Pension stuff, how's it all looking ? HAve you prepared ?

[Felix]

Hopefully someone will tell me I'm shit if that is the case!! If so, I'll get a LOT of cats and more bikes

I am sure you are related to my wife. Sound just as nuts at times, bit accident prone, pink hair but she mixes it up now and then and goes blue for a while. Love of bikes although she does not ride now (Steady) and she is the mad cat lady. Got four just now but if i was not here there would be a lot more. I would get replaced by cats if i was to go

[Noggin]

Hopefully someone will tell me I'm shit if that is the case!! If so, I'll get a LOT of cats and more bikes

I am sure you are related to my wife. Sound just as nuts at times, bit accident prone, pink hair but she mixes it up now and then and goes blue for a while. Love of bikes although she does not ride now (Steady) and she is the mad cat lady. Got four just now but if i was not here there would be a lot more. I would get replaced by cats if i was to go

Sounds great

[Felix]

Hopefully someone will tell me I'm shit if that is the case!! If so, I'll get a LOT of cats and more bikes

I am sure you are related to my wife. Sound just as nuts at times, bit accident prone, pink hair but she mixes it up now and then and goes blue for a while. Love of bikes although she does not ride now (Steady) and she is the mad cat lady. Got four just now but if i was not here there would be a lot more. I would get replaced by cats if i was to go

Sounds great

Nah, she is nuts

[Noggin]

I am sure you are related to my wife. Sound just as nuts at times, bit accident prone, pink hair but she mixes it up now and then and goes blue for a while. Love of bikes although she does not ride now (Steady) and she is the mad cat lady. Got four just now but if i was not here there would be a lot more. I would get replaced by cats if i was to go

Sounds great

Nah, she is nuts

That's what I said!!!!!

[weeksy]

So this 25% tax free at 55 then.

Give me some thoughts on taking/not taking it.

There's obviously the fact your pot goes down by 25% but would you need it all anyway... There's clearly a limit of how much you'll need in retirement with 0 mortgage/debts.. So even ignoring the Gov pension for now, you'll still need a lot less money each month than when you're working.

[Horse]

There's obviously the fact your pot goes down by 25%

Unless you're on guaranteed amount (like final salary), it's what that pot will get you. That depends on how you use it (annuity, drawdown).

There's clearly a limit of how much you'll need in retirement with 0 mortgage/debts..

Work out now how much you will need. Be realistic, include everything from Christmas costs to house repairs, etc.

[Mr. Dazzle]

You don't have to spend the 25% right now if you take it.

The remaining 75% will potentially be taxed when you come to actually spend it (depends how much you have and how often you draw money out of your pension).

Therefore it makes a lot of sense to take all of your 25% now and move it to more tax friendly places (e.g. ISAs) if you can.

Deffo one of the "find a professional to help" moments.

[weeksy]

You don't have to spend the 25% right now if you take it.

The remaining 75% will potentially be taxed when you come to actually spend it (depends how much you have and how often you draw money out of your pension).

Therefore it makes a lot of sense to take all of your 25% now and move it to more tax friendly places (e.g. ISAs) if you can.

Deffo one of the "find a professional to help" moments.

Absolutely agree.. but i do wonder to an extent with IFAs as to how independent they actually are... they must get kick-backs etc from somewhere?

The thought of removing 25% sounds ace to re-invest say 50% of that short term... but there's something about a maximum you can put in then as being £10,000 a year into the continuing pension ? or have i mis-read that ?

[Cousin Jack]

There's obviously the fact your pot goes down by 25%

Unless you're on guaranteed amount (like final salary), it's what that pot will get you. That depends on how you use it (annuity, drawdown).

There's clearly a limit of how much you'll need in retirement with 0 mortgage/debts..

Work out now how much you will need. Be realistic, include everything from Christmas costs to house repairs, etc.

And DO factor in inflation! Over the long term it makes a HUGE difference, if you retire at 55 and live to 85........

