turkish Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Iam currently in a company pension scheme where i pay in and my company pay the same but I have been reading some bad reports lately about returns on these pensions not being very good and even though I have seen a Financial Advisor Im still undecided, Anyone have any thoughts / experience with this type of thing and would I be better off freezing my pension and paying off my mortgage with the money instead. Thanx in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Obviously if you're company is contributing, they're worth it! I think a lot of it comes down to tax relief and performance on your pentions payments vs interest payments on your mortgage. Most financial advisers will do a free checkup, why not go and see one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman8180 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 1st suggestion: Pensions are an extremely complex area of personal finance that may have significant effect on your future prosperity. DO NOT leave it to a bunch of forum 'experts' to provide advice. See another IFA if you did not understand what the first one was on about. 2nd suggestion Go back to 1st suggestion and repeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I agree with Manxman8180 - to a degree. Remember that financial advisors are also effectively salesmen. It is in your best interests to learn as much about pensions as possible. Your pension is one of the biggest investments you will make in your life and you cannot afford to leave it to chance. I will add that you should make sure your investment is flexible. Most new(ish) pensions are flexible, and allow you to keep an eye on them on a day to day basis. Some older company pensions tied people into certain types of funds like "With Profits" where returns have been generally poor, some actually are making losses. The current crop of flexible, personal pensions allow you to speculate and switch between different types of investment at various degrees of risk. However, watch out for charges as on some types of investment these can be high. Remember your pension is your money, your future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Pensions are a minefield. I'd seek out as much advice as you can. Try to go for a large firm i.e. a brokers for financial advice - people that are not tied to a small number of pensions' companies/products. They can also tell you about tying up existing pensions by transferring them to private ones etc. There are some good 'idiot style' finance books that can give you a good overview, well worth a read before you see someone else. Because returns have generally been poor recently even young people should be treating this seriously. If you don't take pensions seriously, you'll have plenty of time between your 60th and 80th birthday freezing your boll**ks off to regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballaughbiker Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 My advice is buy a house instead of a pension. It will do much better without all the pension parasites having a piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 DO NOT leave it to a bunch of forum 'experts' to provide advice. Don't listen to him. You should put all your money in e-habitant shares. I happen to have a few to spare if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not the Comfy Chair Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 DO NOT leave it to a bunch of forum 'experts' to provide advice. Don't listen to him. You should put all your money in e-habitant shares. I happen to have a few to spare if you are interested. Better still - invest them in Declan birthday cards, apparently very rare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 My advice is by a house instead of a pension. It will do much better without all the pension parasites having a piece. No, you just get the bank and tax parasites instead. Buying a second house to supplement your income is ok, but with most people finding it difficult to afford a first house, it is not an really an option. Besides in the long term the stock market has consistantly outperformed housing. That is the place to have your pension, as long as it is well managed. edited for speeling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 My advice is by a house instead of a pension. It will do much better without all the pension parasites having a piece. I think turkish already has a house. He's asking if he should put money into a pension or pay off the mortgage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tris Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hi Turkish, You haven't mentioned anything about the occupational pension scheme and to be honest, any advice could only be given taking into account all of your circumstances and objectives for retirement. At a basic level to be fair, company pensions usually perform better than their counterparts due to added employer contributions, smaller charges, and/or any final salary schemes that may be involved (i.e. 1/60th for every year of work). Have a think about what realistic age you wish to retire at and with what level of income. Speak to your employer (or pension department if its a big company) and ask for a projection given the current contributions that you are making. Also find out information regarding what happens if you leave. Speak to an independent financial adviser and see from there. Like endowments (low cost especially) a lot of pensions have had poor results across the board, it certainly isn't subjective to occupational schemes. Some people are turning to reversionary schemes now which releases equity in your home. There are lots of other investments you can consider, again speak to an adviser(fully qualified - don't be afraid to ask). Feel free to email me if you need owt Tris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkish Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hi Turkish, You haven't mentioned anything about the occupational pension scheme and to be honest, any advice could only be given taking into account all of your circumstances and objectives for retirement. At a basic level to be fair, company pensions usually perform better than their counterparts due to added employer contributions, smaller charges, and/or any final salary schemes that may be involved (i.e. 1/60th for every year of work). Have a think about what realistic age you wish to retire at and with what level of income. Speak to your employer (or pension department if its a big company) and ask for a projection given the current contributions that you are making. Also find out information regarding what happens if you leave. Speak to an independent financial adviser and see from there. Like endowments (low cost especially) a lot of pensions have had poor results across the board, it certainly isn't subjective to occupational schemes. Some people are turning to reversionary schemes now which releases equity in your home. There are lots of other investments you can consider, again speak to an adviser(fully qualified - don't be afraid to ask). Feel free to email me if you need owt Tris Thanks for that Tris, I think I will remain in the scheme and I will see another advisor asap, Thanks to all for your comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 I have often wondered if there was a way in which you could link your home into your pension. I have a private pension plan, and also an occupational pension from a previous employer, and have wondered if I could use the money I pay into my private scheme to speed up paying off my mortgage and then have a chunky bit of capital when it comes time to retire. On current valuation reports, I can expect to get very little out my private pension when the time comes and think there must be other ways of skinning this particular cat. Also if my circumstances change, I may be in a position to invest a sizeable lump sum, but would prefer to do that myself, could that be wrapped up in a personal pension scheme? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Kerr Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 I have often wondered if there was a way in which you could link your home into your pension. Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-invested_personal_pension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 May not be available here, but what I had in mind was the private pension scheme buying my house and paying the mortgage, I would pay pension contributions, all of which (within the limits) would be tax allowable, whereas only the interest element of my mortgage payments now are allowable. Don't know how the pension scheme would be taxed, but I have always thought it was worth a look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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