Pension Calculators?
Discussion
Would anyone have any recommendations for a very rough pension calculator please?
Something that I can feed in an existing DB, a current non-DB pension, and that will take into account future contributions and state pension etc.
I've tried a few and they seem to spit out wildly varying numbers so I now have no idea which ones, if any, to have any faith in
Something that I can feed in an existing DB, a current non-DB pension, and that will take into account future contributions and state pension etc.
I've tried a few and they seem to spit out wildly varying numbers so I now have no idea which ones, if any, to have any faith in
I don't think anyone could help with DB pension schemes (which is why you may be wildly out) but for any DC schemes we can give you a precise projection, but even this it would only be based upon assumptions (money already invested, additional contributions to be made, time remaining until retirement, assumed growth rate).
No one can give you anything more than that...
Edited for typo
No one can give you anything more than that...
Edited for typo
Edited by JulianPH on Saturday 20th April 21:08
Ah sorry, I should have been clearer, my DB provider has their own site that shows a rough number of what it will pay.
I'm looking for one where you can plug that in along with any current pensions.
For example there's a Vanguard and PensionBee one but they both spit out different numbers and some sites take state pension and existing pensions into account and others don't.
Nightmare
I'm looking for one where you can plug that in along with any current pensions.
For example there's a Vanguard and PensionBee one but they both spit out different numbers and some sites take state pension and existing pensions into account and others don't.
Nightmare
b
hstewie said:
hstewie said: Would anyone have any recommendations for a very rough pension calculator please?
Something that I can feed in an existing DB, a current non-DB pension, and that will take into account future contributions and state pension etc.
I've tried a few and they seem to spit out wildly varying numbers so I now have no idea which ones, if any, to have any faith in
Assuming that you aren't thinking about transferring out, any good cash flow modelling tool will help. It will help assess your current and predicted wealth, taking into account income and expenditure, to allow you to model any number of circumstances, decisions and variables. Something that I can feed in an existing DB, a current non-DB pension, and that will take into account future contributions and state pension etc.
I've tried a few and they seem to spit out wildly varying numbers so I now have no idea which ones, if any, to have any faith in
I’ve decided the best advice is simply to save as much as you can into a pension, annual allowances permitting, and try not to worry too much beyond that.
Predicting future values is almost impossible, unless you’re only a year or two way, as there are too many variables, especially with the Government changing the rules every couple of years!
Predicting future values is almost impossible, unless you’re only a year or two way, as there are too many variables, especially with the Government changing the rules every couple of years!
Would have thought this one was pretty reliable...
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/pen...
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/pen...
Would have thought this one was pretty reliable...
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/pen...
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/pen...
foiled said:
I’ve decided the best advice is simply to save as much as you can into a pension, annual allowances permitting, and try not to worry too much beyond that.
Predicting future values is almost impossible, unless you’re only a year or two way, as there are too many variables, especially with the Government changing the rules every couple of years!
Pretty much where I am too tbh.Predicting future values is almost impossible, unless you’re only a year or two way, as there are too many variables, especially with the Government changing the rules every couple of years!
Maxed out the monthly matched contributions I can get into the work scheme.
I'm not powerfully built so can't lock away thousands in a SIPP just in case I need to access some of it so I'm basically maxing out ISA allowances.
Sitting debating what to do with this years allowanced right now.
Hmmm - not that impressed with the MAS offering. It seems to give a dog's breakfast of apples and pears. The thing is:
1. State pension will be fully indexed-linked and has I believe spouse pension rights
2. DB pension will be largely indexed linked, to salary if you're still accruing, and to prices in deferment and in retirement, and will most likely innclude a 50% spouse pension after your death
3. DC pension on the MAS assumptions seems to be in real (inflation-adjusted) terms up to retirement, but then assumes you buy a flat (non-indexed) annuity at retirement with no attaching spouse pension. Inflation can seriously erode your purchasing power over 25 years
OK, it may turn out that income from a flat-rate annuity purchase will broadly equate to initial income from a prudent equity/bond drawdown arrangement with subsequent indexation but that's quite a wild assumption to make.
