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jamie128
Original Poster
1,078 posts
40 months
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Hi there, i had a nhs pension (staff nurse) but i opted out of it as it leaves me £90 better off a month which i need now that i live on my own.
im 24 atm, how long could i realistically not start a pension for before i need to start thinking about it? 26? 30? 40?
I just want a comfortable life when i retire which is at least 40-45 years away still
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Powerrr
1,978 posts
42 months
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As soon as you start working and earning a wage, even a little is better than nothing.
Makes sense, non?
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Rollin
2,294 posts
115 months
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You opted out of the NHS pension scheme? Are you able to opt back in?
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jamie128
Original Poster
1,078 posts
40 months
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Rollin said: You opted out of the NHS pension scheme? Are you able to opt back in? yes whenever i want
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Rollin
2,294 posts
115 months
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jamie128 said: Rollin said: You opted out of the NHS pension scheme? Are you able to opt back in? yes whenever i want Every month you continue to opt out, you are missing out on "free" money going into your pension. I think you'll struggle to get a better pension than the NHS one. Having said that, by the time you retire it may not be around anymore 
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Gaspode
2,705 posts
66 months
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I would say do it now (opt back in, that is). It is never too early to start saving for a pension. Retirement seems a long way off now, but if you want to be comfortable in retirement, the you're going to need a serious pension pot behind you. If you leave it too long, things get seriously expensive. I recently did a bit of investigating to find out how big a sum I would need to buy an annuity giving £1,000 a month pension from age 60, to top up my existing pension. The answer? £250k! f  k me, that means I have to able to fund the first 20 years anyway before anyone will give me an indefinite pension based on that. Every penny you can get in terms of employer contributions, tax relief, and so on has got to be worth it.
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speedy_thrills
5,731 posts
113 months
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Rollin said: Having said that, by the time you retire it may not be around anymore Are they still letting people retire? I'd always assumed that at 65 I'd still have to be slaving away...god know exactly what I'll be doing in 40 years beyond trying to organise my pills and driving around very slowly with an indicator left on while I try to remember where I work.
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TwigtheWonderkid
6,313 posts
20 months
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You can leave it as long as you like, depending on what you pay in when you start. You can start a pension when you're 64, but will have to contribute a fortune every month to retire comfortabley.
As a very rough guide, it used to be said that you contribute half your starting age as a % of your income. So start a pension when you're 20, save 10% of salary until you retire. Start at 30, save 15% of salary until you retire. Probably doesn't work like that anymore.
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Puggit
29,670 posts
118 months
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Either start as early as possible and put lots away, or join the feckless millions and let the government look after you...
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fandango_c
832 posts
56 months
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jamie128 said: Hi there, i had a nhs pension (staff nurse) but i opted out of it as it leaves me £90 better off a month which i need now that i live on my own.
im 24 atm, how long could i realistically not start a pension for before i need to start thinking about it? 26? 30? 40?
I just want a comfortable life when i retire which is at least 40-45 years away still You can delay paying into a pension for a long as you want. The longer you delay it, the more you will need to pay in to expect to get the same level of pension. Bear in mind that the if you were a member of the NHS pension scheme, the NHS would be contributing several times what you would be paying in. There are very few pension scheme which are so generous. Have a look at the information that you have on the NHS scheme benefits and you can work out how much retirement income you are losing for each year you delay joining the scheme and see if you think it's work £90 per month. You say you can't afford to join the scheme, but can you afford not to join? Personally if I were you I would rejoin the scheme straight away and hope that that is what you do.
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66comanche
2,369 posts
29 months
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Don't bother. The returns are pathetic, much better to invest in property so you have the capital asset + a return rather than cashing in a huge sum for a paltry annuity which will cease when you die (unless on joint life basis, in which case the annuity will be even more paltry to compensate). Otherwise get some ISA's going, at least it's your own money to do with as you like rather than being locked in to a pension scheme with strict limits over when and how you can take it.
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MrJuice
206 posts
26 months
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opt back in ASAP. The NHS pension is one of the most generous out there even after several cycles of making it less generous in the last 10 odd years I've been following it.
If you need £90 extra, live more frugally or do a bank shift or something. Don't mess with your NHS pension.
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Rollin
2,294 posts
115 months
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If the chap found it difficult to contribute £90 a month into his pension, how would he go about investing in property?
The NHS pension is far from pathetic.
