>>8976
That's why you ask about pension contributions during the job interview. I always bring it up and use it as a negotiating tactic.

It's surprising more people don't ask about employee benefits beyond salary. I worked with someone who left for a job paying more money, but he didn't realise until he got his contract he'd be working 40 hours per week instead of 35; his hourly pay went down and he ended up noticeably worse off than if he'd just do 5 hours a week overtime where he already was.

>A single person will need post-tax annual income of £10,900 for a minimum standard of living in retirement, academics have estimated. That spending budget increases to £16,700 for a couple, the calculations for The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) suggest.

>The calculations for retirement living standards are pitched at three different levels - minimum, moderate and comfortable - and are developed and maintained independently by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University. The assessment is intended as a guide for those planning their retirement savings. Housing costs are not included on the assumption that most pensioners have paid off mortgages, although the PLSA said that decision would be kept under review.

>The minimum retirement living standard covers a typical retiree's basic needs plus enough for some social activities, such as a week of holiday in the UK, eating out once a month, but not including running a car. The estimate of an annual budget for the minimum standard has risen since 2019 by £700 for a single person, and by £1,000 for a couple. The total requirement would generally be made up of a full state pension of £9,339 per year, as well as some workplace pension savings.

>The moderate retirement living standard includes a two-week holiday in Europe and more frequent eating out. This was assessed to require a budget of £20,800 for a single person, £600 higher than two years ago, and £30,600 for a couple, up £1,500. The PLSA said around half of single employees were on track to expect a lifestyle between minimum and moderate. The position would be better for couples who were able to share costs.

>The annual budget needed for a comfortable retirement living standard has increased since 2019 by £600 to £33,600 for one person and £2,200 to £49,700 for a couple. This covered items such as regular beauty treatments, theatre trips, and annual maintenance and servicing of a burglar alarm.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58883053

>>9000
>£33,600 for one person

You fucking what. How many packs of Werther's Originals do they think I can get through?

This is a lot more than I take home after tax and I even put about 30% of that income into saving for a home - on top of what must be 40% for my place. My pension contributions and student loan don't make a dent in the difference.

Bollocks if you ask me. When I retire I'm going to fester in an armchair shitting up what's left of the internet, not participate in society.

>>9001
>£49,700 for a couple

Totally agreed - you're going to need a pension well over the individual personal limit to have that kind of income after retirement. I have a good one, but nowhere near that kind of money. Will also just shitpost/shit myself.

>>9001
Do you want your burglar alarm serviced or not?

Pensions seems pointless now. People should be allowed to take all of it out without any tax penalties at any age. Imagine still renting when you are a pensioner and trying to survive on scraps. I would rather use it to buy a house, and then maybe beg on the streets in my 80s.

>>9005

If you owned a house you wouldnt have to beg, you could just rent out rooms to those unfortunate enough to have been born 10 years after you...

>>9005
It's easy to buy a house these days. Either don't live in the South or have rich parents.

>>9007
There was a story recently about a student who managed to buy her own house. All she had to do was take the full student loan and live at home rent-free bill-free at her parents' expense.

>>9007

You'd be able to afford a house if you didn't spunk all your money on avocados and posh coffee.

>The Government has launched a statutory review into increasing the state pension age, potentially pushing retirement back for millions of people.

>State pension age is currently 66, but two further increases are set out in legislation – a rise to 67 for those born on or after April 1960 should come into effect by 2028, and a rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born on or after April 1977.

>As part of the review, the Government wants to accelerate plans to increase the state pension age from 67 to 68 between 2037 and 2039, seven years earlier than the previously legislated date. This new review will analyse the feasibility of bringing forward that date. The Government has confirmed it will publish the findings by May 2023. The review will also consider whether existing rules around pension age are "appropriate" based on the latest life expectancy data, the Government said. It may examine the impact of putting the state pension age up to 69 or 70, but these decisions are likely to be "much more provisional", said David Robbins of Willis Towers Watson, a broker.

>A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "As the number of people over state pension age increases, due to a growing population and people on average living longer, the Government needs to make sure that decisions on how to manage its costs are, robust, fair and transparent for taxpayers now and in the future. It must also ensure that as the population becomes older, the state pension continues to provide the foundation for retirement planning and financial security."

