Pensions- no idea where to start!

[goodfornothinggnome]

So DH is 34, and has not a penny set aside for his pension. I am 28 and also have nothing.
Weve been intending to start up a pension pot for the past 18 months, but haven't got around to it.

We are looking at putting around 15k into a pension pot between us each year.

Can anyone advise the options of where to put this please?

I seem to keep finding pension schemes which seem to invest money which means it can grow or it can diminish in value.
I'd just like to be able to get the money out that I put in.

Thanks in advance, i have no clue!

Are you both self employed or do you work for companies who provide a workplace pension scheme?

First step is to find out what schemes are available to you. Workplace pension is typically the first you would use as you get a contribution from your employer.

If you want an investment vehicle that you can withdraw money from whenever you like, then you need to look at an ISA. A Stocks&Shares ISA can contain funds just the same as you would find in a pension but it has the advantage that you can withdraw the money tax free. It has the disadvantage that you pay in with your after taxed income and you do not get tax relief added.

Try going through this podcast series:
meaningfulmoney.tv/category/podcast/season-11-pensions-masterclass/?order=asc

Thank you for your response, itll be very helpful,
Were both self employed, currently setting ourselves up as employees through our limited company, all a bit new, but the ISA you mentioned sounds like just what we need. Thank you.

I seem to keep finding pension schemes which seem to invest money which means it can grow or it can diminish in value.
I'd just like to be able to get the money out that I put in.

As far as I know, all pension schemes work like this - it is how they can have long term growth - but none will guarantee that you get back what you put in. However, if you split the money across more than one investment fund, it should give you a lot more chance of getting back what you put in, or ideally more.

The only way you can guarantee your money back 100% is to put it in a savings account, but you will get miserly interest, unlikely to outstrip inflation over longer term, and miss out on the tax benefits of a pension scheme.

As pp said, you need to look at what your employers offer first, if they offer a pension, especially if they also contribute to it, then paying into that should be your priority.

Cross posted.

So there is no employer pension scheme, but if you do open a pension alongside an ISA, you can pay money into it direct from your limited company bank account, so it is counted as an employer contribution.

This enables you to pay into a pension out of profits before paying yourself any money. (Rather than paying yourself salary/dividend, paying tax on it, then putting that into ISA or pension funds).

Talk to your accountant about how your limited company can contribute to your pension scheme. As Sophiesdog11 has written, it is tax advantageous to get this setup correctly.

If your gross annual earnings are above the basic rate it would make sense to start a low cost sipp. This would ensure that you capture as much tax relief as possible. In vest in global low cost trackers,,keep it simple..

Ignore @Arnoldthecat. You dont need a sippy, justice basic personal pension. Your best bet is to speak to a financial advisor - preferably an IFA. Yes they will probably charge you a fee, but the so does your Accountant & I bet you haven't gone into setting yourselves up as limited companies without dpeaking to one. Their fee may also be tax deductible.

What a financial advisor will do is explain exactly how a pension works, where to invest & will ascertain your attitude to risk. Virtually all pensions will have an element of risk & at times it could be worth less than you paid in, but over 30 years the returns will be more than holding cash.

If you really dont like to see your pensions funds rise & fall & would prefer something more secure then you could look at pension provider that offers a with-profits fund. I don't think there are many, if any, around anymore, but companies such as The Prudential, LV Aviva & Standard Life used to offer these.

If you only take one thing from this post is not to be frightened of risk. Everyone who invests into a pension takes some risk & everybody is invested in funds that go up & down. A good financial advisor will explain this & show that over time your funds should do well.

Good luck