How much do you contribute to your pension each month?

[LittlePrecious]

I'm just curious as I've just increased my contributions.

My gross salary is £67K.

I put roughly £750 into my workplace pension each month - £350ish as standard and then I add another £400 each month.

I'm trying it on for size for a year and then might increase it again. I could afford to put a lot more into my pensions, but I want some ££ for short-term flexibility, rather than locking everything away until later life.

I'm 40 with very little prospect of huge salary increase.

How much do you contribute to your pension each month?

Currently I put in 5% and my employer 3% (which is the statutory minimum). I earn much much less than 67k too!

Some of these employer contributions are rather stingy.

I put in 10% and my employer puts in 15%.

I have a DB pension which will pay out about £12k pa at 60. This is now closed (not my choice) so I also have a DC pension into which I pay 7% and my employer pays 16.5%. I’m 47 so bang on the ‘half your age’ percentage guide. I started the DB scheme at 21 but went part-time for a number of years. Hoping for £30k pa not including state pension. DH is a higher earner but has not been paying in as long. He is hoping for £45k pa. We’ve had to be really careful with money whilst raising our kids, big mortgage etc, so glad to have some security lined up for the future.

For those with defined contribution schemes, I strongly recommend checking what your pension is invested in. The default approach is often too conservative - it can move your money out of funds too early - and this can really affect the growth of your pot over time.

If in doubt, and you have ten or more years of working life left, see if the pension provider offers a low cost global tracker fund and consider doing a switch into it.

Earn around 69k, and pay roughly £450 into pension. I don’t pay any extra at present, and I have a defined benefit pension and my projected lump sum is more than enough for me to pay off what will remain of my mortgage and provide a buffer. I should have no issue living off my monthly pension payment plus state pension.

I'm 47. I am on a 74k salary and contribute 500 to a defined pension and 1100 to AVC / sipp. I want to retire early 😁.

The 16.5% is that of gross or net pay? Just curious as I've seen various ways of looking at it.

This rule applies when you start. If you continue it doesn't increase with age.

my employer puts in 14.5%. I put in 6.1 plus an additional 8% (so 14.1). It’s a defined benefit pension with a separate investment pot so my 8% goes into that. I earn £70k

I’m self employed so no employer contribution, aim for £1k per month but add extra whenever I can. I only started in my early 40s and already have a good pot. starting in your 20s helps with compounding ofc but relying on very small amounts is still going to be a shock for people, especially if very conservatively invested.

Agree with a pp that said about putting in these large % numbers. Im early 50’s and hoping to retire by 63 ish. On track do to so assuming pensions continues to grow at similar rate and I don’t lose my job etc. I currently put in 10% and then have a 5% employer contribution.

I was only putting in 5% but upped my contributions to 10% a few years ago. Single parent with large mortgage until post retirement here so no chance to put away big numbers.

I wish I was in a position to max out my ISA on day one of the tax year. My total pension contribution (employee and employer) is 14% plus any bonus I receive. I do put further money into accessible savings, but expense of raising DC means unless I seriously compromised on our quality of life now, I can’t put in any more. Some of these figures are incredible!

This year I am aiming to put in max 60k, plus some carry over from prev years. Only possible now we have paid off mortgage. Aim to keep below higher tax rate. But have never been able to do this level of contribution in previous years with mortgage and childcare before that!

i’ve got 17 years in the 1995 scheme thanks to the judgement. However i’m on a lower % due to being band 4. Still paying into the 2015 scheme but that’s tied to state pension age.
Once the mortgage is done in a few years i hope to save more so i can bridge that gap to reduce my hours 60-67!

I put 20% of my salary into my pension, split approx 2.5% into the DB scheme and the rest into DC. Company contribution into DB scheme is approx 16%. I'm 55 and put far more in now than I did a decade ago when I still was working PT and paying lots in childcare. Prechildren I prioritised S&S ISAs so my money was more accessible but now I'm a higher rate tax payer and pensions are inheritable it makes sense to prioritise my pension, that may change again depending on the government of the day. While you should always pay into a company pension to get the company contribution as well, the best way to save money will vary across your life and how much you can save will also vary. So try not to compare yourself to someone who will be a different age with different outgoings.

I prefer to put most of spare funds into investments that I won’t lose if I die! So have only just started seriously putting money into pension at 44.

just fyi, remember that when you take your pension it is considered income for tax purposes so if it pushes you over the tax threshold (£12,570 currently for a single person i believe) because you have a part time job or another source of income when you retire or just a large pension, you need to factor in a tax deduction, so when you’re provider forecasts a reasonable sum remember to deduct how much you’d be taxed on it and plan accordingly.

20% from me 12% from employer. 47 years old.

Not much. I put in 3% and employer puts in 5%. I’m on £65k. I do have a stocks and shares ISA however that is also intended for retirement, but I only put in £20 a month.

For the first couple of decades I just paid the standard contribution into my DB scheme but with the mortgage paid off, I started paying AVC's which probably amounted to another 10%.
Later the DB scheme was closed and a DC scheme started with the company matching your contribution up to a certain level (11%?) and after that, any extra contributions you made were for your own benefit so I increased to 15%.
For the last couple of years I was really preparing for (early) retirement and was paying 40%.

You can take 25% of a pension pot tax-free which, I believe, is on top of the £12,570 non-taxable income.

Thanks again for everyone's honesty.

While you should always pay into a company pension to get the company contribution as well, the best way to save money will vary across your life and how much you can save will also vary
Yep, I absolutely agree. I feel like pensions is the best way for me at this stage of my life but hasn't always been.

I'm very aware people have different circumstances, I'm really just curious as to what others are doing with pensions rather than using it as a yardstick for my own actions IYSWIM. Plus, I'm nosey 😅

9.8% NHS pension. I’m struggling financially with the 15% deducted for student loans. I can’t stop the student loans deductions and can’t reduce the 9.8% pension deduction. I’m going to have to stop paying into my pension completely which isn’t something I want to do but I have no choice, I’ve got rent and bills to pay.

In my final year at work I paid in 50% of my salary and got it all back, tax free, in my 25% tax free pot. Best financial decision ever.

I put in 16% and employer puts in 7% to my workplace pension (DC). I also have a SiPP separately and I tend to put in £250/month into that too, or a chunk now and again.
I'm 36yrs old.