>The review will also examine labour market changes and people’s ability to work over state pension age, officials said.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pensions-retirement/news/state-pension-age-could-rise-government-launches-review/

>>9040
My parents retired a few years ago and they hate it. They are currently both 69 years old, and they are frail husks of the people they were. It's grim. They blame being retired and having nothing to do all day, and since they are under 70, when old age begins, I believe them to be honest. They shouldn't be this ancient for another couple of years.

>>9041
>having nothing to do all day

If you do nothing in retirement then it is very easily to have a rapid decline. They need to pick up some hobbies and get out of the house.

>>9041
Have you suggested they take up rock climbing?

>>9042
Ramblers m8

>>9043
We laugh but I bet rock climbing is a great way to maintain fitness in old age given you're lighter and can grow some kind of wizard persona at the local climbing wall to shag pixie dream women in their late-20s.

>>9045
Elderly people taking up a sport where you routinely fall from a height or swing into a hard surface, what could go wrong?

I've got about £45k in a couple of old workplace pension schemes. How do I figure out the best place to move them?

I've tried using the Monevator broker comparison to look at flat fee providers, but I'm finding it hard to follow.

https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

>>9083
Look at AJ Bell and Hargreaves Landsdowne.

I use HL - their mobile app is fine, their desktop site is fucking awful. Lots of people like AJ Bell. This presumes of course, that you're looking to move them into a SIPP and manage it yourself?

I think Freetrade have a SIPP now too? Got the app but never actually used them.

>>9084
>This presumes of course, that you're looking to move them into a SIPP and manage it yourself?

Yeah, I'm going to invest about half sensibly and use the other half for taking punts.

>>9085
An extremely good strategy - thats exactly what I do, and I easily make 14% - 18% per year. If any of my punts comes off, it'll be a lot higher.

As a basic rate taxpayer is there any point in me paying more into a pension than any employer matching? Salary sacrifice isn't an option.

If I put money into a Lifetime ISA instead then I get the same 25% uplift, but I can take it out tax free. I could take this out when I'm 60 and reinvest it into a pension so I get two lots of the 25% uplift.

If I put money into an ISA then it'd grow at the same rates as a pension. I'll probably be a higher rate taxpayer within the next 5 years so it's a choice between a 25% uplift now or a 66% uplift in a few years.

It doesn't make any difference when the tax relief is applied, just as long as I move it into a pension before I retire, so it makes sense to wait until I'm paying more in tax. The only potential downside of keeping it in the ISA is I could access it before retirement and use it.

>>9083 here again.

I'm still paralysed about making a decision. I've mapped both existing Aviva pensions over the past four years (as far back as I can go thanks to the Aviva Stewardship International fund) and they've done 82% and 78% over that timeframe; for comparison the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index has done 60%.

If I had moved them when I made my last post in January whilst the markets were falling I reckon I'd have saved myself from about a 6% drop if I was out of the market for two weeks.

The most volatile (and highest performing) fund is Ninety One Global Gold at almost 96%; it's up 21% since the start of the year so I could take some of the profit out now and distribute it elsewhere. The only other fund that's up YTD is First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure at 7%. The biggest faller is Schroder UK Dynamic Smaller Companies at 13%.

I should probably make my mind up about what I'd invest in if I was with someone like AJ Bell and compare how that's done against my existing funds, which is limited by what Aviva offer.

>>9225
>Past performance is not indicative of future results

You seem to be a bit focussed on relative returns instead of designing an appropriate portfolio to meet your risk tolerance and goals. Global equity indexes vs speciality commodities (including derivatives) are highly different beasts. You might benefit from an advisory chat with a professional as accurately assessing attitude towards risk can be difficult alone and having a system to determine those "inputs" to portfolio construction might be useful. Or just read a few more books and give some deep consideration about how you've made investment decisions in the past and how you would react in possible future scenarios.

Don't overlook fees, they can really eat into your performance (fund, dealing, platform, advisor if applicable) and must be included in any model.

Personally I moved all my employer pensions to a SIPP with Vanguard along with my main ISA and taxed account. Despite being a % fee platform, fees are shared across all accounts and capped at £375 pa. Mostly all in LS 80/100. Another GIA elsewhere for non-Vanguard things.

Also be aware of the tax implications on accumulation funds as that's become a pain in the arse for me to account and would be costly to adjust now.

