Share your thoughts on saving for retirement with Scottish Widows - chance to win £300 voucher!

[EmmaMumsnet]

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We all know that it’s important to be organised when it comes to saving for our retirement. Some of us are pension savvy and have been making regular payment since starting work. Others find it all a bit confusing and scary so bury our heads in the sand. Scottish Widows are interested in finding out how you feel when it comes to saving for your retirement and whether you think women face more challenges when it comes to saving for their retirement?

Here’s what Scottish Widows has to say: “For many, sorting out their pension is at the bottom of the to do list with lots of other day to day priorities to consider. We understand life is different for everyone and a lot depends on what age and stage you’re at in life. Each stage comes with its own set of financial challenges to think about – job hunting, paying rent and student loans, mortgages, marriage, and careers. So when does retirement make the list?

Our latest research shows that many women aren’t planning their pension early enough with women in their 20s far less likely than men of the same age to be saving enough, or anything, for their future. This is worrying given that women statistically live longer than men and earn less.

We want to empower women to take control of their pension whatever their age. We’d love to hear your thoughts as we examine these issues in more depth, so that we can continue to ensure more women take ownership of their financial futures and look forward to retirement.”

So how do you feel when it comes to saving for retirement? Do you feel organised or unprepared? If you’re already retired do you have any tips to share about your experience? What challenges, if any, do you think women face in particular when it comes to saving for retirement? Do you think that parental leave has a big effect on stalling pension payments for women?

Whatever your thoughts are when it comes to saving for retirement please share them below to be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Terms and conditions apply

I can’t afford to pay into a pension. Unless I come into some money I will be paying my mortgage till I’m 66 due to a divorce remortgage. My DC is still young and my priority now is her and the mortgage.

Also, being self employed I don’t fall into auto enrolment. The government need to do something to sort the situation out, maybe allow some of the Class 4 NIC to be put into a pension?

It’s not a question of being unprepared, it’s a question of money.

My house will have to be my pension if necessary.

At the end of the day we are all different with many people worrying about their old age etc. I have never thought this way and I have always lived life to the full and I have visited many countries around the world and seen some magnificent sites. At no time while spending my money did I worry about my older years. I am now in my mid sixties and if I
had the chance to live my life over again I would follow the same path.

I’ve saved for nearly 20 years so far into a works pension so I’ll be ok

We both have good pensions and a property that we rent out so hopefully we will be financially secure.

As a lone parent I pay into an occupational pension but I don't have the funds for anything separate currently. It is a worry however.

I've been saving since I started work at aged 18 and paying into a private pension. I also am thinking of investing in some property so that when i retire, i can also live off the rent.

Not enough saving in early years is common as people are using every penny to save for a deposit or rent as homes are more expensive. I would say contributing to private pension plans is lower on the list of priorities for under 40's because they're struggling with an expensive housing market/transport costs/ student loans etc.

I think it’s important to save for retirement. This should be a new chapter in your life and having enough money to enjoy it is important to me. Starting to save early on is ideal however it’s never too late to start to save for a retirement fund.

When I worked I paid into the pension scheme and had an additional plan. Since redundancy there is no way I can save for retirement. I am trying not to think about it since there is nothing I can change!

I think saving for retirement is incredibly important, we’ve paid off our mortgage & have invested in another property so we will are prepared to downsize. We also have various work based pensions and other savings & investments. But we are realistic and know we won’t be able to retire until we are at least 70, I am 60 & many of my friends are retired, I chose to take some years off as a SAHM and now work p/t. I always made sure I paid my NI contributions.

The best thing we ever did for our DS was to invest the child benefit in a pensions plan as soon as he wasn’t born

My husband has started paying extra into his pension via AVCs. I wish we had started earlier!

Its very hard to look so far ahead when you've just started working. However the sooner you start the smaller the amount you need to invest for retirement.

I pay into a work's pension and have done for the last 10 years. Beyond this I haven't thought about it though and I'm in my mid thirties. It seems so far away, my life is still getting started!

I have a workplace pension, which I will ultimately need to rely on, I sadly I feed the retirement pension will only come into force when I am in my 70's which does not bear thinking about. I cannot afford to put more than the minimum amount, but intend, when my children are older, to be able to increase my contributions, and perhaps take a second pension scheme to boost my income when the time comes.

Is panic an acceptable answer?. I know what I need to do, but am not likely to ever earn enough to save sufficient.

I'm lucky enough to have a generous works pension and I'm of the generation that had cheap housing so with a downsizing we'll have a generous pot.

God knows how my children will save as any inheritance is likely to be swallowed up with housing

I have plenty of thoughts on the merits of saving for retirement and we are always advised to do so, but they never say how when your basic income just matches basic outgoings and after all bills there is nothing spare. I am not talking about after expenses of eating out or holidays, I mean a small amount of heat, food etc

been paying into workplace pension schemes. Dont think itll be enough but ill just keep saving outside of it and plan alternative methods of investment i.e SS isas in index trackers.

Due to ill heath we are having to rely on what the government offer us and just hope it is enough

i think the cost of living ks so high that pe sions are on the back burner for a lot of people. the retirement age keeps getting pushed up so we will end up working till we drop.

Things have changed so many times over the years and I have missed a lot of work due to ill health and disability so I really have no idea where I stand.

I have a work pension and so does my husband. Otherwise not thought about it really but need to think of retirement savings too really as don't want to be working past 60!

I feel largely unprepared. I had a small work pension prior to having children, but have no idea how much is in there. After being a SAHM for many years I feel very behind with my pension, so am now putting a fairly large percentage into my new work pension. The aim is to pay our mortgage off early and then continue to save or invest what we would be paying beyond this.

At the moment I only have a pension through work but I think I do need to better explore saving options as I get older.

We both pay a into a pension and carefully watch our money putting what we can into a savings account