Pension contributions

[bonzaitree]

Hi all,

Just wondered what percentage you pay into your pension? Would also be useful to know your age for context and whether you work in public or private sector.

I've just moved jobs so have to make a decision. I work in the private sector and my employer contributes 5%.

I am a saver so want to add a lot more into my pension, but we are saving for a new home deposit at the moment so just trying to balance it out.

I am early 30s.

I contribute 6.5% and my employer contributes 24%. Admin job at a university.

I put in 12%, employer max is 10%. I want to increase my contribution here and there, ideally to take me below 40% tax bracket - but prioritising paying down mortgage at the moment.

To everyone saying public sector contrib are huge, well yes they are, but in my experience they are partially compensating for low salary. Someone commented up thread that public sector accountants paid more than private; that is absolutely not my experience. I seriously looked at public sector roles and would have faced over a 20% pay cut in terms of total package.

Yes.

I don't understand why the government don't look at reducing taxpayers pension contributions to public service workers. They could use the reduction, in part, to up their wages.

I think my private sector employer contributes something like 3 or 5% to mine. Whatever the minimum is. I contribute 10% of my gross salary, but I'm trying my best to nudge it up prioritise it. Early 30's, so still have some time to make a dent in it.

For reference my job does has an equivalent NHS roles, the pay is very similar, but my private role has poorer maternity pay, sick pay, annual leave etc too.

I took 4 months off for maternity leave because I couldn't afford the full 9 on SMP, which is all my private sector role entitled me to. I have had time out of work due to stress, my job was trashing my MH. People working in private service roles can also work very hard and under very stressful conditions.

I would move to the NHS in a heartbeat but there are no roles in my area. I do keep an eye out for vacancies.

Really interesting thread. Good for the public sector workers, salaries are lower so I'm pleased you get a good boost for retirement.

I'm 39, pay in 28.2%, employer 10%, and I put bonuses in so overall I max the annual allowance.

Current pot is about 160k, aiming got £1.5m.

I don't think about it in terms of % of age or whatever. I worked out I want a drawdown salary of £xxx so need a pot of 1.5m+. Then how do I build that etc etc.

These employer contributions are so high. Mine does 3% (I do 13%)

@Mazuslongtoenail I know! Nowhere I've worked has ever had an employer contribution higher than 3%, and they're only required to contribute 3% up to about £50k salary I believe, after that they can stick at whatever that is. The upshot is that my employer currently contributes about £100 a month and I contribute about £1100. It's better than nothing but it's rubbish compared to what I'm seeing here!

Civil service pension, employer puts in 27% and I put in 5.5%. it's the thing that keeps me here.

Have you checked what your pot is at the moment and what it is expected to be if you continue as you are with various levels of return?

I ask because I was in a similar situation on my 30s but to retire early and be comfortable you might need to consider increasing your contribution levels.

All of your taxes arent being used to pay public sector pensions though are they? Why does that annoy you over your taxes being used Vs other things?

You could always get a job in the public sector

Right now I pay 11% and my employer pays 9% for a total of 20. I usually aim for about 20% salary total. I've been paying in since I started work at 22 after uni, although back then I think I only paid about 5% plus whatever the employer matched.

Your pension pot value being less now than January is a good thing. You are still contributing and will be probably for nearly 20 years. why would you want the investment you are buying now to cost you more?

I pay in 5% and employer 5%. I work for a charity so pay is pretty shit and I absolutely agree with you @Oblomov22 about public sector pensions. I work for a charity supporting addicts to rebuild their lives, get back to work etc- I'd say pretty useful and our service users & their families will tell you we saved their life so the emotive argument doesn't exclusively apply to public sector.

That said, I'm seriously considering a move to the public sector and just doing an job I can find purely for the benefits like massive pension & generous holiday, flexible working etc

Sounds like you are supportive of a race to the bottom? Their pension is better than yours, so rather than you fight for better pension conditions or increasing your own contributions you want it taken from others to have their working terms and conditions negatively impacted.

Get your application in for one of the many vacancies for teachers and nurses

It is a very general rule of thumb to start with, don't rely on it by any means.

How much income do you thing you will need/want in retirement, what pot size will you require to sustain that for say 25-30 years. How much would you have to contribute now taking into account inflation and investment returns to get that pot size.

There's 49000 vacancies for nursing positions if anyone wants to apply! Step up!

Quite.

And lots of other vacant roles in the public sector too....

So anyone who wants a public sector pension can probably find a suitable role. ..

I get what you're saying, but it is a bit disingenuous.

Often people can't afford to drop out of earning for 3 years to retrain and start at the bottom of a career ladder when they're likely established in a certain career with time, money, family commitments.

I would love to see something come into place that made retraining into NHS careers a practical option for people, but realistically it isn't.

Most jobs have a public sector equivalent I would imagine. The public sector is incredibly diverse.

I expect it's more about a sideways move /career shift than complete retraining.

There is something- they are called apprenticeships.
The other aspect people forget about working in these jobs is burnout. I was a ward sister for quite a while but you can only watch so many people die everyday before you start to crack and have to change jobs. It's a side of the 'cushy' public sector people don't like to think about.

The gap between public DB schemes and what’s typically on offer in the private sector is so huge, I really feel something is going to have to change over the next 20 years, as the last of the private DB schemes run out and how under-pensioned most people are comes to light. Either much higher compulsory employer contributions in the private sector or else the end of public sector DB schemes (and salary increase to compensate).

It was unclear, but my reply was specifically regarding the 49000 nursing positions.

But there is no public sector equivalent of my job in my area. Of course I could relocate but I would be moving away from my support network/childcare etc. It's not just about the position existing, but it has to be practical. Not everyone can just pop on a job search engine and apply to move sideways into the public sector.

The apprenticeships aren't going to pay enough for a lot of people in their 30's/40's to step into though.

I certainly couldn't walk away from my job to be paid an apprentices wage.

I’m mid 30s and put in 15% plus 7.5% from my employer. I put in the minimum until I had my house deposit and then ramped it up at that stage. Private sector.