Pensions..

[PaulSB]

@wafter with no intention to appear condescending you need to find a financial adviser. A great deal of what is posted here is true with one or two points I'd dispute. This thread is throwing lots of very valuable information your way but you need to consider it all in a way appropriate to your situation. This may prove difficult if you're starting with relatively little knowledge.

The starting point is not "I need to get a pension" Your starting point should be:

• what are my current annual living costs?
• what living standards do I wish to have in retirement?
• what are my retirement costs likely to be?
• how will this be funded?

A good financial adviser will ask the first three questions and provide the answer to the fourth. He/she will have the software available to run the projections, be able to project based on any "what if" scenario and show you how changes in your circumstances will pan out in the long-term as when these occur. A good FA is worth every penny. We are not wealthy people by any stretch of the imagination, my wife is 11 years retired, me 9. We're are comfortable. My wife's pensions are 58% of our income. My wife is terminally ill with months to live. My FA had the foresight to include this possibility in our planning. Financially I don't need to worry as the bulk of that income will be replaced in other ways. Left to my own devices I would never have considered this.

Over the past nineteen years my FA and I have become great friends, I now have a trusted friend who provides financial advice which I pay for. I'm very fortunate. The real point is a good FA will provide for every eventuality provided the client can afford to do so.

 

[wafter]

@wafter with no intention to appear condescending you need to find a financial adviser. A great deal of what is posted here is true with one or two points I'd dispute. This thread is throwing lots of very valuable information your way but you need to consider it all in a way appropriate to your situation. This may prove difficult if you're starting with relatively little knowledge.

The starting point is not "I need to get a pension" Your starting point should be:

• what are my current annual living costs?
• what living standards do I wish to have in retirement?
• what are my retirement costs likely to be?
• how will this be funded?

A good financial adviser will ask the first three questions and provide the answer to the fourth. He/she will have the software available to run the projections, be able to project based on any "what if" scenario and show you how changes in your circumstances will pan out in the long-term as when these occur. A good FA is worth every penny. We are not wealthy people by any stretch of the imagination, my wife is 11 years retired, me 9. We're are comfortable. My wife's pensions are 58% of our income. My wife is terminally ill with months to live. My FA had the foresight to include this possibility in our planning. Financially I don't need to worry as the bulk of that income will be replaced in other ways. Left to my own devices I would never have considered this.

Over the past nineteen years my FA and I have become great friends, I now have a trusted friend who provides financial advice which I pay for. I'm very fortunate. The real point is a good FA will provide for every eventuality provided the client can afford to do so.

Thanks Paul - while I appreciate your caution I didn't find your post at all condescending and appreciate your thoughts.

Having now occupied my current living situation for a year I have a good handle on my finances (in that I'm very much aware of magnitude and sources of income, expenditure and savings) however given my situation any future "planning" is going to be very much a case of "beggers can't be choosers" given my limited ability to save.

I think the first step is going to be quantifying the situations with my NI contributions and other pensions, then I'll look at options including employing a financial advisor.

I'm at least in the very fortunate situation of (mostly) owning my flat, so absolute worst-case that's one of life's largest expenses I'll not have to humour in old age

 

[Alex321]

My provider said all you can do is change your fund to an ultra low risk one, so losses and gains will be minimal. You simply can't freeze your fund, it's not an option at all. Maybe this is because providers would then no longer be able to charge you their annual management fees??

No, it is because it really isn't actually possible without transferring it all into cash.

 

[Fastpedaller]

My small private pension, I mentioned earlier ......... it wasn't worth much (only 20K), so it amounted to very little per month as an annuity. I decided to buy a SIPP (self invested personal pension), instead of an annuity. I'm not known as a gambler (I've only invested 70 % of the total at any time). I placed it with Aviva, and decide which funds I'd like to 'speculate' with. Over the last 6 years I've increased the total by 11k. I do as Del-Boy advised on Only Fools and Horses " buy low, sell high" (I think that's his words ). I've lost on a few - strangely the inflation-linked fund, which I put £2k into before inflation hit, (as I'd predicted) lost £800 (I didn't predict that ), but othes have gradually grown and 50% increase over 6 years is IMHO a good result - But is (of course) worth nothing until I withdraw the money! I wouldn't encourage anyone to do the same - I could lose everything except the uninvested part (I have left as cash) in an instant, but It's the gamble I take in the quest of seeing the funds increase. Apart from 25% of the original invested ie5k, anything I withdraw in the future is also subject to taxation.

 

[wakemalcolm]

50% increase over 6 years is IMHO a good result

In absolute terms it's not bad but if you'd stuck it all in an index fund you'd have made around 75% over the same period.

I've had disagreements with advisery types on other forums about the cost v value of financial advice, but in this case I think some form of guidance would be appropriate.

It's a sad indictment of how things are at the moment that I'd be surprised if the OP would be able to afford proper financial advice.