[Potter]

Re: how much does one need in retirement - I think you should work out what you think you'll need, then add more, especially if you've been used to being able to buy stuff on whims, like bicycle parts, etc
On paper you'll think you don't need much, but it's likely that (at least in the first couple of years) you might need a bit more than you thought.

Re: should you take the lump sum?- Only you can answer that, will you do anything with it, or do you just want a decent chunk of money in your pocket?
My uncle was in this position (he's only ten years older than me) and against my advice he took the lump sum - it was against my advice because he's a spendthrift and I knew he'd fritter it away on shite, which he promptly did and now he wishes he hadn't taken it.

[weeksy]

Re: should you take the lump sum?- Only you can answer that, will you do anything with it, or do you just want a decent chunk of money in your pocket?

A little of both currently, but a lot of 'doing anything with it' will depend on what and where the lad is with things. If he's racing, then yes, it'd be useful potentially... If he's not, then maybe less useful.

Using it to pay off the mortgage again may be useful as that frees up a huge chunk each month. There's obviously arguments for both sides and counter arguments for each again.

Thing is, i don't wanna sit there when i'm 75 with shit loads of money and be a useless old fucker who only goes to the Wetherspoons.

[v8-powered]

Absolutely agree.. but i do wonder to an extent with IFAs as to how independent they actually are... they must get kick-backs etc from somewhere?

Few kick-backs these days, earnings come from funds under management.

[Potter]

Re: should you take the lump sum?- Only you can answer that, will you do anything with it, or do you just want a decent chunk of money in your pocket?

A little of both currently, but a lot of 'doing anything with it' will depend on what and where the lad is with things. If he's racing, then yes, it'd be useful potentially... If he's not, then maybe less useful.

Using it to pay off the mortgage again may be useful as that frees up a huge chunk each month. There's obviously arguments for both sides and counter arguments for each again.

Thing is, i don't wanna sit there when i'm 75 with shit loads of money and be a useless old fucker who only goes to the Wetherspoons.

Personally I'd always pay off the mortgage, having a house all paid for is a massive weight off my mind.

Once you've done that, then I'd weigh up the argument between pleasure vs safety.
Having loads of money in the bank as a nest egg might be good, but equally paying for your boy to have those once-in-a-lifetime moments might be as good or better.

I've been fortunate to do both, I skint myself at forty by going racing, blowing all my money on helicopter rides, boat charters, having those family experiences that give priceless memories, etc. Then I shat myself and didn't like being skint, so I went balls out to build up a nest egg again.

I could already be fully retired now, but looking back I'm glad I blew the money on those special moments, so I probably wouldn't change anything, but I still say paying your house off is the best move anyone could make, knowing you have a warm, dry, safe place to sleep is primary IMHO.

[Count Steer]

Re: should you take the lump sum?- Only you can answer that, will you do anything with it, or do you just want a decent chunk of money in your pocket?

A little of both currently, but a lot of 'doing anything with it' will depend on what and where the lad is with things. If he's racing, then yes, it'd be useful potentially... If he's not, then maybe less useful.

Using it to pay off the mortgage again may be useful as that frees up a huge chunk each month. There's obviously arguments for both sides and counter arguments for each again.

Thing is, i don't wanna sit there when i'm 75 with shit loads of money and be a useless old fucker who only goes to the Wetherspoons.

Better than sitting there at 75 with not enough money and unable to afford going to Wetherspoons.

Getting 25% tax free is a bit of a no brainer really - but you don't have to take it at 55 (assuming the rules don't change). Paying a chunk off the mortgage makes much sense too - interest is money down the proverbial drain.

I'm a fiscal conservative though and one thing I really, really like having is options. Once the cash has gone there are less of them so I've always 'cut my coat according to my cloth' and squirrelled money away (without living too meagerly - just trying to have/earn a 'surplus' ). If I need it, I've got it, if I decide I don't need it I can spend it if I want to.

tl/dr Only you can decide what's right for you.