>>9227
I have c. 5% in UK smaller companies, c. 4% in gold and c. 4% in infrastructure. There's 20% in Aviva's global tracker fund (which has shat all over the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index). The remaining two-thirds are in the two ethical funds available via Aviva. The gold holding was higher, but I took some of the gains during that September 2020 peak and moved into the infrastructure fund; I know that market timing is nigh on impossible, but gold is so volatile it's not overly hard to buy when it dips and sell when it goes up because the shit is hitting the fan - even if you don't get it spot on with the peaks and troughs you can make good money flipping it.

Most is invested sensibly, but I've been making tactical calls for over a decade and they have been paying off. As I said in my last post, over the past four years the portfolio I've made is well up on what I'd be in a global tracker. I know it's not possible to consistently outperform the market, but I've been able to generate enough additional growth during the periods of outperformance to justify this - I know full well my returns are by being more aggressive rather than any particular skill I have, but I have the investment timeframe for this.

Charges are very important, but only when you're making a like-for-like comparison. If you're not investing in the same thing then it is comparing apples with oranges because the actual asset allocation will have the highest impact on the overall net return. No point reducing costs if the net return goes down, which is why I need to weigh up a similar strategy to now with Aviva vs. doing it on a platform like AJ Bell or iWeb.

Your investment strategy is a classic case of focusing on the charges to the detriment of everything else. The HSBC Global Strategy Adventurous Portfolio outperforms LifeStrategy 100 and their Global Strategy Dynamic Portfolio outperforms LifeStrategy 80. This can be explained by the UK bias of the LifeStrategy funds whereas the HSBC funds are more aligned to global market capitalisation. Vanguard might be marginally cheaper, but the ultimate returns of HSBC's comparable funds would mean you're net better off overall elsewhere. You need to be looking at value vs. cost and asking yourself why you want to be overweight in the UK if you believe in global equity indexes.

Fuck it. I've set up an account with AJ Bell and requested the transfer of my Aviva pensions with them. I just need to hope things go down rather than up over the next 2-4 weeks whilst I'm out of the market.

AJ Bell's interface is absolutely atrocious though.

>>9257
I just transferred an old pension too and now have tons of cash in my SIPP. Thinking of YOLOing the lot into Rolls Royce and Simec Atlantic Energy.

>>9258
>Simec Atlantic Energy.

I thought they'd have gone bust by now.

>>9259
I have doubled my money on them.

>Spiralling inflation, volatile financial markets and the soaring cost of living are leading to the “great unretirement”, with research suggesting retired people are returning to the workplace.

>There are now more people aged 50 and older in work or looking for work than since just before the pandemic, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Its analysis shows there was an increase in economic activity (people working or looking for work) of 116,000 among the over-50s in the past year. More than half the total increase is among men aged over 65 – whose economic activity levels increased by 66,000, or 8.5%, in a year – with 37,000, or 6.8%, more women over 65 in or looking for work.

>Experts say in-depth research indicates the increase is driven by former people in retirement returning to work, rather than people working longer. “People who thought they could retire comfortably during the pandemic are having to unretire and find work again to bring in extra income and top up their pensions while they still can,” said Stuart Lewis, the chief executive of Rest Less, a digital community for the over-50s.

>“Increasing numbers of retirees are feeling poorer than they’ve felt before, with consumer confidence at a record low and purchasing power eroded on a monthly basis,” he added. “All this is driving the trend of unretirement.” Volatile financial markets were creating significant fear and uncertainty in people’s perceptions of their future retirement income, said Lewis. The one-off suspension of the state pension triple lock last April means that the state pension only increased by 3.1%, while inflation increased at 9.4% in June. “It’s no surprise that people are looking at ways to make additional earnings,” he added.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/25/britains-great-unretirement-cost-of-living-drives-older-people-back-to-work

Enjoy being unable to retire, ladm8s.

So me and the wife collectively earn just over £100k. Before you think we're rolling in it, we live in the capital so the money doesn't go as far and the mortgage is crippling us. That said, with a nipper on the way, apparently we get less help because of our collective earnings, in terms of child benefit and the prospective 30 hours free childcare.

Someone told me if I increase my pension contributions then I can get around these rules. How exactly does this work?

