I have been working for the last 7 years and I only contributed a couple months for the pension as I always opt out because I was thinking moving abroad and I want money in the moment but I am probably not moving abroad anymore as my girlfriend wants to stay here.
Is pension worth it? Don’t they play with your money in different investments?
Need help deciding if we should opt in
19 comments
Of course you need a pension – the state pension is barely enough to live and might not even exist in 40 years.
If you move abroad, you can still claim your pension. And yes it’s an investment – it’s the only way you’ll get a decent long term return.
Opt in now.
You’ll regret not investing in a pension. Easy to ignore when you’re young but a big mistake.
Definitely opt in to your pension. Yes it’s invested (which isn’t a bad thing), but it is also tax free and your employer pays in so you get more money if you opt in – you just can’t access it until retirement
It’s free money from your employer, what’s not to like?
Unless you absolutely need the cash right now then it’s always best to remain opted in to your workplace pension. You’re getting free money from your employer for a start, and the money should compound over the longer term to give you a better retirement.
> Don’t they play with your money in different investments?
They don’t “play” with it as such, they invest in a fund that meets a certain goal, and the information should be transparent. Over a long enough timeframe then the stock market should beat inflation by quite some margin, which makes investments an ideal way to save for retirement. Pension schemes will typically move your money into less risky investments as you approach retirement, lowering the volatility.
Well, with a salary sacrifice pension, if I got a £1000 pay rise, I could have £1050 in my pension including my employer’s contribution, or I could take home £1000 minus 40% income tax, 3.25% NI, 9% Plan 1 (below inflation) student loan, which would leave me with £477.50.
So my putting into my pension I more than double my money straight off the bat.
Obviously there’s things like the lifetime allowance etc to consider, but generally thinking, I’d be silly not to contribute a reasonable amount to my pension.
Do you plan on living past age 60? Would you like to live in abject poverty when you retire?
How else are you going to support yourself in retirement?
i dont think my pension will be there when im older as its gambiled on the stock market hell i mite not live that long
Do you like eating dog food? If not you need a pension.
!remindme 60 years
Depending on how long you work in the UK and what type of pension scheme you have through your employer and your legal status in the country you move to (i.e permanent resident vs. becoming a citizen) when you move you can leave it here and still claim it and your state pension at retirement age in your new country of residence. Lot of variables but it can be done.
You definitely want a pension. Don’t opt out of free money.
I opt out. The returns on it are meh and as we nearly saw not long ago, they can go poof quite quickly. Invest in long term investments, doesn’t have to be a pension scheme.
Sorry but you have done a very foolish thing unless you also have a private pension fund as well. No-one going forward will be able to survive on just the state pension and solely relying on it would be crazy
Sorry but as an ad on to my last. The money that should have gone into a pension, have you been putting that into a savings account?
I opted out at my last job because I needed the money. I’ve opted in for my current job because I can now afford to.
Contribute to your pension. At least up to employer match. Doing otherwise is lighting money on fire.
Which pension scheme? They’re all different.
I opted in as soon as I started working, Because I don’t want only the state pension at the end of it, which isn’t enough to live on.
If you’re going for PM, then yes opt in. 115k a year for 40 days screwing things up?