Scottish Widows would love to hear your concerns about retirement: share now and you could win a £250 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[KathrynMumsnet]

Claire Stracey, Head of Marketing Communications at Scottish Widows says:

"We know thinking about retirement is probably not front of mind, especially when you have more pressing tasks to take care of as a busy mum. Whether you’re in full-time employment or you’ve taken a career break, we’d love to hear any retirement planning questions that keep you awake at night. Have you had trouble finding clear information on your pension options? Are you confident that you’re setting yourself up for the best possible retirement?

We want to make retirement planning less daunting so we’ll be sharing stories and suggestions from our pensions specialists to help you get - or stay - on track.

So what are your biggest concerns when it comes to retirement? Let us know on the thread below and look out for pensions information for mums here; on Facebook and on ScottishWidows.co.uk."

By leaving your comment below, you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win a £250 John Lewis voucher*. Standard T&Cs apply and can be viewed here.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

*Scottish Widows and The Lloyds Banking Group are not affiliated to the prize draw and accept no liability in respect of the prize draw.

[ergomaniac1967]

I have two big concerns, first is that the pension that I am putting hundreds of pounds into each month does not pay out what it should do. The second is that my health won't be good enough to enjoy my retirement and do all the things I want to do but can't do now because of work.

[Ganne]

Health and money

[Lisamalone1]

I have always worked for private firms with no pension so only recently started to pay in. I am in 40s now so feel we will have to downgrade house to retire

[Belleview]

I've been told that in order to get an income of 6k annually, I'd need to have 100k invested in a pension. I'd like to see a clear spreadsheet of how much input gives out how much income, as a clear guideline.

[izbiz88]

My biggest concern is definitely not having enough money and being a burden on my family for care etc. I don't have any type of pension at present and nor does my husband, and it is something that we worry about, but as I'm at home with my youngest at the moment we're only just about making ends meet as it is.

Will be keeping an eye out for these posts as I could definitely do with some more advice on where to start with planning for a comfortable retirement!

[spottypjs]

I am so confused over all the pension changes and how it all affects me. I am in my early thirties and paid into the teachers pension scheme for 6.5 years when I was working full time. Now I am on supply I can't pay into this therefore have one provided through the agencies I work with. I just don;t know whether I should just get a private pension that I should put into, I worry that I just won;t have enough put aside when it comes to retirement and don't know what to do for the best!

[KittyKat88]

I've been a stay-at-home mum for the past 5 years and looking to return to work. I'm in my early 40's now and I've not saved much into a pension before. My biggest fears are not having enough time to save a decent amount for my pension, and concerns about coping if my husband, our main earner, is unable to work for any reason.

[FenellaFellorick]

My biggest concern is will we have enough to live on! Isn't that really the major concern most people have re pensions? That and is it fully protected and will we get the most out of what we put in?

[Osquito]

I'm scared I won't have enough to live on - currently in the gov workplace scheme, paying very little, but have gone part-time (in a low paying job) due to no childcare for my son so can't contribute more. I see my parents overseas with their money woes and wonder if my dad will ever stop working - even with his health problems.
Just thinking about it makes me feel slightly sick in my stomach... I am struggling as it is now, and I'm actually healthy and in work - what will it be like when I'm not?!

[cuppawithbiccies]

luckily we have both paid into a reasonably good works pension, however there is always the worry that it won't be enough or even worse the firm will go bust and there won't be enough in the pension pot to pay out.
It's such a difficult time to plan for money wise as, to put it bluntly, you don't know how long you need to make the money last

[freedomofspeech]

I'm most worried about my health and that I won't be abl to do much once I retire.
Pensions are also too complicated to understand and risky.

[Cambam2010]

I have no idea when it comes to pensions. I pay into my work one but I doubt very much whether it will be sufficient to support me in old age. I am in my late 30's, rent and have little by way of savings. My fall back will be any inheritance that I receive from my parents.

[caliali]

I'm worried that I started paying into my pension too late and so wont have enough when I reach retirement age. I am worried that the retirement age will continue to increase and that I will just not be able to work in my job at that age. I am also worried that by that time there will not be any state pension/ or that I will not be eligible.

[finleypop]

I really do worry about my financial situation. I am disabled & do not have a private pension. I worry about repairs & unexpected expenses

[crispydragonfly]

I am concerned that I stopped paying into my pension when I gave up work to bring up my children and now it looks as if the amount I will receive will be insufficient to keep me.

[happymouffetard]

I've always paid into pensions, but My biggest concern is that I've moved jobs and just have several small pots.

[jodiecrossley1]

As I am a stay at home Mum I am worried about money when I retire

[Alidoll]

Having work full time for over 15 years I'm now on a part-time wage (since the birth of my daughter in 2010). I'm worried that I won't have enough built up to pay all the bills if anything were to happen to my husband and I were faced with paying for everything on my own. I know the mortgage etc would be paid off but things like council tax and rising fuel and heating costs make the future for a lot of people my age seem bleak. I'm just waiting for the privatisation of the NHS and a two tier waiting system to be employed - those who can pay will move up the waiting list and those that can't...well, hope you've paid for funeral costs already.

[sandy31]

As long as we have enough to get by and be able to travel, as this is what we are aiming for when we retire

[dogdog]

Having enough to cover all the basics and extras.

[porridgensausages]

My biggest concern is financial stability. I'd like to be able to enjoy life and not be scraping by, having to choose to heat or eat, as is the case for many pensioners in the UK. It's a real concern.

[jandoc]

not having enough money

[Annimousey]

Not having enough money to survive!

[hermancakedestroyer]

I have paid into several work based pensions over the years and am currently paying into one now. What troubles me is that due to the fact that I had my lovely children and had time off to bring them up and enjoy them that I may miss out on having a living wage as a pensioner. As a family we do not have spare money to top my pension up. Just food for thought.

[hbakfam]

Having enough money, I don't know how it's all supposed to add up to give you a decent quality of life for an unspecified number of years