PS IIRC an FA will either charge a fee OR take a commission on what they 'sell' you

[Horse]

Thing is, i don't wanna sit there when i'm 75 with shit loads of money and be a useless old fucker who only goes to the Wetherspoons.

What you do with your time when retired has little to do with cash - unless it's things that rely on having it (which Weatherspoons probably doesn't).

I'm sure there are plenty of places that would appreciate your talent and time.

My new retirement hobby costs me time and petrol.

[Count Steer]

PS Having the mortgage paid off is BUT I sometimes wish I'd not done it so soon and kept moving/upgrading up until I retired - then paid it off because it's the one investment that keeps on giving in terms of rising asset value. Once you get off that escalator you're pretty much in downsizing territory each move or moving to cheaper areas to maintain the standard/improve your accommodation.

[Mr Moofo]

PS Having the mortgage paid off is BUT I sometimes wish I'd not done it so soon and kept moving/upgrading up until I retired - then paid it off because it's the one investment that keeps on giving in terms of rising asset value. Once you get off that escalator you're pretty much in downsizing territory each move or moving to cheaper areas to maintain the standard/improve your accommodation.

I am not sure I understand the logic of that. Keep on paying for an asset on raised mortgage or have said asset - with no risk to it being taken away. It is still a rising asset!

[weeksy]

PS Having the mortgage paid off is BUT I sometimes wish I'd not done it so soon and kept moving/upgrading up until I retired - then paid it off because it's the one investment that keeps on giving in terms of rising asset value. Once you get off that escalator you're pretty much in downsizing territory each move or moving to cheaper areas to maintain the standard/improve your accommodation.

But lets say you upgrade to a 1,000,000 house... what's the actual point ? You've then got too big a house for your old age, by the time you die your kids don't need it as they're 50 years old.... so where's the plan going ?

[Yambo]

Mmmm . . .

I'm 73 and I can't see any reason to sit in a corner, smelling of wee and waiting for 'Spoons to open.

I don't have a pot of money sitting waiting for me to dip in on a rainy day. I simply get an income from 3 pensions - the State pension, just over £600 every 28 days (that is paid straight into my Turkish bank in TL), my army pension and a small £50 a month pension courtesy of my dear departed wife.

However, I can live comfortable on my State pension at the moment because the £/TL exchange rate is in my favour. It easily covers all my day to day expenses here. The army pension and the little one go into my UK bank (Starling) and I have a few 'Spaces' open for savings - kitchen (I need a new one), holiday and hobby money. I only very rarely buy on credit.

I'm as active as I want to be, currently getting boats ready for late spring, developing and making a range of bird tables that should sell easily and some astrophotography when the weather allows - the photos need processing which is an ideal job for a rainy day.

I think it's difficult to predict what you're going to get up to when you retire and what you're going to be able to afford to do and to be honest I think it's a foolish exercise. You have no idea whether your good health is going to keep pace with the passing years, whether your nearest and dearest are still going to be there, or what the weather will allow. For sure, having loads of dosh will allow you to sit around and think of ways to waste it but it's got to be better to decide at the time, bearing in mind your circumstances at the time how you are going to fill your days. Your prostate may have a say in the matter.

[Count Steer]

PS Having the mortgage paid off is BUT I sometimes wish I'd not done it so soon and kept moving/upgrading up until I retired - then paid it off because it's the one investment that keeps on giving in terms of rising asset value. Once you get off that escalator you're pretty much in downsizing territory each move or moving to cheaper areas to maintain the standard/improve your accommodation.

I am not sure I understand the logic of that. Keep on paying for an asset on raised mortgage or have said asset - with no risk to it being taken away. It is still a rising asset!

In simple terms, I've seen a house I'd like to move to but, unless I completely empty the coffers, can't buy and can't get a mortgage obvs. If I'd kept moving 'up' for a few more years instead of saying 'this'll do' I'd probably be able to move/downsize and pocket the difference.

@weeksy you might be surprised how little £800k - 1M gets you in some locations.