>>9634

Depends on your pension. If it's salary sacrifice, IE it comes out of your net earnings before tax, then on paper you are technically earning less, so that's how it'd work.

For instance, NHS pensions used to be salary sacrifice, therefore it lowered an NHS worker's income for tax purposes; but now they come out of taxable pay, so it was effectively a stealth tax and paycut when they changed it.

>>9634
No idea if it's changed with the budget, but the 30 hours free childcare only affects individuals earning over £100k so you're fine for that one.

Child benefit starts being clawed back by 1% for every £100 over £50k until you're earning £60k. If your salary less what you pay in gross into a pension comes to £50k or below (or your workplace offers salary sacrifice) then you can avoid the clawback.

Anyone else slightly concerned by the pensions announcement in the Budget? They're scrapping the lifetime allowance but are freezing the amount of tax free cash you can take to £268,275, which was 25% of the allowance. It feels like this is a slippery slope and in a few years they'll start revising this downwards until they decide you can only take out £20,000 out tax free or something.

Decided to let the Muzzies run my pension. You know what they say: past performance is a guarantee of future performance.

>>9653
I think if you're with Nest there's no real alternative because it's such a shit offering.

>>9654
Not that it really matters because I have no choice, but why's that?

>>9655
Nest was created when the government announced auto-enrolment to ensure that all employers would have at least one provider they could use for their workplace pension scheme. It's the absolute basic that an employer is legally obliged to offer, so whenever I have a job interview I try and find out as much about their pension scheme as I can; if they use Nest, particularly with banded earnings, then that's a sign to me that they don't treat their employees well.

>>9656
So your issue isn't really with the scheme itself but the tendency for employers that use it to set contributions at the minimum level?

>>9657
The funds they offer are very limited and the default investment strategy goes for a low growth strategy in the early years rather than trying to maximise your pot.

There is also a 1.8% initial charge on all contributions, which is supposedly in place until Nest is viable without being propped up by the government but shows no signs of being taken off any time soon.

Would it make sense to pay off as little as possible on a mortgage and instead overpay into a pension to use a tax-free lump sum at 55/57 to clear the mortgage then?

>>9781
The interest payments on your mortgage will almost certainly be higher than the interest you get on your pension, so no.

>>9782
Pensions are invested rather than paying interest and the tax relief alone should outweigh the mortgage interest.

>>9781

Back in the 80s, endowment mortgages were quite popular - stock market returns were higher than interest rates, so it seemed sensible to take out an interest-only mortgage and invest the surplus to repay the capital after 25 years. The problem was that inflation and growth fell in the 90s, which left a lot of people with a very significant shortfall between the expected and actual value of their investment. A lot of people found themselves nearing retirement with a shortfall of tens of thousands of pounds that they needed to make up.

The very generous tax relief now available for pension investments does change the equation somewhat, but you're still taking a significant long-term risk. Mortgage lenders are reluctant to offer interest-only mortgages to owner-occupiers because of the much greater risk involved, so you'll struggle to get more than about 60% LTV and you'll probably pay higher interest rates.

If you're considering it, I'd strongly advise you to consider where you'd stand in a variety of different scenarios and to seek the advice of an IFA before making any decision.

>>9784
I'm not considering going interest only, just extending the mortgage term as long as possible to make the minimum possible repayments and put the difference into a pension to then pay off the remaining balance when I can access it.

Endowments had very high initial charges and commission payable to the financial advisers who set them up (as a side note, the 'independent' in independent financial adviser originally meant they weren't tied to a bank or life office and could shop around for the products which would pay them the highest commission. They got so effective at this the FCA had to ban commission on investment products about 10 years ago to try and stop them ripping people off), high ongoing fees and they were invested in things like with profits funds which were absolute dogshit.

I'm going to stick with a low cost global tracker fund, but I'm not going to base anything on wildly optimistic returns.

Another point I forgot to make, endowment funds would have to pay tax internally deemed equivalent to basic rate tax that you wouldn't have with a pension (or ISAs and GIAs) so if a pension fund returned 5% then the same fund in an endowment would return 4%.

Looks like Lidl's on the menu, lads.

>>9795
>and a long weekend in the UK every year
You're retired. The rest of your life is one long weekend.

Transferred my SIPP to Interactive Investor for their cashback offer, but it looks like the S&P500 going up while I was out the market for two weeks has more than wiped that out.