Money advice (savings and general)

[fatvik]

Mate, you sound like you are in a good position, well done

I am sure one of the more knowledgeable people will be along to help soon

Btw,
if pension is a no, may I as why?
Do you already know where you wish to emigrate to? You mentioned purchasing a property abroad. Any mileage in buying something there now?

Edited by fatvik on Friday 1st January 21:36

[Benbay001]

Jeff1976 said:

Savings
Cash isa £58k
Premium bonds £50k second account in wifes name with £37k
Current account £25k (i know i know :-(
Three isas (mine, wifes, daughters name) with 20k in each invested in Shares current value around the 60k but im playing the long game on them and have only recently opened those during lockdown)
Euro bank account 50k euros in.

Edited by Jeff1976 on Friday 1st January 22:41

With circa £210k in cash and cash equivalents id say your biggest risk is inflation.

Assuming youre not planning your retirement in the next few years i think you need to consider more equities exposure.

How much instant access cash to you actually need? 3-6 months living expenses is usually the recommended.

Do you know how much you will need to live on in retirement? A few hundred thousand for two people wont go far even in a country with lower living costs.

Having a few rentals isnt an idea id ever entertain, especially if i wasnt living close to them. I think you either need to be a full time landlord or not at all.

I would look to move some of the cash into a global index tracker or similar low cost fund. Have you seen the IM thread at the top of the finance forum?

Edited by Benbay001 on Friday 1st January 23:02

Edited by Benbay001 on Friday 1st January 23:03

[Simpo Two]

Jeff1976 said:

Pension, ive never been in any job that offered one and my dad took all his money out of his pension years ago and did far better than any pension would and bought assets which he can leave and a pension would die with you. Many have collapsed in value and id rather be in control of my destiny and when you look at what needs to be paid in the return is embarrassing so im a non believer in pensions.

Well I see your point but it's a bit like saying 'My dad had a car crash once so I'm not buying a car'. A (private) pension is just investments in a wrapper called 'pension'. You get tax relief on the way in, but withdrawals are liable to income tax. You can leave the fund to a beneficiary so it doesn't 'die with you'. I think your experience may be from a badly run one. You can start a private pension yourself, you don't need an employer to do it. They do have tax advantages, you just need to run the maths.

That said my pension fund is only about 12% of the Simpo Pile. If you can make megabucks in property, carry on

[tighnamara]

Simpo Two said:

Jeff1976 said:

Pension, ive never been in any job that offered one and my dad took all his money out of his pension years ago and did far better than any pension would and bought assets which he can leave and a pension would die with you. Many have collapsed in value and id rather be in control of my destiny and when you look at what needs to be paid in the return is embarrassing so im a non believer in pensions.

Well I see your point but it's a bit like saying 'My dad had a car crash once so I'm not buying a car'. A (private) pension is just investments in a wrapper called 'pension'. You get tax relief on the way in, but withdrawals are liable to income tax. You can leave the fund to a beneficiary so it doesn't 'die with you'. I think your experience may be from a badly run one. You can start a private pension yourself, you don't need an employer to do it. They do have tax advantages, you just need to run the maths.

That said my pension fund is only about 12% of the Simpo Pile. If you can make megabucks in property, carry on

Your in a good position, well done.

Just reiterating what Simpo Two has said on pensions, sounds as though your view is based only on hearing some bad experiences.
Pensions set up correctly for the individual can and are a very good investment tool with favourable tax breaks, but the money is not readily accessible until later in life (55 at the moment but will be increased by the time you retire to 57/58)
It may be worth looking into pensions, it might not as you say be for you but if for anything else it will give yourself some more knowledge to base any future financial planning decisions on.

[anonymous-user]

Jeff1976 said:

I want to try and capitalise on the covid drop over the coming years....

Unfortunately you're 9 months late for best part of that party.

Overall, it's a question of how any individual sees risk but many on here would probably say you're sitting on far, far, far too much cash. And shooting yourself in the foot as a result.

If you don't trust yourself to make the "risk-on" decisions and to use the tax breaks effectively (cash ISA is a complete waste of time at 0% interest rates) then IMO you'd do well to seek advice from a paid professional.

And forget BTL. That party is definitely over for new amateur entrants.

[thekingisdead]

“Pull out cash from ISA in may”

Not sure what you mean by this but *do not* withdraw your cash from its ISA wrapper - if you want to open a S&S ISA you can transfer from your cash ISA, maintaining its tax free status.
ISA allowances are use it or lose it.

“Bit late to start a pension at 45”

Again, I think you need to re think how you view pensions (said politely) - they are just investments in a tax wrapper with some rules attached.

Your investment ISA’s can match your pensions with regards the actual investments - so your comment about age isn’t really eligible. If you’re a higher rate tax payer (I’m assuming you are) then the tax breaks on offer are a big incentive to utilise pensions, especially as your are mortgage free / relatively liquid - makes it a far easier proposition to tie money up until you’re allowed to access it.

I’d recommend seeing a financial planner to get some guidance on how to structure your finances / investments.

Good luck, nice problem to have! 🙌🏻

[fatvik]

“Bit late to start a pension at 45”

I am 45 and am starting my pension this year. Yes, a pension is best started earlier in life but to my mind, better late than never.

Have a look at the Vanguard SIPP thread and the sponsored IM money thread too..

Do have a read through the following as I think they are impartial
https://www.pensionwise.gov.uk/en
https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/

FV

[Benbay001]

Dont forget as well, that although you may be looking to retire in just over 10 years, that doesnt mean you want all the money on day one.

In fact, you may well live for double the length of time you have already been alive.

Thats a lot of potential growth you will miss out on by staying in lower risk stuff.

[mikeiow]

fatvik said:

“Bit late to start a pension at 45”

I am 45 and am starting my pension this year. Yes, a pension is best started earlier in life but to my mind, better late than never.

Have a look at the Vanguard SIPP thread and the sponsored IM money thread too..

Do have a read through the following as I think they are impartial
https://www.pensionwise.gov.uk/en
https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/

FV

I'd echo this sentiment.
Pensions are simply a tax wrapper. Pretty well the most efficient wrapper you could possibly have!

Even better if you are a high rate tax payer, but either way, I would highly recommend opening pensions for you & indeed your family. Even with zero income, people can pop in 2,880 each year and get free money" from the govt to make it up to 3,600.
THEN chose where you want that investing. If you don't have a work scheme, perhaps hop on the IM sticky thread & have a chat with Nik to understand some options.

I'd have also told my younger self to not bother with cash ISA investments....okay, the capital is safe, but over 10+ years, lose out horribly to inflation....

Beyond that, you sound like you are doing pretty well for your age....crack on!

[bitchstewie]

You should be able to transfer a cash ISA into a S&S ISA just make sure that it's done as a transfer as you can't cash out and pay it into the S&S ISA.

I know this is PistonHeads but don't blow it on the car.

Have a play with this and work out when you can buy the car from the returns

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculat...

[mikeiow]

Jeff1976 said:

Thanks all have taken that onboard and will take some advice have soent a few hours looking through the IM post. As i have an isa in stocks already i didnt think i could move my cash isa into another one? Again questions i will ask somebody.

I have done ok but have to give credit as ive had a lot of help through family and my mum died leaving me some so its not all down to me but i do give myself some credit for not blowing it on an exige 380 which i really do still fancy

Thanks again

You can only contribute 20k of "new money" each year, to any combination of 4 types of ISA (S&S/Cash/LISA/IFISA)...

...but you can always *move* an ISA. Enjoy the IM post, & get in touch with them!

[Jeff1976]

Many thanks great advice cheers