Treacodactyl
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RetirementWith various people living off the land or planning to do I was wondering about what people plan to do for their retirement?
If you don't earn much but live a happy life this is ideal, but you may not end up with much of a pension. Does this really matter as you should not need much as, hopefully, you will have established somewhere that you can live from comfortably?
I find it a little daft that I cannot use any money in my pension savings to help buy the place that I plan to retire to. This would seem an ideal use for the money to me. (There are a few ways round this but it's not simple).
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jema
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Sore subject with me  When I was earning a lot of money I put buckets in equitable life as this was the advice at the time......
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Behemoth
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It's something that's bothered me. I don't mind cutting back now but I don't want to live in poverty when I retire. We'll probably go down the one full time one part time route to keep the income up and give us some flexibility. There are schemes where you can use the equity in your house now to provide an income but I'm not sure that you can use these under retirement age. I think the deal is that the pension company gets your house when you peg it.
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Andy B
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This is a really serious topic, and one that is going to cause all of us some serious problems in later life. That's if the planet hasn't self destructed first !!!!!!!! 
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Treacodactyl
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| Behemoth wrote: | | I don't mind cutting back now but I don't want to live in poverty when I retire. |
We thought like that but when I think what I would like to do when I retire it wouldn't be much different than now. I.e. have a smallholding with various small income streams. It would make sense if I could use my pension fund to do this, to plant woodland for example. Hopefully by the time I'm an OAP the trees would provide some income.
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Behemoth
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It's my longevity that worries me - I hope to be an active OAP but you only need a dodgy hip, dicky ticker, or arthritis and basic stuff like growing your own veg etc become difficult or impossible. Keeping a small holding or self sufficentish lifestyle going is a physical job.
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tahir
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In those circumstances a younger wife can come in handy...
(runs away and hides)
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Behemoth
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That would still make it a physical job  
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Treacodactyl
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| Behemoth wrote: | | It's my longevity that worries me - I hope to be an active OAP but you only need a dodgy hip, dicky ticker, or arthritis and basic stuff like growing your own veg etc become difficult or impossible. Keeping a small holding or self sufficentish lifestyle going is a physical job. |
That's certainly something to think about. I would like to keep a small pension for bills (council tax etc) and to pay some form of health insurance to cover such problems.
If I'd spent many years building up a smallholding in a good place the last thing I'd want to do is move when I'm old.
It's one of the reasons to have children, they can look after you.  You might be able to buy them on e-bay soon. 
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Richy Rich
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jema - you and me both....
I've been paying into pensions and the only GOOD thing I can see from them is that they keep paying until death...
As my employment has been somewhat..... 'different' - it has been close to impossible for me to be able to pay into a pension in a steady rate...
My approach has been to sod the pensions and pay off my mortgage at a faster than normal rate... in fact a VERY fast rate.
However it is then my intention to invest in rental property and use that for pensionable purposes...
I think if you take the risk yourself you have better control on the subsequent consequences. It IS a lot more hard work however but whilst I am young I am happy to shoulder that....
Giving your money to someone else and hoping that they will do what is right for YOU - is a bit dreamy....
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thos
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Being an old father with young children I expect I'll be working until 65 or even later if they change the rules. So retirement plans are to sell up and buy a bungalow with just a patio. It must be in a village on a main axis so that the buses will always run. If property prices normalise, it may even be back in Britain.
It is always possible that they may offer me a package to get rid of me but I don't think they would be particularly generous. Early retirement is simply not an option when it is a matter of not only the difference between salary and pension, but also that the pension payable goes up 2% pa per year worked. I can see I would be tempted to work 'just another year' until it's too late.
Pottering in the garden is fun to do as a hobby, but I would hate to have to do it full time. Smallholding to me is a dream that must not become a reality lest it become a nightmare.
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Treacodactyl
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| Richy Rich wrote: | | Giving your money to someone else and hoping that they will do what is right for YOU - is a bit dreamy.... |
If you have your own personal pension then you can choose where the money goes. Cash, bonds, stocks, property etc via funds.
From next April, I believe, you can also invest in residential propery in your pension via a SIPP. So, you get to buy what you know and get tax relief. There are several other factors to think about but it does make pensions a little more interesting.
The thing about buying residential property to fund your retirement is that if you already own a house with not many other assets you end up putting too many eggs in one basket.
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Treacodactyl
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| thos wrote: | | Pottering in the garden is fun to do as a hobby, but I would hate to have to do it full time. Smallholding to me is a dream that must not become a reality lest it become a nightmare. |
If we manage to get a smallholding I would like to run it with retirement in mind. For example plant trees, renovate old woodland, establish an orchard etc. So, while I'm able to I can put in the work and, hopefully, receive a livable income when I retire. Whether it is possible I'm not sure, but I could write a book about it and hopefully that will sell well.
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Pilsbury
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I am with Richy on this one. Instead of paying £100+ a month into a pension Iput it on my morgage with the hope of cutting the term from 25 years to about 15 there by saving £60,000+ on the intrest payments, If i can do that I will be 45 and own the house out right and have all the morgage money to invest, save or put under the bed till i retire, after that if I need extra money it will be a case of if the kids want the house they can support me , if not use an equity plan to live on.
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Treacodactyl
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Paying off the mortgage is a very good way of saving, you basically get a high rate of tax free interest. 
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nettie
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My only worry about paying off early would be that if, god forbid, I became incapacitated and unable to earn income after the mortgage had been paid, then I would not have any money to survive on in my old age.
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Treacodactyl
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Why's that a problem with the Mortgage being paid early? You can pay the bulk of it off and keep it ticking over for the various benefits you get. Many of the insurances that you take out when you get a mortgage can be carried on AFAIK.
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nettie
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Because Pilsbury implied he would have invested the money that he would have still been spending on the mortgage, to provide him with a pension.
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Treacodactyl
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Ah, yes, same here. I think it's not one or the other but both if you can.
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nettie
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Not really an option if you have a mortgage on your own
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Pilsbury
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Sorry must have missed the small print in my morgage, What benifits do you have if you have a morgage and become incapacitated and cant work? Do they pay your salary or something? sorry if these are stupid questions but I think I would be more worried if I HAD a morgage and couldnt work.
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nettie
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I have various policies in place that would cover my mortgage payments if I became incapacitated and unable to pay. I can't think that the insurance would pay out into a savings plan or similar if I didn't have a mortgage.
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Pilsbury
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I have policys that pay out lump sums if i become permanantly unable to work, if I have no morgage, some state benifits ( after all i pay national insurance) and interest on the lump sums hopefully they will cover my needs.
On the other hand once the morgage is paid there is nothing stoping you getting another one, buy a second property in a company name ( I think this bypasses inheritance tax as the company owns the property not the person) and rent it out, cover the morgage and some insurance .
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Treacodactyl
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I'm not that familiure with the insurances often packagd with mortgages such as decreasing term assurance. I don't know how they would work if you shorten he term of the mortgage and that would be worth looking into if people have them. On some flexable mortgages you can keep the term the same, pay off lump sums and just reduce the payments.
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Richy Rich
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Oh dear... you've started me off on another rant...
So here goes -
Pay into an insurance scheme that you 'HOPE' pays out should you have a problem and not be able to work...
Again - I am super dubious about these - no matter what it says in the blurb...
I have heard some serious horror stories.....
Here is a case where I spoke to a chap who was a teacher and involved in a serious RTA (Road Traffic Accident) - sustained terrible head injuries. Memory loss, mood fluctuations etc. He is now close to a clean bill of health (functioning human).
He claimed on his incapacity insurance and the company did indeed pay out - theres a first!
However ....
Insurance company are pulling tricks on him such as strangers walking up to him in the street and asking him how he feels! (This was countered by the chaps wife - before you question the chaps head injuries) - and has happened SEVERAL times...
My point being - most times insurance companies will FIGHT paying out and when they do - they get tricky about it,...
No thanks... throw all my money at getting rid of the mortgage (or get it down to a sensible level) - forget worrying about what MIGHT happen and make LIFE happen...
Richy....
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Penny Outskirts
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Thought I'd resurrect this thread, as it's something that's been crossing my mind recently. We're lucky that I will have my Abbey pensions at 58, which, if we own a property outright by then, will be enough to live on, in a farily comfortable Downsized way.
The biggest issue is health I suppose, which will determine how active a retirement you can have. On the bright side, growing your own food, and eating a healthy diet should help in that respect.
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dpack
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i might not live that long so now is what matters .
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bernie-woman
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It is certainly something which needs to be considered - I have a good a good teachers pension which is final salary but OH who has been paying in for a long time has fallen down a bit with equitable life
Our main concern is to achieve the right balance between paying some thought to pension and retirement but also making sure we live for the day ( a bit of a cliche - I know) but I have a brother and sister-in-law who in my opinion don't really have much fun in their lives because they are desperately working towards retiriing early - sadly my mother-in-law who had great plans of retiring back up to merseyside with her husband when she was 55 died of breast cancer at the age of 51 so we are very careful about making sure the balance is right - you just don't know what is round the corner
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oddballdave
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The maths just don't make sense to me.
An IFA did an assesment for White male aged 43 to retire at age 65 on benefit plus 50% (an assumed minmum income) This to pay out until aged 80.
He crunched some numbers and the amount I need to pay in each month is higher than my gross wage.
Average salary in this county is 50% higher than my actual salary.
