Pensions (PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU VOTE)

[Fathoms Down]

Originally Posted by Crisspy Fiver

Any way back to ISA's I thought you didnt always get back what you put into them either? Perhaps Im just miss informed.

It depends on the type of ISA you have. ISAs are available in three forms, cash, equities (stocks and shares) and life insurance (due to be phased out as no-one bothered with these ones). You may buy one ISA a year and any money you make on it is tax free.

You can buy an ISA in one of two forms; a mini which is one of the above or a maxi which is two different options listed above. You can put a maximum of £3,000 into a mini but up to £7,000 in a cash and money maxi.

With the equities and life insurance ISAs you may not get out what you put in but, if you pick a good fund provider, you could make much more than the safer cash ISA would give you.

[FOX]

I voted no cos I haven't got a pension, i've had a couple in the past but have never paid in for any longer than a year due to work circumstances. I'm now temping so don't have the opportunity for a company pension with company contributions and i'm fu*ked if i'm gonna watch my hard earned disappear in front of my eyes. I do save money but thats always been intended for a deposit on a house, but even with a large deposit i'm still likely to be paying a mortgage into my retirement.

I think that if, like me, you're under 30, a non-house owner and living in the South East (tho not exclusively anymore) your future is sealed, there are so many things conspiring against you that you can pretty much guarantee 'poverty' (relatively speaking) in old age. The future is far from rosey, all i've got going for me is that historically the males in my family (fathers side) pop their clogs around the 70 mark, so i may only have 5 years to stump up for and it's quite likely that i (and many others) will have to work extra years anyway.

Ian

I've just read back this post and it's reallllly depressing.... sorry!

[Dominic]

I used to have one through work. I cancelled it.

[Crisspy Fiver]

Ian thats a good point. Living in London is very exspensive.

Nick. So what ISA would you recomend at the moment. PM me if you prefer. Although I start at 9:30 so may not be able to reply till lunch time.

Thanks

Jamie

This is were the work related pensions come in handy, they are not based on what the pension earns through the stock market but a proportion of your final salary.
Not many places still offer them to new entrants though.

[jlwarlow]

Got two and will have a third in a few months from my new job. It's a pain in the arse having to start a new pension because the new company won't pay into my existing pensions, but then it's daft not to as it's free money from work.

Started paying in at 22, again because work paid into it and it would be daft not to take it. 2nd pension was even better, work paid in and I didn't have to!

[Fathoms Down]

Originally Posted by Crisspy Fiver

Nick. So what ISA would you recomend at the moment. PM me if you prefer.

PM incomming as this can be quite a complex subject and I need some more info from you.

[Crisspy Fiver]

Thanks Nick.

Just read back my post. I didnt say please. Sorry I didnt mean to be rude.

looking forward to the PM

Jamie

[jamesp]

Started a pension when I was 19, working on Andy the commies principle of get started and build up, be sensible I thought. ramped up the payments until I cancelled them and froze the pension 2 years ago, the reason? Pearl was virtually bust, needed £500million pumping in to keep it solvent(yes half a billion). Opened a savings account in TESCO and put the contributions in that every month now.
Pensions are a rip off, you put your money in, at your risk, pay commision out of your capital, and after the company has been sold on a few times they turn around and say `sorry your screwed`.If I move my pension pot, I will lose a third of it for the privallege, what do you do? move and lose or hang on and pray you dont lose the lot??
with the money in the bank I have 100%of the capital, as for the tax relief, the gov were 11months behind on their contributions to my pension anyway, they are screwing you as well.
My parents and most of their friends are retirement age, the common theme with all their pensions is they are worth only a third of what they were promissed!As for ISA`s mine at least has not lost money, though i could of earned almost as much interest with a post office account, I know of people who have lost a lot of money with ISA`s.
Did have the joy of an IFA/pension advisor comming in a few weeks back wanting a part for his grass tracker, added to my pension plan!!
Rant over, on a more rational note, when the retirement age was set at 65 less than 10% of the workforce was expected to reach that age, you were expected to work until you dropped. If you work that through for today, retirement would be late 70 or early 80`s

[Adrian Kelland]

no vote but,

I have pensions, 4 so far. Not brilliant, but they were offering free money and tax relief at the time, so it would have rude to say no.

Now if I was starting again from scratch, that's tricky. Hardly any final salary pensions in the private sector, and many the the company don't put into. What with the reduced tax benefit on dividends in pension/isas etc, there should be no surprise that younger (listen to me!) people are ignoring them.

However not making any savings citing debts may not be a good idea. Cut the drinking, eating out and even, dare I say it, diving, in the short term to get those debts paid off first. The ability to pay of debt can also help your credit rating. Important for your first mortgage. No credit record can hinder things.

Anyway getting off the point.

Adrian