to think too few people worry about pensions ...

[redskyatnight]

Was chatting to a group of friends (and friends of friends) the other day when the subject of pensions came up.

Only about half the people there (all in their 30s and 40s) had any sort of pension. Quite a few of those said that they didn't pay in as much as they ought to.

Of the others, the reasons for not having one varied from - not wanting to think about it, assuming the kids would support them, relying on inheritance (!), wanting to spend their money now and let the future take care of itself etc.

Maybe I am unduly worrying (I was in the "have a pension fund but don't pay in as much as I should do" group) but I'm astounded that so many people have effectively closed their eyes to saving for their old age. The state pension isn't going to be much to live on, and can we really rely on other sources of income just materialising from nowhere?

I do appreciate some people genuinely have no money for a pension after essential bills, so am talking about the people who do have disposable income but choose to spend it elsewhere.

I started one as soon as I started work,and have paid into various company & private pension schemes until 7 years ago when I became self employed.Now we have 2 dd's and a house that needs renovation,so any spare cash goes on that and paying off the mortgage early.

I did ask dh,who is a financial whizz kid,if I should start paying into one again,but he says at present there is little point.He is squirreling a bit away though,on a salary sacrifice scheme,so hopefully we won't starve.If I had the spare cash I would save it,but not neccessarily via a pension though,as I have no employer to contribute on my behalf.

This is something Ive been thinking about lots recently. Im not exactly rolling in it, but only because I set aside for mortgage deposit. Im 25, self employed and no pension at all.

I have a question though - im clearly missing something. If I want to save for a personal pension, how do I ensure its in the pension "wrapper"? EG, I have 3 years ISAs - should I have applied in a different way to ensure they are part of the pension fund. Should I speak to a financial advisor despite only being able to put away less than £100pm at the minute?

YABU in taht worrying is by and large poointless.

However, YANBU that too few eolpe have provision.

don't, but am a carer so no options; we did have provision in the past. We have lans for securioty but they are absed on my ability to return to work, we shall see and hope.

But I think many people go after the collpases;my parents had great epnsions, really workedto pay in ever y penny,no house /car/ holidays- both went kaput (but Dad might get a £2 k payout, wowee!) and they're on benefits forlifeif dad has to gie up work (going PT this year, he's past 65 though)

I have deep mistrust of pensions and the government's ability to keep their hands off them.

I am currently collecting a pension so to speak. I havn't a clue (really should find out) if it will still pay out in 20 years time

I paid into a private pension for years and its now worth diddly squat. I wish I had put the extra money into property instead or even squandered it.

What little pension I will get will probably prevent me from claiming state benefits later.

I wouldnt reccomend anyone to pay into a pension.

At one time I never thought I would say this but - Let The State Provide.

DH has been paying into his pension for 20 years (and has another 18 to go before the planned retirement age). It's really very scary when I see how little its worth. We are wondering if it might be better just to stop it and do something else with the money.

I also think that 'they' should have had a bit more foresight back in the 50s and realised that the NHS would increase life expectancy and therefore the age at which people should expect to retire should have slowly increased. When state pension began it would only have been ten years till the pensioner died, but now we are looking at 20 years and we are all conditioned to believe that by 65 we should be in clover. I blame Larkin's 'fools in old-style hats and coats'.

"I have deep mistrust of pensions and the government's ability to keep their hands off them."

I also have a mistrust of pensions, but it's not the government I don't trust, it's the pension companies. You know, pension companies like Equitable Life who didn't add their sums up properly so had to pay more than they could afford to certain lucky investors, while most of the people with ordinary pensions got bugger all (actually I think they'll get some compensation, but it won't be what they paid in)

I notice a lot of people on this thread who are saying everyone should worry about pensions also say they have final salary pensions. well that's very nice for you, but not much use to those of us who's employers don't offer them any more. I still say savings are better.

But more to the point, as I say, the state pension is pretty good, and we all contribute to that. As springlamb says, we just need to adjust our expectations, that's all.

My mother is positively looking forward to getting her state pension as she will be considerably better off than she is now (she has no savings and a very tiny occupational pension from my late father). If you are living modestly and within your means it is possible to be ok on a state pension.You do have to ensure you are claiming all your entitlements even the means tested ones which many pensioners shy away from. It is also all about expectations as as been mentioned.

See, I find worrying about pensions to be one of those endless growing chores. I started contributing as soon as I'd qualified - into a money purchase scheme. Each year I have upped my contributions to compensate for:

Firstly the vastly inflated quotes that the firms provided when I started the scheme then
Secondly for the fact that the scheme itself was underperforming relative to its peers (third quartile performance, seems to specialise in negative growth) and
Finally for the effect of two recessions - in 2000/2001 and now

The net effect is that I am now contributing 25% of my hard earned cash into pension schemes and I am still aware that I will not have enough to live on in retirement.

Mug's game, pensions.

Quattro - you hit the nail on the head - Mugs Game.

Spend the lot and claim everything thats going when the time comes.

i split my very long term investments between a pension and a stocks and shares isa - while i understand the importance of pension i wasn't comfortable in putting everything into a pension at this stage because it's all well saving for retirement but what if you have a financial crisis before then? with a young family keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table seems more important right now.

anyway, both pension and isa are doing well and i always know that if everything went tits up i could cash in the isa to bail us out.

LeninGrad - my parents are working the downsizing thing nicely but to do so they are also moving from where they are now which is a VERY desirable area for raising children and commuting into the city to somewhere just five miles away but less desirable not really suitable for children or commuting (as they wont need to commute and we're all grown up).

so, they're selling up a 3-bed in a very desirable area with the mortgage paid off and buying a small 2-bed which will not even be HALF the price!

I am self-employed but since having the children generally earn less than 10k a year - because I'm self-employed, I can't opt into SP2. I don't understand WHY that is, to be honest. But it means that I will never have a pension pot (because my money goes on bills) and will never be entitled to a topped-up state pension.

I would possibly be better off getting a job in a bar and opting into SP2 but that's a bit depressing isn't it?

Once the children are at school I should probably take some sort of job at the local council for the next 20 years...

Basically, despite having a subscription to Ms., my pension plans is based on having a husband with a massive pension pot

It's a bit crap isn't it?

Can't you start you own stakeholder pension, mp?

Yes I could, but some months I don't even earn enough to pay the nursery fees, so it isn't really an option because if I prioritise my pension before paying my costs I will die of shame at having my non-career subsidised by my husband

I agree - would look seriously at starting your own. My DH's pension will be better than mine, because I've had some periods of P/T work when I wasn't paying in the full amount, but I still wouldn't rely totally on his.

Aah right - nursery fees are a bugger but they won't last forever. Once your childcare costs are reduced with the kids at school, you could look at starting up a pension?