Another way to approach this would be:
State pension: as per MAS
DB pensions: they should give you annual benefit statements showing both what you've built up to date and what any future contributions will deliver, and how it's linked to salaries/inflation
DC pensions: these should give you an annual Statutory Money Purchase Illustration based on cautious investment assumptions and in real (inflation-adjusted) terms both before and after retirement and assuming annuity purchase at retirement with a 50% spouse pension on death. This should also reflect your chosen current investment strategy (eg your bond/equity split and any 'lifestyling' phasing-in of bonds near retirement). It will typically show a significantly lower figure than the MAS projection due to the assumption of an index-linked annuity purchase.
From memory (and it's a few years since I was involved that field) the main weaknesses of the basic SMPI were:
No split of the pension between what's built up to date and what will be delivered by your future contributions
Assumption of index-linked annuity purchase, which does not reflect most people's behaviour, particularly for larger pension pots.
Most decent occupational DC schemes I expect will give members pension planning modelers with some scope to flex the assumptions.
As I said, it's 5 years since I was involved so things may have improved since then, but really the whole thing was a mess. The pensions 'industry' has been talking for some years of a comprehensive 'pensions dashboard' but I've yet to see any signs that it'll arrive anytime soon. Sadly!
1. State pension will be fully indexed-linked and has I believe spouse pension rights
2. DB pension will be largely indexed linked, to salary if you're still accruing, and to prices in deferment and in retirement, and will most likely innclude a 50% spouse pension after your death
3. DC pension on the MAS assumptions seems to be in real (inflation-adjusted) terms up to retirement, but then assumes you buy a flat (non-indexed) annuity at retirement with no attaching spouse pension. Inflation can seriously erode your purchasing power over 25 years
OK, it may turn out that income from a flat-rate annuity purchase will broadly equate to initial income from a prudent equity/bond drawdown arrangement with subsequent indexation but that's quite a wild assumption to make.
Another way to approach this would be:
State pension: as per MAS
DB pensions: they should give you annual benefit statements showing both what you've built up to date and what any future contributions will deliver, and how it's linked to salaries/inflation
DC pensions: these should give you an annual Statutory Money Purchase Illustration based on cautious investment assumptions and in real (inflation-adjusted) terms both before and after retirement and assuming annuity purchase at retirement with a 50% spouse pension on death. This should also reflect your chosen current investment strategy (eg your bond/equity split and any 'lifestyling' phasing-in of bonds near retirement). It will typically show a significantly lower figure than the MAS projection due to the assumption of an index-linked annuity purchase.
From memory (and it's a few years since I was involved that field) the main weaknesses of the basic SMPI were:
No split of the pension between what's built up to date and what will be delivered by your future contributions
Assumption of index-linked annuity purchase, which does not reflect most people's behaviour, particularly for larger pension pots.
Most decent occupational DC schemes I expect will give members pension planning modelers with some scope to flex the assumptions.
As I said, it's 5 years since I was involved so things may have improved since then, but really the whole thing was a mess. The pensions 'industry' has been talking for some years of a comprehensive 'pensions dashboard' but I've yet to see any signs that it'll arrive anytime soon. Sadly!
Well, all I really want is a rough and ready way to get a really rough idea what my current "live" pot will be worth in X years if my salary keeps increasing at a steady percentage, if mine and my employers contributions stay at the maximum allowance, and if the pot grows at an average annualised rate.
I guess perhaps ignore that it's called a pension and just treat it as a compounding investment with monthly contributions?
In which case I can perhaps work off this as I do my ISA
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculat...
I guess perhaps ignore that it's called a pension and just treat it as a compounding investment with monthly contributions?
In which case I can perhaps work off this as I do my ISA
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculat...
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Well, all I really want is a rough and ready way to get a really rough idea what my current "live" pot will be worth in X years if my salary keeps increasing at a steady percentage, if mine and my employers contributions stay at the maximum allowance, and if the pot grows at an average annualised rate.
I guess perhaps ignore that it's called a pension and just treat it as a compounding investment with monthly contributions?
In which case I can perhaps work off this as I do my ISA
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculat...
As previous posters have said I think you can get a rough and ready idea using a spreadsheet or similar.I guess perhaps ignore that it's called a pension and just treat it as a compounding investment with monthly contributions?
In which case I can perhaps work off this as I do my ISA
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculat...
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff