Pension Pot... eek!

[sparklestar4]

Hello,

I'm a 35yo Female and I currently work part time due to childcare reasons (2yo and 4yo). I currently have a Royal London workplace pension with approximately £21k.

My contributions are £180 per month. I anticipate to increase my contributions to at least £300 in September 2028 when I return full time working.

Our mortgage will be paid off by the time I'm 55 and I don't expect to retire before I'm 68 to be honest, I like working too.

I'm not sure what I'm asking for from this post but am I doing OK?

It’s not a lot right now but you’re contributing and you’ve got decades of growth ahead of you. In time you’ll be fine , assuming there is still a state pension aswell of some description that will also add to your pension income .

It’s pretty normal for pension contributions to reflect the stage of life you’re in - right now you’re focusing on paying a mortgage and childcare costs. If you can make additional contributions then do so, but there’s not much point worrying about not contributing money you don’t have going spare to contribute! Presuming you work until state pension age, you have over three decades ahead of you to build.

You just do it slowly over time. Each time you get a pay rise save as much of it as you can and don't allow lifestyle creep. Don't worry about it, but save what you can.

You are right to prioritise it, you may find as you get older that you don't want to work to 68. Many get health niggles and that makes it tougher to work that long or to do so in full time stressful / highly physical work or mentally it just gets harder still to deal with work, so having the choice becomes important.

You can enter all your details into a pension calculator which will forecast the size of your pension pot in 30+ years time. Is the £300 including tax free amount? How much is employer contribution? Is the Royal London pension fund you’re in a good one?

If you’re interested in understanding your position a little better, I would suggest you watch Rebel Finance School on YouTube.

If it makes you feel better, I have a similar amount in mine and am a similar age.

Everyone online seems to have pensions £100K+ by 40 - so I get the angst!

I am now a SAHM. I add £3,200 to mine a year (with the tax relief) but can't add any more.

Balancing immediate needs with longer term needs is always tricky. I am trying to just accept that I will do what I can do, and try to not give myself a hard time.

It’s not great but you have time. Do those contributions include your employers contributions or are they just yours?

Here’s the calculator mentioned above

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/pensions/calculator/

Get a job in local government . Even if you earn 30k for 25 years working full time you’d have a decent pot!
from 40- 65 you’d build a great pot .
You need a defined benefits pension asap !

It’s not great tbh. Increase your contributions when you go back to work and make sure that your plan they’ve got you on is the most aggressive in terms of allocation because you have 30 years of time for the stock market to do its thing. Don’t miss out on thousands because the portfolio has been invested for you into a low risk vehicle.