Pensions

[blindinglight]

I don't have one, I feel like I should buy also worry that I'll get fleeced of my money a few years down the line. Not sure why. I'll be honest I have no idea about pensions. Is there a definitive guide I should know about? Or where's a good place to start looking into them. Any advice appreciated!

Defined Contribution pensions are a con.

Save, Save, Save.
ISAs up to the limit every year for you and spouse and children, both cash and shares if you have the funds.
Spread bet savings into a mixture of places rates and terms
look at other investments like land (real land, not landbanking)

If you have enough to make a Sipp worthwhile then yes,
as chances are you are getting 40% tax rebate
BUT
for basic rate taxpayers, paying into a conventional fund, they are a con.

When the fund grows 2% but the fees are 3% you are on a hiding to nothing, even with the extra tax break.

Charleybarley
could you find me a link to the limit of 1.5% .... that lasts beyond the full rollout of auto enrollments
and the link to standard life that guarantees 1%

because as an employer, all of the schemes I've looked at have so many hedges, fudges and contingencies, I know that they will revert to 3% as soon as the law allows.

I get 3% on my ISA funds (tax free) - by fixing for a year or two at a time

and was that return on your Sipp crystallised or nominal
as of course every nominal fund value increase the day before the crash was wiped out after ...
Kevin Bacon had rather a lot of savings according to his paperwork - sadly it came from Bernie Madoff.
Until its cleared funds in YOUR bank its not real
look at the fine wine debacle going on at the Octavian warehouse at the moment ....

Page 15 of the key facts document in your link
www.standardlife.co.uk/1/content/resources/uk_internet/PDFs/Retail/spp5.pdf
The Charges are not guaranteed. They are regularly reviewed and may be changed in the future

Sorry but I rest my case - the minute they have your funds in, they will up the charges.
The 1% is a sales hook, not a commitment

And the employers I work for have less than 20 employees = bugger all bargaining power.

Madoff was clearly fraudulent activity - with hindsight yes, but some of the top investors in the world did not see it beforehand ... otherwise he would never have got away with it for 23 years.

Oh dear - I truly do know nothing about all of this

I would endorse save but not in a pension for many people.

charleybarley
the headline fee is set at 1.5% - but as has been clearly documented by researchers - the hidden fees are another 2% on top

and if you can afford to give up 10% of your salary, you clearly earn far more than the half of the population who earn under £19,000 a year

and the 4 million self employed will get no employers contributions at all.

I agree with 78bunion

charley
I'm an accountant. I look at the actuarial figures.
I love my interest only mortgage, I never took out PPI, I realised that my endowment would tank ten years ago.
There is absolutely no evidence that ANY personal DC pension scheme is going to pay out enough to live on.

is your father's pension a DC? Is it his sole income?

risk and reward - fine : but those who will never get rewards (the 50% earning under £19k a year) cannot afford to take risks as they are living hand to mouth.

charley
did you earn £19k when that was the median wage?
ie within the last two years

That figure is only for full time employees,
the data set
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-45793
table 4 shows the median as £15579 in 2000

so you were earning around the 40th centile - at what age .... 21?

I am a professional too and became anti pension. The rules change all the time. They gradually take more and more from the pension. The charges are huge. People were hurt in the Equitable Life scandal. People's working lives have changed and many of us like work and want to do it until we die anyway if we are fit enough.

Also the state makes your income up to ao minimum level of about £200 a couple if you don't have a pension so those on low pay who do save can end up having similar amounts to those who did not save a penny and of course that might changeb ut even so you have so little power over the pension. I am going to take out the 25% cash at 55, the earliest I can as I just don't trust them and change after change comes about - yesterday's changes are another example - lowering of the maximum you can put in and you can see that getting worse over the years. By all means save but perhaps save in other ways.

Also people move jobs so very very much and if they do contribute to different work pensions they end up with scrappy little bits of pensions. Lots of women work part time. I think store some money away, perhaps use what savings you have to pay off your home mortgage as your first priority, may be buy a second property or land if you can afford it and pick work you can keep doing as long as you like. Invest in yourself and your children.