How much savings do you have - in cash and in your pension pot?

[suebfg]

I am 40 and whilst we have quite a lot in savings (over £150k and no mortgage), my pension provision is practically nil. I chose to pay off my mortgage instead of paying into a pension as tbh, I don't trust pensions.

But it does worry me that I have little saved for my retirement - mainly the equity in the house I guess.

Just interested in what others have done.

EMUZ
Should I join the NHS scheme?
YES

THeDoctrineOfAllan
There are millions of self employed people in this country who do not have pensions (myself included) and will fall outside the new stakeholder pension schemes.
Many many others will opt out of paying money to be eaten up by fees in a fund.
I have no intention of ever paying into a DC scheme if I can possibly help it.
They are a rip off and as more people start retiring and realising how little income they give, they will die a death.

It's auto enrol 2017 but thank you, I think I should enrol now

I have about £30 000 in savings, bugger-all work pension from pre-kids, and currently an income of around £15 000 a year from self-employment.

DH is doing rather better than that (and his pension pays out 50% to me if he pops his clogs first) but it does feel very precarious. If he loses his job/either of us need long-term care, presumably we'd be expected to spend up my savings before getting any state help, whereas pensions don't get thrown into the general pot -- is that right?

Oh, and we're both over 40. Even if I start bunging several hundred a month into a pension, I suspect it'll be swallowed up by charges.

We're stuffed, basically, aren't we? Better sell a child.

I suspect it'll be swallowed up by charges

erh no it wouldn't, not if invested properly in a modern pension. I'm not saying that values can't and don't change, nor that there may be periods (due to economic/business cycles) that the 'paper' value falls. However a properly structured portfolio with correct asset allocation that is rebalanced every year and reviewed for dog funds, in 20 odd years is almost certain to show a positive, above inflation return.

I really wouldn't use fear of the misunderstood (I'm not actually trying to be rude here) as an excuse for not taking action. Accruing capital for your retirement is essential if you are not going to live in penury.

Remember though pensions are merely a wrapper and other options exist, but Birdyour financial planning between you and your husband is not optimal at this stage.

OP you need expert advice which should cover investing some or most of your savings into a portfolio of stocks and shares, spreading the risk of those investments. These are long term investments which you would cash in later- 25 years time.

Your other option is to move house so you invest in property, which should appreciate if you choose wisely, or invest in a buy to let in an area which holds its value or is up and coming.

You are mad to have that amount of savings these days not working for you with interest rates at 1%.

Op

I am your age, have no pension at all and have not worked / lived anywhere long enough to qualify for a state pension in any if the countries I have worked in! DH and I own two rental properties outright and the income from those is invested in an index tracker fund - which still seems to be the most sensible and profitable low risk option for investing in stocks. The purchase of the properties was possible because my parents gifted us cash several years ago as part of their own inheritance tax planning.

ATM we are trying to live on just DH salary and not touch our investments - it is hard but very worthwhile to watch the value increase over the years.

DH spent a lot of time hanging out on The Mötley Fool UK website before deciding on this strategy. Pension - no thanks, for all the reasons outlined by pp's. cash savings, not making any kind of income and risking depreciation over the long term. Index trackers weather the financial storms better than many investments - as long as you can take the long term approach.

Hi all. I am not anywhere near 40yrs yet. I am a single parent mum. I have a lot of Bank accounts(all with money in....small and ok amounts). My 6yr old already has 4 Bank accounts. I have a main account with a top private bank to 25k almost and unemployed. However my uncles and family help me. I live in a rented flat because I don't want to have any mortgage where I am currently res

I was spoilt.

Pensions will be 100k gross per annum at 65. Plus 300k lump sum.

May I ask how you did it? And how much do you save every year?

My husband has a term assurance policy on his life for £500k which ends when he is 60. The plan is for him to leave the planet at 59. He does not know of my plan.

it will be interesting see now that people at 55 can get the pensions lump sum if on divorce, on death, on bankruptcy, on needing a care home that pension lump sum WILL start to count as "cash". It bet the laws move that way. So watch out.

I manage the shares in my SIPP (pension) although I stopped paying into it about 15 years ago which went up about 9% in the last year and 32% over 5 years (about 6.5% a year so better than savings accounts) which is not too bad. At least if it goes down in value I can only blame myself.

Best investment has been/will be about £1m in the education of 5 children all of whom will also graduate entirely debt free and helping them a bit towards a first property deposit. Private schools from age 4 - 18. No better way to invest as nothing can rob you of a good education.

I sold my private island but that was just to pay off divorce debt/mortgage. That was certainly a fun investment over 10 years.

Savings - none
Pension - none
Cash in house/ in bank - 15 pounds
I dont have a mortgage.

I'm 28 and have never been lucky enough to be able to save. I think the most I've ever had in my account was around 1200 when I borrowed some money. I don't know what I'm going to do when I retire but as long as my daughter has a good start in life (shes 3 and we do have a savings account in her name but its obviously all for her and only money that goes in there are from family as we can not afford to save). I'm amazed at all these people with thousands and thousands of savings. And jealous if I'm honest but I've really never been able to save more than 100 pounds and I will never own my own home, but I look it like when you die, you can not take your money with you. Money does help though, obviously x