To not prioritise my pension?

Towardsthenorth · 2022-02-19T11:37:11+00:00

My parents paid loads into their pensions and both died without really benefiting from them. In part, I do attribute their early deaths down to stress leading to poor decisions. AIBU then in not worrying about working PT because of pension)

EmmaH2022 · 19/02/2022 11:39

My experience of these threads is they don't go well

I don't make a priority of pension but I have other investments

You do you. I certainly wouldn't work more because of pension.

Ramalamadingdongs · 19/02/2022 11:40

I can't afford to prioritise my pension because of cost of living and debt. So i just try not to worry about it.

UserBotLurking9to5 · 19/02/2022 11:41

What age are you? I'm 51 and have been in the civil service for only 5 years, so I will get a v small pension as well as the old age pension but not until I'm 67

I'm relieved that I will have this small amount extra. But before, I was a broke single mother and I had no money to spare. So I don't judge myself for not having been in a pension scheme contributing since I was 23 or something!

Stuffin · 19/02/2022 11:42

Up to you but prioritising my pension means I am looking at being able to retire early 50s which isn't far off.

UserBotLurking9to5 · 19/02/2022 11:43

ps, I basically had to wait until my children were old enough to ''leave alone'' (so I could work ft) before I could even think about pensions.

You have to prioritise now if now is really tough. What else can you do.

Don't be hard on yourself. It will get easier hopefully.

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 11:44

@UserBotLurking9to5 - I am 42.

@Stuffin I’m not sure I’d want to, to be honest. This is in NO way a criticism of you (please don’t think it is) but my dad retired at 53 and became a fussy little old man overnight. Mind you, I think men deal less well with retirement than women, as a very general sort of rule.

OP posts:

PollyGray · 19/02/2022 11:45

Well if you're anything like me, OP, there's only so much you can do with the income you've got. I know some on here would say anything is better than nothing but honestly I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

mintbiscuit · 19/02/2022 11:45

Do you have other means to fund your retirement?

Pensions aren’t the same as they used to be ie forced to buy an annuity. They are a tax efficient way to save and can be passed onto beneficiaries outside of your estate.

If you want to stop working when you are older and not have a pot to piss in by all means crack on.

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 11:53

@PollyGray

Well if you're anything like me, OP, there's only so much you can do with the income you've got. I know some on here would say anything is better than nothing but honestly I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

I pay into a pension through my line of work. You have to purposefully opt out, which is good, as if we had to opt in I bet I wouldn’t have!

However, I would now like to work part time. This will impact on my pension and I can feel my parents turning in their graves. But I do wish to live in the now as well as the future, especially when the future may not happen at all.

OP posts:

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 11:53

But then if I did that, @mintbiscuit, who would you be able to be rude to on the internet?

OP posts:

SantaMonicaPier · 19/02/2022 11:56

Obviously this needs to be your decision but I've seen women in poverty once they reach retirement age in my family due to having no or limited private provision. And this is a family where a lot of people haven't lived to pension age. I have chosen to work full time and make additional pension contributions to ensure that if I reach pensionable age I can live in comfort.

ErrolTheDragon · 19/02/2022 11:56

Our DD is the beneficiary of my and DHs pensions so if we die early she'll benefit from them (moreso if before 75). So for us there is no downside. Of course, it's different if you don't have enough income for any sorts of savings.

Igmum · 19/02/2022 11:57

I think you are confusing your parents behaviour with pensions - though I can see why, since pensions were clearly a big part of it. It is pretty sensible to save into a pension if you can. Not everyone who does this withdraws from society or cuts themselves off from people and pleasures. From a financial point of view I would recommend saving something into a pension. This doesn't mean that you have to make the other decisions your parents did.

UserBotLurking9to5 · 19/02/2022 11:57

I don't think you're in that bad a situation. you are still contributing (and have been for a while) even though it's a small amount.
If you work part time for another 25 years would you have a modest pension to go along with the state pension?

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 12:00

I’ve worked full time since my early twenties, but I had some years working abroad, so wasn’t contributing then. In total, I think I have 14 years of FT contributions.

It’s very difficult to say exactly how things will be when I retire but I don’t anticipate living in poverty. Even if I was only living from the state pension with mortgages paid off and so on I should be able to live well enough.

OP posts:

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 12:02

@Igmum

I think you are confusing your parents behaviour with pensions - though I can see why, since pensions were clearly a big part of it. It is pretty sensible to save into a pension if you can. Not everyone who does this withdraws from society or cuts themselves off from people and pleasures. From a financial point of view I would recommend saving something into a pension. This doesn't mean that you have to make the other decisions your parents did.

It wasn’t so much that they cut themselves off, more than they both persisted in jobs they loathed. At one point, my mother was caring for her elderly parents too and started to drink very heavily, which led to her death. It was a bit frustrating as looking back, we could easily have afforded for her to give up work or to do something less pressured. But of course hindsight is a wonderful thing!

OP posts:

PollyGray · 19/02/2022 12:03

@Towardsthenorth

But then if I did that, *@mintbiscuit*, who would you be able to be rude to on the internet?

Indeed, my thoughts exactly!

I have a similar pension scheme, and due to the nature of my job and it's impact on my health I've gone part time to avoid the alternative of increasing periods of sick leave.
I sometimes worry too, but I also accept that it's too late for me to do anything that'll make a meaningful difference to my own situation, i made mistakes when I was younger and didn't think pensions were all that important. So, I guess, you could always go back F/T at some point? Then pay extra contributions to boost your pot?

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 12:06

So, I guess, you could always go back F/T at some point

I could, but I think once I’ve tasted the good life I’ll be decidedly reluctant to go back to it

One of the problems is I’m not massively enjoying my job, but I earn too much to do anything else. So part time gives me some breathing space from it.

OP posts:

SamphiretheStickerist · 19/02/2022 12:07

There is always a middle ground and this is often filled by that compulsory work pension... wasn't around when I was young and I am now, in my 50s, scrambling to make up for what I didn't give a single thought to in my 20s, 30s.

If you can't or don't want to prioritise a pension then at least give it a little bit of thought. Your older self will thank you for any additional monies they get.

eightlivesdown · 19/02/2022 12:13

If you have the resources to invest for the future (pension, ISA, whatever) it's sensible to do so. Not to an extreme extent and thereby deny yourself a reasonable current standard of living, but a balanced approach between enjoying life today and making provision for the future.

You say your parents didn't really benefit from their pensions, but you could be retired for 40 years; you just don't know. And that's a long time to live on a minimal (only state pension) income.

You also say you parents were stressed, but getting older knowing you haven't made financial provision for retirement is surely also stressful.

AllOfUsAreDead · 19/02/2022 12:14

I think you may be unreasonable, and this will sound morbid, but it's not as if your parents died from something that is genetic and will cause you to die young too. Your mum from the sounds of it died from alcoholism and stressing, which will both of course lead to worse things. Not sure on your dad, but you said stress so again leads to worse things. Unless you believe you will also become stressed once retired and suffer the same outcome, then yabu because you will live longer than them then and will not have the money to take you through retirement. You'll have to work forever, which may then also cause stress.

Think there may be more of a middle ground here for you really, think you are reacting emotionally about this too much, understandably.

MeanderingGently · 19/02/2022 12:17

I have always opted out of pension schemes, all my life. When I was a single parent I could barely afford to live and still ended up with debts just to pay the bills, so no, a personal pension wasn't an option for me. I needed every penny I could muster just to survive.

Years later, I don't regret any of it. The one job I ever had which paid well and gave me more money, I still opted out and went travelling with the extra cash instead. I'm extremely glad I did it, I had some amazing travels which I certainly couldn't have done if I'd waited until I retired, I'm too frail with health conditions these days.

I'm not long off retiring now and I'll only have my state pension when I do, but I have everything I need and will be able to live off the state one. I don't own any assets - I rent and have a lease car - but I will be able to manage on the state pension. My current job is part-time and in a low-paid sector, and I earn about the same as the state pension per month, so I already know I will be able to survive in retirement.

Honestly, it depends what you want out of retirement. I am always surprised by these people who have huge pension savings, what are they planning to do with the money?? And, like you OP, I also had relatives who put everything into a pension but died just before retirement age so they never got to enjoy it anyway.

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 12:17

@AllOfUsAreDead - it’s more to do with not placing all my eggs in a future basket which may never be needed.

I may live until I am well into my nineties or even beyond, but even so, I suspect that when I look back I will have wished I enjoyed my forties and fifties more. I don’t want to ‘save up’ my enjoyment of life for the future, I suppose.

OP posts:

Original poster

Towardsthenorth · 19/02/2022 12:18

That’s really interesting @MeanderingGently and quite refreshing, to be honest. I must admit, I can’t necessarily see myself needing a fortune in my dotage but I could well be wrong!

OP posts:

OneRingToRuleThemAll · 19/02/2022 12:22

It's a matter of personal choice. I live a very modest life now in order to prioritse pension later. Is it the right decision - only time will tell. Others my age live in nice houses and drive nice cars but have no pension. I can't say that my way is better than theirs, or that they will regret their decision.