I recently quit my job and became self employed, so now I don't have a pension scheme, and I've just edged into my 30's, I also don't have a house, and have smallish savings. But no debt, and I am skilled. (plus I have 2 pensions on hold from previous employers)

Was wanting to get a pension, but don't know enough about it, like who to choose as a provider. Its easy with Loans/Savings you can see the fee's and interest in APR's, and monthly payments etc... but Pensions are so scheptical, does it matter who i go with, should I just choose a company who will be around as long as I am, like scottish widows?

Any advice and stories from you lot would be great!

None of the big firms are any good. They are brands and they will not make you secure.

Speak to a professional.

I'm in a similar position... recently self-employed and 30, no house, no debts, no pension. I used to have one with Equitable (ahem).

My IFA recommended that I focus on my business for now and speak to him again before April about a pension plan. At the moment I'm leaning towards putting together a SIPP via a fund supermarket, but I still need to do a bunch of research. I'm *very* sceptical of high-street pension funds (after my previous experience).

It really winds me up that we have to do 'research' just to get something like this organised. I don't know about the rest of you, but even if I speak to an 'expert' I would still go away and research his advice to make sure he wasn't scamming me.

I've been trying to get my head aound ISA for years, still haven't. I look at the money I'm making on investment and think well its only a couple of hundred they can have the tax, screw it, its easier then sitting in a bank being asked what hedge funds do you want to invest in? sorry whats a hedge fund? This government should make life much simpler for savings, not loans. Loans now there simple, 5 min form filling in and bang you're rich!

I just hope my long term plan of winning the lottery comes off, other wise I'm screwed

Hi purplemonkey

I've got a stakeholder pension with Legal and General with my money invested in the FTSE All Share tracker. The charges are low compared to other providers and I've found the product and website to be 1st class.

Regards,
crude

So, you've had a (long term) pension for what 2 years now? Just as equities have gone up. Will you be so positive when they go down - as sure they will when oil and banks go down?

Sorry, why the sarcastic comment? I was just saying I found L&G pension to be low in charges and with good service. I've had my pension since 1991 and continue to put money in monthly and don't care about the ups and downs. I don't put all my eggs in one basket and have other investments such as gold.

crude

Hands up. I'm guilty as charged.

The thing is most people who do not know what they're talking about when it comes to personal finance just say go for the cheapest, cut out the middleman, equities only go up in the long run (like houses?), forget pension they're crap value etc etc

I thought you might be amongst that lot.

BTW, are you still in equities in your pension or do you actively alter allocations. And I don;t mean rebalancing. I mean say moving from 70% equs to 40% in a qtr and moving to cash?

Also, a 1991 pension possibly costs you more on an annual basis than a 2005 pension - with little set up costs. Thought you might like to know.

No problem - I was just slightly taken aback given the original poster was asking for advice / stories, so I told him what I was doing.

Since stakeholder pensions arrived, I transferred all my existing pensions (personal and executive) into my L&G stakeholder as the charges are lower and trackers are a good bet imho. I don't switch funds as it's guaranteed that when I switch out of equities, they'd rocket etc..

I was hoping to find a stakeholder which would allow me to put say 10% of the fund into the Merrill Lynch Gold fund, but couldn't find one that did.

Regards,
crude

Pensions are only really worthwhile if you're employer contributes.

If not your simply better off buying physical gold coins/bars etc. These will grow tax free until retirement. GB can't his grubby hands on it!

That way when you retire you will get the(by then) means tested/pension benefits and can quietly supplement your benefits by selling a couple of coins a month.

That's the only reason I have one: otherwise I wouldn't see the point, you're just tying up money for decades with a company that might not even exist by that point, in an environment where inflation could easily destroy every penny you save.

Some time ago I read an article looking at long-term returns in America which showed that if someone saved $20 in a fund in the 50s they'd have about the same amount of purchasing power right now after all that effort the managers had put into 'creating a return'. The whole thing is a huge boondoggle which is only required because governments inflate the money away... but it sure keeps a lot of people in cushy, well-paid jobs.

Yet another useless industry which wouldn't be needed with hard currency.

You're all so optimistic!

Am I right or wrong in thinking that if I sign up to a pension now, pay 200quid a month, retire at 65, then that pension will give me a lump sum whatever it might be, and then pay me 500quid/month or whatever it works out to be, for the rest of my life? Or is that bull, do they just pay you till your fund runs out of money?


And you all like gold here don't you..... Are you all meglomaniacs

This is actually the gold forum. Didn't you get the memo?

My limited research suggests that you pay a bunch of money into a dark hole, GB pays a bit more in if you ask him to on your tax return, then later on you get 25% of it as a tax free lump sum and the rest magically transforms into an annuity that pays out monthly, may or may not be taxed and lasts until you die.
But the end game will have changed anyway when we get there....