To ask how much your retirement pot will be

[Futurama1]

Off the back of some threads today, how much are you aiming to have in a retirement pot?

I’m going for 600k at today’s value which seems an insane amount but 20k per year for 30 years + state pension. What are you aiming for?

I put 2k per month in currently (inc employer contribution)

I put in just under 10%, my employer just over 21%. I don't get any choice about this and I don't make any extra contributions (though I have done a little in the past). So on a 60k salary would already be getting close to the 2k a month the OP is talking about. In fact I earn more. But the reason that a lot of money is going into my pension pot is the pension scheme, not my own choice to save a lot. I think a lot of people are missing the significance of the pension scheme here. The 2k is not all coming out of her 60k salary.

My pension will be extremely good compared to most. I know that. But nowhere near as good as people 20 years older than me or what I was promised on starting. And not as high as you might think given all the money going into it! It's been very badly managed and the younger generations have been done!

God these threads from the wealthy, They have no idea who ordinary people live !!

@MarleneDietrichsSmile

Who has £2000 a month spare to put away every month?!

More to the point, who has £2k spare a month but also earns under the limit that allows them to pay in that much?!

@hotmeatymilk - I’m not sure what your point is. Mine was that I had a very similar reaction to those posts (initial disbelief at how the hell the op could service that, followed by envy!) as people are on here are having regarding this op being able to stash £2k a month away. Debt, savings, investments, whatever - most people can’t take out anything like a mortgage worth the best part of £1m and nor can they put £2k into their pension each month. The mortgage posters didn’t seem to get a rough ride though.

I don't think the OP meant to upset people. It's a shame that people are trying to shame the OP into silence when the truth is, we should all be talking far more openly about retirement planning.

Some of the younger, less well paid employees are starting to find the (every increasing) employee contributions very hard. They are considering dropping out. Which would be crazy long term as you lose the employer contribution. But also understandable short term.

I have exactly £0 in my pension pot and contribute £0 per month.

£5 million. It sounds like a lot but I prioritise holidays.

@speakupattheback

Oh please. This is Mumsnet, not "minimum wage net". Some people - a great many people - earn a lot more than the national average. Are they to stay quiet and meditate on their good fortune? Many on MN spend stupid money imo on tat, on interior decs, hobbies, etc. If the OP who is on a decent but not excessive salary wants to save for her future then good for her. She has a right to ask questions like every other poster.

There are sensitive and insensitive ways to pose the question. Doing the whole "oh I'm so worried" act when on a salary that most people can only dream of is obviously the latter. Open the discussion by all means; just don't be a dick about it.

Nothing apart from statutory pension.
However, if DH goes first then I’ll downsize and hopefully have some savings that way.

@Shuttheblinds

2K per month? Is that all? You will surely be a piss poor pensioner.

I am saving around 17K per month I think, not totally sure as I don’t notice the small dent from my spending allowance each month. I will ask my PA to check and come back to you.

You have my sympathy OP, I don’t know how you will possibly manage when you retire.

My post was tongue in cheek btw OP incase that didn’t come across. I read it back and it sounds like I am joining in the bashing you are getting. I am not. Fwiw I think you have had a hard time here. Your salary certainly isn’t crazy at all and good on you for saving for your future. People have no idea if you live frugally to save this amount, but then it is nothing to do with them. Your money your choice what you spend or save it on.

This thread worries me. Op is aiming for a £600k pension pot, and will be lucky if that delivers £20k a year.

£30k in a pension pit will buy an annuity (life long income) of about £1k per year.

It is absolutley right that people talk about pensions and can talk about it on the Internet because they iften can't in real life.

There are threads about pensions every week. Each time, some people learn something and realise what position they are in and learn about little steps to improve their future. It's very valuable.

So many people, especially women are clueless about their pension provision. They have a strange fatalistic approach to it, as if it's something they should know about, but don't and seem to assume it's impossible to get to grips with. Yes, lots of people don't have huge amounts of money now before retirement. That doesn't mean showing zero interest in pensions or berating anyone who wants to talk about it. Not engaging means the retirement ahead will be worse than it needs to be.

