To think I am fucked for retirement?

[Realstudd]

despite a decent job and income, I am absolutely rubbish at anything financial. I don’t understand pensions etc.

i became a single parent last year and I have one dc, 9. I am 42. I have 3k in savings but these are used for car stuff or emergencies and never get beyond 3k.

i looked at my pension pot the other day and it says 2,400… I’ve been paying in for over 9 years, 8 percent of my salary. My salary has always been over 35k and for a few years has been over 50. I don’t get how the pot can be so low?

the only positive is I have 140k left on my mortgage which I overpay so could be paid off in 6 years. But what good is that really if I can’t afford the bills! I feel like an idiot for not having planned ahead, I guess I will lose my home and have to go into rented to pay bills when older? What do people do? I go from feeling insanely stressed about it to accepting that that’s just how it is but I can’t picture my future anymore. What do you do in this situation?

Do you have documents from your time at each company? You e probably got 3 pension pots and need to combine them.

That's not what your pension is worth. Where did you get that figure from?

That's likely to be the annual annuity payment that you are projected to get based on the value of your pension pot. So keep paying in and it will increase. When you retire you don't need to transfer your pot into an annuity, you can just draw down from it like its savings.

Keep paying off your mortgage - clear your debts first. When you are mortgage free then consider increasing your pension contributions. Don't forget you will also get a State Pension (hopefully). You're on course to have a reasonably comfortable retirement.

So you have worked at 3 different companies in the last 9 years. Your current employer you have built up about £2k a year. A previous employer you have about £900 a year. What about the 3rd employer? So currently you have nearly £3k a year pension. They are separate pensions and aren't all added to each other. So you have to keep track of each one you have.

You still have 25 years to contribute to build your pension. If your current company you have just over £2k built in 3 years, that's pretty good. In 25 years time your pension will be better.

If you were 62 with a pension of 2k, then yes be worried, but at 42 you have time.

Also don't forget, you will get state pension on top of your private pensions. Assuming it's still around!

I'm rubbish at pensions too but isn't that figure if you took it now? That's what happens when I look at mine. Its hard to forecast what you'll get in 20 years.
Contrary to others, I would continue to pay-off your mortgage. To be clear of such a burden in 6 years would be amazing. Then thr amount you would ve paying off you can save. You'll have options. You can downsize and keep some equity. Fyi my pension had another 19 years left and I'm 45!! You're doing fine.

8% of £30K is £2400 - 8% of £35K is 2,800 - if there wasn't any interest an your salary stayed the same then over 9 years you should have at least £25,200 in your pot!
So, have a chat with your IFA (Independent Financial Advisor) or whomever the Pension plan is with - but whatever, £2400 cannot be the sum total of you pot unless your pension has been embezzled!

If you have any suspicions then you should contact the Pensions Regulator and f you don't have an IFA then contact the Pensions Advisory Service (its free)

You're worrying unduly.
You're 42. You've got another 20 odd years of work ahead of you. Unless you were wanting to retire at 50 in which case yes you would be skint.
Try making Additional Voluntary Contributions. It'll be worth it in the end. You won't qualify for your State pension till you're 68 at least so unless you're going to inherit anything you'll have to keep working.
Maybe you'll meet someone.
Stop panicking.

Tbh you’re better off with nothing, you’ll get everything. My friend on all the benefits is far better off than me with three company pensions

Please, get some proper advice. Your union or pension scheme might have someone you can contact. You need to know where to focus. Beware. Wou need to pay NI contributions until retirement age or your state pension won’t be at its max.

I have committed the cardinal sin of not reading the thread as I am in a bit of a rush but as others have said I am fairly sure this cannot be correct. There is a government website that enables you to trace pensions in your name if you google it. It sounds like something is missing.

I'd suggest tracing your lost pensions- you can use the gov.uk website for that.
Pensionwise website is useful for understanding how pensions work
You have time to increase your pension pot.
Remember once you retire your outgoings will be less as no mortgage to pay and no kids to support.
You could also consider getting a lodger for some extra income

9 years paying in at 8% on a salary of £35k is around £25k so I think somethings up here. Either you're misunderstanding the information as others have said or something is seriously wrong. Pension pots fell with the Liz Truss fiasco but mine at least has almost fully recovered now. Check it out and if necessary speak to an independent financial adviser. He/she should also be able to advise whether its better to overpay the mortgage (well done btw!) or put the money into your pension.

There are many services to trace pensions. Google them.

