Yes, I made that assumption too. Based on however many years of their history.weeksy wrote: ↑Tue Aug 22, 2023 8:29 am
But you say that... however not the 'how'. My pension is work based and 'invested' in different portfolios as i suspect many are...
The problem is... what to do, how to do it and the potential risk associated. I can't take mine out and move it (well, maybe i could but i suspect there'd be penalties) and even if i could, where would i move it to... As a customer/consumer/client, you make the assumption that whichever provider you're with are doing their best to make you money, because of course the more you make, the more they make... so makes sense.
But the 'guidance' here is often exceptionally vague... why, because, well, no-one really knows the answers.
Caveat on what follows: I am, by no means, a financial whizz. Total amateur.
My 'wealth' (and I'm not in anything like the earnings, savings, spending leagues of many here) is spread around. Mortgage paid off (by overpaying), no debts, some savings, meagre pension pots, smaller final salary pension.
The lesson from last year is, as the financial companies always say, 'previous performance etc ... ' The last few years have shown how random the world can be when it puts its silly head on.
Potter and others have been fairly vociferous that 'poorer' financial times are ahead. In simple terms, prices of everything up, interest rates up. Worst case recession, depression.
Some planning for that is fairly obvious: reduce debt, increase reserves. If you invest or save, then diversify.
When I had the opportunity, I paid the maximum into the company scheme. I *might* have been better putting that into something else.
I had an AVC running independent of any company scheme - but it was on the farm truck.
As to 'what' or 'where' you invest, I have no idea! I'm certainly not the type of person to buy watches. I know one who, on a whim, bought £10k of bitcoin. He's now semi-retired with a £0.5M nest egg. There was a guy who ran a US safety forum who was saying 'buy them, now!' I didn't. Partly because (like watches), I've not really had chunks like that to risk, but also - this might surprise you - I'm fairly risk averse
Get views, thoughts, ideas, options
Talk to an IFA or two, tell them what and why
Take some control in a way that suits you
Most important: decide NOW what you and MrsW want in the future.
And a sad, upsetting, honest, fact: I saw the state-funded home my father went into for the final months of his life. Filly and I want to avoid that if the time comes.
There's an old line that "growing old is mandatory, but growing up isn't". In this instance, it is.