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fandango_c
832 posts
56 months
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66comanche said: Don't bother. The returns are pathetic, much better to invest in property so you have the capital asset + a return rather than cashing in a huge sum for a paltry annuity which will cease when you die (unless on joint life basis, in which case the annuity will be even more paltry to compensate). Otherwise get some ISA's going, at least it's your own money to do with as you like rather than being locked in to a pension scheme with strict limits over when and how you can take it. Read the OP's post and use your brain. He can join the NHS pension scheme. i.e. the NHS contribute several times what it's members contribute, guaranteed excellent returns as it's a defined benefit scheme, tax free lump sum on retirement, no purchase of annuity.
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Mr-B
498 posts
64 months
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Many years ago when I used to sell pensions as a broker when producing quotes I think I remember that delaying starting a pension by five years meant you had to double the size of your monthly contributions to get the same size pension fund. Don't know what growth rates they use nowadays for quoting purposes but it's all about compounding, the sooner you start the easier the it is.
Having said that stick with the NHS secheme, it's as good as they come pretty much.
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YeahYeahWhatever
619 posts
76 months
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66comanche said: Don't bother. The returns are pathetic, much better to invest in property so you have the capital asset + a return rather than cashing in a huge sum for a paltry annuity which will cease when you die (unless on joint life basis, in which case the annuity will be even more paltry to compensate). Otherwise get some ISA's going, at least it's your own money to do with as you like rather than being locked in to a pension scheme with strict limits over when and how you can take it. You're missing the point. If the OP opted out for £90/week then he'll be unable to invest and manage an investment property
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sidicks
3,350 posts
91 months
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66comanche said: Don't bother. The returns are pathetic, much better to invest in property so you have the capital asset + a return rather than cashing in a huge sum for a paltry annuity which will cease when you die (unless on joint life basis, in which case the annuity will be even more paltry to compensate). Otherwise get some ISA's going, at least it's your own money to do with as you like rather than being locked in to a pension scheme with strict limits over when and how you can take it. Can I suggest that if you don't have a f king clue what you are talking about, you shut the f k up and leave this thread for those who are knowledgeable enough to help the OP? That is all. Sidicks
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HoHoHo
8,354 posts
120 months
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Sit and think this way for a minute...........assuming you want to retire at 65 you have 480 paydays left (monthly pay days!) now that may seema lot, but believe me they flash by quicker thank DMS'd 1M!
Work backwards to a figure you would like as income on a monthly basis (after tax), calculate rough interest on an investment to give you that figure (after tax) and that's the sum you need to save within the given period.
The big question is then - what % return can you expect and can you save enough to give a decent return.....who knows in 40 years, ut I'd wager it's not as good as you'd like!
I'm not in the business of pensions and can only advise based on my experiences, but I'd say start sooner rather than later, any amount saved now will help in the long term.
Me? I bought commercial property with a mortgage due to end when I'm 55, that along with residential bricks and mortar seem a good way to go if you can afford it.
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mph1977
5,013 posts
38 months
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Rollin said: jamie128 said: Rollin said: You opted out of the NHS pension scheme? Are you able to opt back in? yes whenever i want Every month you continue to opt out, you are missing out on "free" money going into your pension. I think you'll struggle to get a better pension than the NHS one. Having said that, by the time you retire it may not be around anymore exactly ...
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mph1977
5,013 posts
38 months
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fandango_c said: 66comanche said: Don't bother. The returns are pathetic, much better to invest in property so you have the capital asset + a return rather than cashing in a huge sum for a paltry annuity which will cease when you die (unless on joint life basis, in which case the annuity will be even more paltry to compensate). Otherwise get some ISA's going, at least it's your own money to do with as you like rather than being locked in to a pension scheme with strict limits over when and how you can take it. Read the OP's post and use your brain. He can join the NHS pension scheme. i.e. the NHS contribute several times what it's members contribute, guaranteed excellent returns as it's a defined benefit scheme, tax free lump sum on retirement, no purchase of annuity. the employer's contribution is about 14 % so is rapidly becoming on a par with the employee contribution ( 8.5 % and rising for most health professionals - rather than 6 % it was 15 ish years ago ) if the scheme remains in place and doesn't change beyond recognition in the 40 -45 years time the OP may be able to retire ( as new and re-entrants at present will have a normal retirement age of at least 65 ) it will deliver half your final salary as your pension ( depending on commutation etc )
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