If you have three pensions, you need to find out how much was paid into each pot and how much each will pay out. Some investors are shockingly poor.

That said, at least you are spreading your risk.

You should be entitled to a state pension in addition - 35 years on NI gets you a full pension of around £12k.

This seems a good time to sit down with a pensions adviser and get a full review. You have 25 years to increase it. The earlier payments are made the more they are likely to be worth when you come to pensionable age.

Good luck, it is a real mare’s nest to sort out.

So 8% of £35k is £2800 something does not add up as that would be one years contribution. Does the 8% include the employer’s contribution?? You should have a lot more in the pot than that. Unless the £2400 is your income at pension age? With pensions the longer you pay in for the better so if you can afford to make AVC’s additional voluntary contributions that would really help. Don’t panic

I checked my pension a few months ago after 20 years in service. It was really low, I panicked and rang and was told the figure I can see is what it’s worth today not what it will be when I retire.

I’m in a workplace NEST pension

I’ve been paying in for 11.5 years. I pay 4% and my employer contributes 3%. And 1% tax relief.

When I started it my salary was around £22k. It’s now at £42k. (And around 11 years of it has been from the same company as I’ve been there for almost 11 years now)

My current pension pot value is currently worth over £20k.

So, purely going off what mine is saying and comparing it to your contributions etc, yours does sound very low considering what % you’ve been paying in and for how long?

Although, I’m not very good at understanding pensions either! So i could be completely wrong in my assumptions!

We're all f**ked under this Government!
Not just pensioners.

In years ahead try remember, why you naively voted them in.

If you’re only 42 you have years left to contribute towards a pension. Please don’t worry too much x

This x100!!

Please please go and see an IFA!!

They can work out- what the £2400 figure actually is, trace any other pension pots, advise about consolidating the separate pots into 1 or moving to a better fund, and also look at whether you are better overpaying/ paying off the mortgage early, increasing your pension contributions or saving into eg an ISA- there will be tax considerations etc etc to take into account so it's not easy to work out which option provides the most benefit without much more info and more knowledge too.

It is probably worth booking an appointment with the Pension Advisory Service when you have traced your old pensions.

Recently retired here. We were in a similar position at your age. All our earnings went on living, paid a nominal amounting pension, some years nothing. Keep at paying your pension and your mortgage. It us surprising how the pension pot builds up over the years, and as the children get older, you can start to put more into your pension. If you get to retirement age with your mortgage paid off it makes a big difference. You can downsize if you want, but if you have a private pension and no mortgage you will be ok.

@Realstudd get in rich with Pension Wise

Pension Wise is a government service set up to help people understand the pension options available to them. It offers guidance to help empower people to make informed decisions about their pension which are best for their individual circumstances.

In touch, obviously !

This is a free service

Sounds like you should make an appointment with a budget advisor. They can work through the statements with you to ensure your contributions are in your current account/s and also look to see if the funds are invested appropriately for your age and future needs.

having said that, we are in the late 50’s mid 60’s age bracket and concerned about affordability when DH retires. We have already put his retirement age back twice.

1. Get a financial advisor. Someone has put up a link already, or get a personal recommendation. When you find 2 or 3 possibles, explain you are financially inexperienced and what exactly you are looking for from them. decide on whether they seem to understand your requirements and their price.
2. I personally don't think 2400 is a skimpy monthly pension, if that's what it is. You'd have the state pension on top and be mortgage free by then. As other pp have said, you may be better putting some of the overpayment into your pension but be guided by your financial advisor.

You're 25+ years off retirement, so you've got time. And your biggest current asset, your home will be worth a lot more than it is today.

I'd consider starting a stocks and shares ISA buy stocks that perform no matter what's happening to the economy, it's not a tip but National Grid have been a solid bet. Do your research. Put all dividends into your ISA. In 25 years you'll have a significant pot of money to use tax free because it is not income - OK they're the current rules, we all know pensions are taxable, so start thinking about reducing your future tax burden. If you can put away £50-£100 pcm until you have more disposable income that will snowball nicely.

Ref your pension (existing) ask someone at work to explain it to you. Do this via HR then you will know how much it is. If it's £2,400 per annum now, they can provide a trajectory to confirm how much it could be when you retire. You can also check this out using a tool - eg moneysavingexpert has a pension tool.

You are not in a dire position, but it might be a good time to engage a financial adviser. For £600 or so, thry could save you a pretty penny and set you on the right course ref your pension.