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)

YABU to ask how much my pension pot will be.
YABU to be so boastful and tone deaf.
Here's a gift to add to your amazing pension pot

Following on from Wombat. I imagine there are plenty of civil servants, police, teachers etc who do not realise quite how big their "pension pot" is. Or rather, how big a sum they would need to accumulate to provide the defined benefit pension they will receive. Posting about having one of those jobs (and accompanying pension schemes) wouldn't be seen as bragging. It sounds more when written as 600k, but it really isn't!

Zero, nothing. I can barely afford to pay my bills, let alone save anything

Op would have got better and more useful responses in the MONEY MATTERS thread. Fortunately, there are lots of people there who would be happy to discuss this and help OP put her pension into overspent ice and think about her planning for future.

Perhaps some of the rather shirty people on this thread would benefit from heading over to the that section if MN too - not because it's a place for people to boast or feel bad, but it's a place for people with all kinds of levels of income to discuss and learn and to find ways to make their current and future money position better. Most of us could do with some tips.

Burying our heads in the sand isn't the answer. Feeling angry with people who are further down the road with their planning isn't the answer. Each family getting to grips with their own scenario is.

same as you OP however I only put 500ish in a month which is matched by my employer and from expected growth it should be 600k by aged 67. maybe check your numbers or quality of investment? unless u are fairly old already which I have missed on the thread.

Very little actually. I have worked in a reasonably well paid professional job for over 20 years but I don’t have much to show for it in terms of my pension pot (which is tiny). Main reason is that I am a lone parent so all my money goes on mortgage repayments, bills, etc.

My plan is to have some sort of job for as long as I can and also to hopefully move somewhere cheaper so I have a bit of money from the sale of my house.

I wouldn't bank on your measly state pension they'll probably get rid of it. I have a couple of really good pensions through employee/employer contributions but tbh you have to conside what time of pension pots you are paying in to. They are come with some risk. So imo hammering every penny to pension isnt always wise. I don't pay as much as I used to. Your circumstances could change very quickly

Parking aside the obvious problem that this thread was bound to be considered goading.. You are not on a very high salary, given you gave 30 years plan you must be about 30 something. I wonder why did you decide to prioritise such a massive proportion of your salary contribution to your pension vs all the potential investment options? Unless you already have a chunky investment pot, properties, trust funds etc it doesn't sound very sensible at your age

Name changed
My dh worked for forty years for the same company and his ' pot ' is 1 million !
He has done well and appreciates how very lucky he is! He wasn't even one of the bigger earners either , many others are far better off.
I have a tiny pension coming when I'm 60.
We are frugal though and never ever look down on people and we had it hard too in the past with overdrafts and loans and no money at all.
We save and have a few treats, but that is it
We are not ones to throw money about or boast.
The young may never have what we have :(
and we don't have as much as some do either !
He worked hard for it though , just lucky that he could and kept his job during the lean times
If I had been on my own I'd have nothing now so I appreciate that we are lucky , if not mega rich , just comfortably off , but that took years to achieve.
Will still never own a house with a pool though and my own children will never be big earners either .

I have final salary and average salary pensions. I’ll get roughly 50% of my current salary per year plus state pension plus I have a BTL house. That’s if I stay in the sector long enough. So about £50k total per annum in current money. But DH will have bugger all apart from state, so that has to support us both.

Yes, loads of public sector workers don't grasp how amazing their pensions are. They see a few thousand accumulated by their early 30s and think it looks rubbish. They don't realise that £1k of yearly pension would need £30k inna defined contribution pot.

Not only are the public sector defined benefit pensions a good amount, they are guaranteed for life and index linked so rise with inflation. They aren't quite as good as they once were, but they are still the best out there. A teacher earning £28.5k a year will be adding £500 per year to their pension. If they work 30 years without any pay rises, they will have a pension of £15k to take at state op retirement age. Plus,ntheybwill have over £9k in state pension too. It will be a decent retirement. A nurse or a civil servant will have a bit more as the accrual rates are better.

All of these public sector workers will have paid in between 5 and 12% per year depending on their earnings. Some find it hard and when younger fancy leaving and having the sizeable amounts of cash per month, but every oder worker will tell you what a mistake that would be. The employer is currently paying in over 20% and it will soon be over 30%. Those pensions are worth an extra 1/3 on people's salaries.

So anyone who has no pension and a few years left to work, consider the public sector. Even 10 years can give you a pension which will provide the bedrock of your retirement income, even if you're on a low paid salary.

Other people, remember if you keep working and paying NI you are adding years to your state pension and that can be £9k if you generate 35 years of contributions. Caring for children can contribute some years too. Most people have got some years in NI contributions so most people are not starting form nothing. Lots of people have some small pots from the past. Getting to grips with what you have and how little steps can help can make the difference between a retirement of poverty and one which will be manageable.

Are you within 15 years of retirement or is your pension badly invested, op? With that level of contribution it shouldn't take much more than 10 years to get to your target with a decent investment growth.

Fuck all

I don’t earn enough to have 50p left over for savings/pensions/whatever

This is mumsnet where people talk about their cleaners asking for an extra £1, private schools, million pound mortgages and inheritances.
People have more money than you it’s not insensitive to mention it. Get over yourself stop being insecure! OP is actually being really sensible investing whilst she has the money spare and not spending it on crap or getting the ‘biggest mortgage she can afford’.

OP you don’t deserve the abuse we need to have conversations around pensions and investments as women often we get shafted.
I highly recommend looking up the FI/RE movement!

@WombatChocolate
Is absolutely correct .....

Burying our heads in the sand isn't the answer. Feeling angry with people who are further down the road with their planning isn't the answer. Each family getting to grips with their own scenario is.

I started paying into my pension when I started earning, at 21, and have always taken pension contributions seriously because I understood compound interest rates.

@polkadotpixie if you are in the main (current) NHS scheme then you will have earned a little under 2% of your average salary for each year you have worked there. So if you have been in for 5 years, your pension would be about 10% of your average salary. If you worked there for 28 year,ms, you’d be up to half your salary. It’s actually a good scheme (though nowhere near as good as it used to be) so might be worth more than you think.

The pile on is because OP earns so much. Sad that someone who is a high earner and frugal is receiving so much hate. You don’t have to comment on the thread if you are so offended by OP.

I agree with the previous poster. I am a little surprised at the numbers.

But what's the AIBU?

The pile on is because this doesn't belong in AIBU.

I don't think the pile on is because people are bitter with the OP, but because of Covid, bills rising, people are scared, those who were comfortable 2 years ago are being faced with losing their houses and not being able to afford gas and electric. Let alone Christmas.

Its a bit of a tone deaf thread to put in AIBU.

My DH has served in the military for over 30 years (and been very successful) and has a huge pension pot. It is one of the very few benefits of choosing that career path. It is also notionally non-contributory scheme - but his salary is factored down to take the benefit into account. However the prioritisation of his career has meant we have moved nearly 20 times (including overseas) and so my career has been dead in the water. I have zero pension provision at all!

Nothing. Unpaid carer. Pinning all hopes on lottery win.

Dh has fairly good pension. We hope to pay off the mortgage in the next ten years and buy another property, hoping the rental income from it will provide my pension