid off.

Lol there’s about £600 in mine, I’m 29 and about to do a degree so will be out of work for the foreseeable.

Hopefully I can save some when I’m back in work with a good job.

@MillicentMartha

I’ve got a private pension (part of divorce settlement) of around £150k which will probably only pay a couple of thousand a year.

Are you sure that's right? On current annuity rates I think you're looking at more like £5,000. Which gives you a total private pension provision around £7,000. About £15,000 with the state pension. Not so bad, depending on your housing situation

Due to retire at beginning of May aged 65 and 10 months
I have been told I will get full state pension of £168 and I have a small LGS pension of about £4,000.
I am hoping to apply for careers allowance as my husband needs lots of support now.
Also a friend of mine discovered she could claim Pension Credit to make her state pension up.

I'm 38 and have 0. Had children soon after graduating before my career really got off the ground and have only had PT employment (self employed since then) It keeps me awake at night but it's difficult to do much about it as I am currently only earning about £6000 a year. I suppose I should look at transferring as much of that as possible into a long term savings account so that at least I have something.

Very small pot. First job was tiny salary as training. Reasonable job in early 30's but no workplace pension option, less than 5 years into private pension. Late 30's had DS. 40's earned less than starting point to pay NI in part-time jobs. We will downsize but up north so not huge amount to make on property (before any Brexit effect).

@FiddlesticksAkimbo that sounds a bit better! I truly hope so but it depends on the price of annuities in 12 years time.

I’m 35 and have a pension of £2500. It does worry me that I won’t have enough to live on should I be able to retire.

I did manage to get on the housing ladder last year, but I will have a mortgage until I am 63. And that is on a 2 bed terrace, so downsizing will be tricky.

I am going to increase the percentage if/when I get a pay rise over the years.

I’m praying for a lottery win

I'm 31, probably have about £3000 across all my pension pots. Still don't own a house, so my focus is on saving for that. Relying on inheritance to be able to retire before 70, as can't see any realistic chance of me squirrelling enough away by then (career has never taken off due to many personal issues)

50, no pension. Haven't had a steady income.
Will work when and if I can until I die.

31 and have £4.5k. Times are tight and in tight months it’s the easiest thing to pause. Need to stop really as it’ll bite me in the arse one day

I'll have to work til I drop. A huge chunk - 15 years - of my earning power was taken out by unavoidable caring responsibilities. I was forced into being a 'Young Carer' (slave of the state).

I do ok these days but I'll never make that time up now.

I'm 40 and I have £1438.57
Apparently I've only been paying in since 2016 (workplace pension automatic enrollment) which I queried with my current employer. They advised me to do a search on a site (forget which one exactly now) and it would bring up others that I have, I know I was automatically enrolled in about 2013/4 (when it was rolled out across the country) and I have payslips stating pension contributions from that time but I can't find any other than the one my employer enrolled me to in 2016. I was in 2 jobs between 2014 and 2016 and know I paid towards the pension in one as I have the payslips. I have written to the company I worked for to ask which pension scheme they enrolled me on, without any response. Not sure what to do from here tbh. It's not a vast sum I wouldn't think, but as Tesco say, every little helps!
According to the government calculator I'll get a full state pension at 68 as long as I pay another 13 (I think) years full stamp.
Looking forward to a retirement of working at least part time. I'm still not in a position to increase my contributions, though that may be possible in a few years time.

I started a pension at 31. Due to compound interest the earlier you start the better. I was late starting but I look back across the years which have flown by and am glad I did. Please don't think it's too late - your future self will thank you.
Sorry if that sounds preachy.

You're not. I've got naff all, a large mortgage and will be working til I'm about 85.

I find it difficult to care tbh - my father stressed about retirement a lot and didn't spend much on family holiday etc and then dropped dead in his fifties before he got a chance to enjoy any of it.

@Iwantacookie
Mid 30s and not a bean.
Was in an auto enrolment one for about 6 month but ide be shocked if there was more than £100 in there.

How much do you think a bean costs?

If I stay in my current job and with local government I will have about 12-14k a year plus state pension...

However I have over 30 odd years before I can retire 🤷‍♀️ And lots of health issues so I suspect I will be dead by the time I get to retire.

My Dh on the other hand has zero...apart from the auto enrolment scheme at work...which has very little in it from what I’ve read of his pension statement.

State pension and about £15pw on top. When it gets too dismal I shall find somewhere freezing with a decent view.

I don't think it's even worth it. I am about to turn 40 and have around 100k in mine, even if I continue to pay in at the same rate (about £400 a month I think) at 60 I will get around 6k a year. Annuity rates are so crap. I think to get half my salary now I'd have to pay in around £1000 a month, who has that sort of money to spare! Life's too short (we'll, hopefully, then it won't matter.)

I've just compared statements and my pot has increased by £1000 in a year (jump in wages and hours this year) so if it continues for the next 28 years I'll have £29,000 in my 'pot'. I'm not sure how they'll work out how much to give me a week/month and what happens if I last longer than the payments. But assuming I lived 20 years after 68 that's state pension plus £27 a week. Woo hoo.

What really annoys me is that people who haven't paid into a pension will live on benefits after retirement, but because of my earlier sacrifice I can claim sweet FA

Don't play the martyr @handbagsatdawn33
You "sacrificed" a tiny percentage of your wage, that's all. Some people didn't get that opportunity or couldn't make other arrangements. No skin off your nose.

I'm nearly 40 and I think I've got about 2k from an old works pension.
I'll be scraping by on state pension and whatever benefits. TBH whoever lives longest out of me and DP will be comfortable as we are both insured to the hilt with payouts big enough to buy a home outright and enough to live on for a good few years assuming that person doesn't start flying around on a private jet. DP works for an insurer so makes more sense spending a tenner a month on that than splitting the tenner between 2 pensions

I’m 49 and started very recently. Have probably got about £500 in mine.

Slightly panicked but will just try to increase it when youngest starts school