So in simple terms I will never retire. So why bother with a pension?
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bernie-woman
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| oddballdave wrote: | The maths just don't make sense to me.
An IFA did an assesment for White male aged 43 to retire at age 65 on benefit plus 50% (an assumed minmum income) This to pay out until aged 80.
He crunched some numbers and the amount I need to pay in each month is higher than my gross wage.
Average salary in this county is 50% higher than my actual salary.
So in simple terms I will never retire. So why bother with a pension? |
I used to tell students that they should be paying in from the age of about 17 if they want a decent pension - they used to fall about laughing
By the way - whereabouts in Telford are you oddballdave - you can't be too far away from me
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Penny Outskirts
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When the eldest finally gets round to getting a job, I shall try to persuade him to start a cash ISA, and possibly a small Stakeholder Pension too.
If you haven't started a pension by about 25, it's a very long uphill struggle to fund it yourself! When I was in the industry, I always felt the most satisfaction from getting a 17 or 18 year old to start one.
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Treacodactyl
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The governments latest tinkering, sorry I mean sweeping changes, are due out this week. There might be something in them aimed at people on lower wages and something that might force people to pay into pensions. For it to make much sense they must also scrap means testing though.
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oddballdave
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| Treacodactyl wrote: | | The governments latest tinkering, sorry I mean sweeping changes, are due out this week. There might be something in them aimed at people on lower wages and something that might force people to pay into pensions. For it to make much sense they must also scrap means testing though. |
For it to make sense the government has to understand what a twenty pound note is.
Ask Mr Prescott - a bottle of Scotch which lasts a couple of days.
Mr Blair - A nice lunch
My MP - still not a lot.
Me - A weeks shopping for three.
If 100% of my gross wage is insufficient at best to provide me with minimum salary, then I will fight against any legislation which forces me to put any of my money where it will do me no good either now or in the future.
As I say, until the government learns that £20 is a residual income for a month and not an hourly rate. Then they are barking up the wrong tree.
Dave
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mrutty
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| bernie wrote: | | oddballdave wrote: | The maths just don't make sense to me.
An IFA did an assesment for White male aged 43 to retire at age 65 on benefit plus 50% (an assumed minmum income) This to pay out until aged 80.
He crunched some numbers and the amount I need to pay in each month is higher than my gross wage.
Average salary in this county is 50% higher than my actual salary.
So in simple terms I will never retire. So why bother with a pension? |
I paided in since I was 17. The 43 year old example shows the joys of compound interest. Start as early as possible, also once you hit higher rate tax (if you're that lucky) chuck in as much as possible as you get 40p back for every 60p you put in.
I used to tell students that they should be paying in from the age of about 17 if they want a decent pension - they used to fall about laughing
By the way - whereabouts in Telford are you oddballdave - you can't be too far away from me |
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dpack
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when im too old to continue the world will dispatch me ,or i will be shot by a jealous bridgroom
retire ?
do new things ?
what?
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mrutty
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Honest I typed loads of stuff about compound interest and 40p back for 60p on higher rate. Jema's server eat my message
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Treacodactyl
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What was the jist again?
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dpack
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retirement
i wont do it , my wants have changed , my abilities have changed ,life is life , however you eat and house yourself , how does not matter .
maybe i will get lucky and fall over mid shovelful
maybe i die alone (we all do unless there is a trauma going on )
i live for now which includes provision for later so as i dont worry but cash is not top of my list nor is a promise to pay later (as if )
chuck me naked into most environments and i will thrive ,i am a human .that is my pension to my self .and my legacy .
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oddballdave
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| mrutty wrote: | | bernie wrote: | Start as early as possible, also once you hit higher rate tax (if you're that lucky) chuck in as much as possible as you get 40p back for every 60p you put in.
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But the compound interest for cost of living has negated the pension I started fifteen years ago. Plus the stock market crash didn't help. The only people who are liking my pension are the financial advisors.
And as for higher rate of tax Well the financial advisor may be there but the only time I was ever offered a job which MIGHT have hit that level after four years required that I work a ten hour in the office day for a minimum of six days per week.
Sorry but I am not that much of a team player.
My sons have been told to invest in 'professional certification' as a pension fund. We will always need electricians, plumbers and carpenters. Get in young enough and automatic promotions within the guild make you even more desirable, even if you haven't worked in the trade for ten years.
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Treacodactyl
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| oddballdave wrote: | | My sons have been told to invest in 'professional certification' as a pension fund. We will always need electricians, plumbers and carpenters. |
The pension is for when they stop working though. It's also worth pointing out again that with a personal pension you can choose where the money is invested, so you can invest in something like an interest bearing cash fund. The interest will grow tax free but when you draw the pension you'll probably pay some tax.
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