What is your pension status? If you hadn't started it by late thirties, what would you do?

[Latetofinancialparty]

I feel utterly clueless. When I try to learn about pensions, use forecasting tools etc, it seems really giant sums of money would need to be saved every month?

I have a disability which has really hampered my earning potential, despite being well educated. Have some (modestly) good work opportunities now that I am very grateful for, and was hoping to finally start saving this year. But is it simply too late for me to realistically save a good amount?

It's especially worrying because obviously if my disability gets worse my future earning power might stagnate again.

Anybody have a shaky start with a pension, and feeling more confident about it now?

What is your current pension like and how did you do it?

I had a gap of a few years when I was trying to build up a business. When I was finally earning properly again I tried to keep my "salary" the same as before, and put the rest first split between building up savings and pension, and then upped my pension contributions once I had a cushion of savings. I still haven't caught up (has only been 4 years of overpayments) but I will keep going. The key is not to let your lifestyle inflate too much with your new job, once debt and savings are accounted for, and pay more into your pension if you can.

I'm sure I'm not optimising this and could do much better but I don't have time to think about it - so just focusing on my end goals which is zero debt, maintain a cushion of savings for emergencies and school fees, and finally overpaying pension to catch up on the pension pot size.

And it's NEVER too late to save something. It's better to start when you're younger but that doesn't mean starting now is "too late". Every little helps and the longer the money sits in your pension, the more it grows long term.

No idea. I am early 40s, bit never paid into a pension. Am on UC (can't work), so no idea how that works either.

Was a similar age with hardly any pension, and after a few years still don't have much saved. It's worth doing for me because employer matches my contributions and it's effectively tax free (although you're taxed later when you withdraw it). If I had to claim benefits in the next few years the pension won't be counted as savings either so wouldn't affect my benefit entitlement. I'm not sure I'd bother wothout the employer contibution though. That's my situation though and what works for me might not apply for you.

Mines gone from fairly minimal to looking pretty healthy after 7 years or so in fairly senior public sector roles . Certainly if I keep working in this role long enough my projections look good

But I have an illness that means longevity is certainly not guaranteed so who knows if I will live long enough to enjoy it

Somehow it's about striking a balance between living for now and saving for the future.

Get into your company's pension scheme NOW. They will make a monthly contribution alongside your own. It is worth it, better than any form of savings you could do. It's NEVER too late to start a pension. If you leave the firm keep details of the pension, years you were in it etc, then at new firm join up on Day 1.

It will depend on OP's personal circumstances, surely. For instance, if OP is unmarried and has a nice big pension pot and dies the day after retiring, all that money is lost. If OP is unmarried and is in a final salary pension scheme and dies before retiring - all that money is lost. In those circumstances, OP could put her money in the bank, and could leave it to anyone, or to charity, in her will. And the value of money in pension funds can go down (which has been happening in recent years).

As the saying goes...the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

This

Following as I'm in a similar position

Stop with calculators. Just put everything you can in now. It grows quicker than you think. I didn’t really start until my 30’s (too late according to some of those calculators). It has grown quite nicely in the past 15 years.

Have a look at Martin Lewis, there is some good advice there.

One thing he has recommended is that you build up a savings 'cushion' and then each year make a single payment from that into a pension because once it has gone into the pension you cannot take it out until you retire.

A pension is a two step process, the building up of a 'pot' and the way you take out of that pot. For most people this is buying an 'annuity' ie you give your money to a pension provider and they pay you a pension every month.

Employers often pay in to pension schemes.

Pension wise can give advice but only if you are over 50.

NEST is the government scheme, it is straight forward, you decide how much to put in and when, you are credited with tax relief and you have a choice of 'funds'.

I'm not recommending any products - it is probably worth you paying a professional for advice but the NEST website has very clear information.

I’m 44 I’ve 18 years of NHS pension. I’m not intending to stay much longer in the NHS as it’s soul destroying at times but it’s a good start. When I leave I’ll start a private one

Other than that I’ve a small savings account for longer term I’m slowly building up each month. Luckily Ive never been on high pay and the mortgage will be paid off. I don’t need loads of money for a pension cos I’ve never had loads!

Do you have a company pension? The employers usually pay into them too.

I would follow the Martin Lewis advice - start one today and put as much as you can afford to into it. The sooner the better really as if its in investments any dividends etc get reinvested and the pot gets bigger.