I honestly don't think Op was bragging. Which says about £20k is needed for a moderate retirement and £12k for the bare essentials. £30k is needed for a really comfortable retirement...these are figures for a single person. Having a plan to reach £20k in pension is not a brag. £600k has not been achieved yet but Op is working on it.

People in occupational pensions like NHS,meta hers, civil servants - public sector with defined benefit pensions done have a POT to fund retirement, but a guaranteed yearly income. These pensions (like the Police) genuinely are gold plated. Employers are usually paying in over 25% of income in contributions and employees are often laying in close to 10%. It's a huge amount and partly explains why this E pensions are so good. But even with those figures, they far exceed what a defined contribution pension will deliver.

Lots of public sector workers who earn in the £40k+ bracket can be boosting their yearly pension by almost £1k per year. They d need to pay £30k into a pension pot per year to generate an annuity to pay that. Most won't be doing that.

It's not a race to the bottom and anyone with an interest in discussing money or pensions isn't necessarily bragging.

Op doesn’t have to have £2k spare either. £800 is coming from her employer and the rest is a gross amount. Actual cost to op much less.

Apparently if you can save £500 a month into a pension at 20, it will be £1 million at retirement age, that rises to £1000 a month at 30, so early saving makes all the difference.
We are hoping for £250k between us by the age of 62 in 2027, plus another £50-£60k in savings to bridge the gap to age 67 - thankfully DH gets a Forces pension at 60, should be around £6k a year so that equates to £150k we haven’t had to save. With 2x full State pensions to come, we should have about £30k joint income at age 67.

I’d be worse off than DH would if one of us dies as I only get half of his forces pension.

@Goawaymorningsickeness

People say the Police pension is gold plated but they don’t realise how much is paid in every month for thirty years. Every penny of that pension is earned and deserved, your husband’s pension included. I hope he has many happy retirement years to enjoy it 💐

OP your figures are ridiculously unrealistic for over 90% of the population. Not sure what the point in your post was really, other than to make others feel shit.

@ShowOfHands I forgot to tag you in my reply to your post.

More to the point, who has £2k spare a month but also earns under the limit that allows them to pay in that much?!

I don't understand. Don't you have to be earning more than 200k before there is an issue with pension payments?

Well given the retirement age keeps on creeping up I'll probably be dead by the time I can retire. Or if not knack all to live comfortably on

@TertiusLydgate

Maybe get this moved OP to money matters?

It’s clearly upsetting people, although I doubt that was your intent. It’s a topic worth discussing.

Pensions are worth discussing, but not really making comparisons of pots which is a bit pointless, outside the context of other assets and lifestyle/aspirations for retirement.

Good post @WombatChocolate

Yes, YABU to come here and boast about being able to put that much into your pension pot each month.

I suspect you didn't intend to be so offensive, but read the room Futuram1.
Very few people earn £60K.
Many of us - despite degrees, professional qualifications, years of experience and additional training and development along the way, will never earn £60K. All the people who you must pass on your way to work each day, or when you are on a night out, or when you go shopping, or when you get on a bus/tram will never earn that amount.

At best, you have been insensitive, which is a shame, as discussions about pensions are quite helpful, as I think very few people really understand them even those of us who have been paying in to them for years.
Perhaps re-think your opening post and repost in Money ?

I'm lucky to have a good work pension, so at the moment I'd be able to maintain the same income level as now. I'm hoping to grow it at some point because I would need to be renting....

Fuck all 😂 I think I have about £3K from my old job and I have no idea how I find out in this one (NHS) but I doubt it's much, I fully expect to work til I die

It's all well and good when people start with the 'you need to prioritise your pension' crap, no...I need to prioritise the mortgage and food 🙄

@SusieBob

Doing the whole "oh I'm so worried" act when on a salary that most people can only dream of is obviously the latter. Open the discussion by all means; just don't be a dick about it.

Can you point to where in OP's posts she said she was worried? And where she was performing some kind of act?

Cross posted with ChocolateWombat, whose post is helpful.

WombatChocolate well said.

This is an important discussion topic and I am sure there was no intention to boast.