I didn't start paying into a pension until late 30s - I have no idea why but I didn't pay into a pension in my first job, (tried to find out details recently to be told I opted out? Which i'm certain isn't true but I have no payslips from the time so no way of knowing) then I had 8 years out of work to raise my family, went back full time aged 38 which is when I started paying into a pension.

I have checked my NI contributions and I'm on track for state pension.

I've looked at private pensions but am a bit overwhelmed at the moment and not sure how much I can afford. Things are super tight!!

Slightly off topic but I know many people save money for their child. You can actually start a pension for a child.

You control it until they are 18 and there are limits on what you can pay in but it's worth thinking about because under current rules the government tops it up by 20%.

The current state pension is unsustainable, with an ever-growing number of pensioners and fewer people in employment. I really wouldn't rely on it for, say, 20 years time.

Im in the 'never too late' category and I don't even think 30s is that late!

My approach is not complex. Dont know if it will be right for you but it's at least simple.

If there's an employer's pension available to you, join that. If not, do a quick comparison search and join a private one. Stop looking at predictions.

For long-term savings, set up a regular payment into an ISA. I'd say a stocks and shares one. You can have as many ISAs as you like but you can 'only' pay £20,000 a year total into them. Not really an issue for most of us. If you could manage £50 a month then great, but 10 is better than nothing. Make it an amount that you can pay and forget about, try not to touch it.

Then set up an instant access account that you put some of your money into as a contingency account, aim to build up £400 to cover an unexpected bill.

And the value of the money in the bank doesn't go up and down?
This is the stupidest post so far
Yes, you may drop dead the day after you retire and a 'pot of money' is 'lost'. But you may live for another 25-30 years after retiring, and if you do not have a private pension, you will be fu$$$d
No matter how much or how little you can contribute from your wage, do it

Pension savings are also very tax efficient so definitely use them.

Firstly if you have a company scheme use.

If your company doesn't have its own scheme they are obliged to enrol you in, and cintribute to, the government NEST scheme.

If you haven't worked for a while also check your state pension entitlement.

That is not true in either circumstances. If the OP is in drawdown they can leave their pension pot to whomever they like and if they die before the age of 75 it is tax free to their beneficiary. If the OP is in a final salary or other defined benefit scheme they will still be able to nominate a beneficiary - it depends on the precise rules of the individual scheme.

If the OP just "left the money in the bank" they (and their beneficiary) would be substantially worse off as they would not have received the benefit of the employer's contribution (assuming not SE), would miss out on tax relief and the benefits of investment growth, which in normal circumstances over a long time period performs much better than the average savings rates offered by banks and building societies.

I’ve been paying into one since I was 18, firstly Civil Service and then NHS. I only stopped for three years when I went to uni. All in all, I have 24 years of contributions so far. From what I can tell, I’d have a small pension right now but I’ve got about 20 years working left so I’m not worried.

It was not long ago that in many jobs there was no pension. I worked for many years in jobs where the employer did not have a pension scheme.

In my mid 20's I started a personal pension but was paying in a tiny amount. I moved that pension 20 years later and it was around £25k. Now 6 years on it is just over £60k. Probably still quite low for someone nearly 50.

It is not too late to pay into a pension (you can do it until age 75 and get tax relief) but the later you start the more you need to put in to catch up with someone who started early.

Now we have auto-enrolment, with employer contribution, get that free money whenever you can. Every little bit helps.
There are situations where employers do not pay in... such as if you work a one day per week job you may not meet the threshold for auto-enrolment, but may be able to opt-in, but may not get employer contribution.

You can only do what you can do. Have as low cost a pension as possible with a global fund inside it so you get as much investing spread around the globe as you can, as nobody knows that will and will not do well over the next few decades.

It is worth saving what you can in to a pension. Your employer is legally required to contribute if you enrol and some decent employers will pay higher than required contributions or will match what you pay in. It's something worth including in your decision making when comparing job opportunities as it makes a meaningful difference. Plus your contributions are pre tax.

You still have a long time to save, and the earlier you start the more time that money has to grow.

As PP has said, you would not lose everything if you died one day in to retirement as it's no longer a requirement to buy an annuity and most people don't these days.

This is wrong. For a DC scheme you can nominate beneficiaries. I am a lone parent and my pension pot would be left to my children in trust if I died. That money is not lost if you die unmarried.

Even after retirement, if someone in a DC scheme is using drawdown and then dies the remaining money will form part of their estate. It would only be "lost" if it was used to purchase an annuity at retirement, which pretty much nobody does now because: a) they are very poor value for money; and b) the above reason.