Personal pensions - Do you pay into one?

[HappyHippyDad]

I have a pension with the NHS, but it is small and not enough. Now I am self employed its time I thought about a personal pension. I have just started paying into one, Vanguard target retirement fund.

I just wondered if those of you who are self employed pay into a personal pension, and if so which one have you chosen and why?

With the Vanguard, it had a reasonable management charges and platform fees and had performed well for quite a few years. Having no other knowledge about pensions that was all i had to go on. However, you can open as many pensions as you like, so I thought I'd ask on here and see what you guys do?

 

[Zerax]

I have a SIPP that I pay into. Gives me total control over what I invest in and has very low charges.

 

[mattg4321]

I let my IFA deal with it for me. He’s made most of my family consistently higher gains than most of the funds. It’s hard work to find a good one though

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I have a SIPP that I pay into. Gives me total control over what I invest in and has very low charges.

Which one is it Zerax?

 

[7029 dave]

I am worried Rishi Sunak is talking about raiding the state pension pot to help pay for this bloody mess we are in.

 

[mattg4321]

They’ll rape you for a second house soon enough I’m sure of it. Landlords have been getting a worse and worse deal for a while now. With the growing numbers of renters it’s no longer political suicide for even the tories to shaft them.

Airbnb seems like it’s next on the hit list too as local opposition will only grow. It’ll be a crowd pleaser to hit these people hard.

The best way to make money tax free is in your primary property if possible. Buy the worst house on the best road and do it up and move on. It’s crap living on a building site though and you’ll probably need to do a lot yourself to make it really pay. The demand for good quality property (read good location) is through the roof currently though with lots of competition.

Best case scenario is you can buy nearer the top of the market as you then have much less competition.

 

[FatAlan]

Be very careful with any pension pots. There are a lot of scammers targeting people since the regulations were relaxed. They'll cash them in with the promise of higher returns when actually they just transfer it off shore, launder it a bit and the use it to invest in their own property, fast cars and gambling.

 

[DPG]

I've had a Scotish Widows stakeholder pension for a few years now and the growth rates per year are very very good.

 

[Zerax]

Which one is it Zerax?

I use AJ Bell but there are several SIPP providers out there. It's all online... I pay whatever I want into it (subject to earning income limits) then the tax grossing up amount arrives in April/May. I can buy and sell almost whatever investments I like in there. Super flexible and super easy... but you'll need to know what you're doing... because you could lose it all !

 

[SJD]

I also use AJ Bell, and only invest in ETFs (exchange traded funds) on the platform. At the time of choosing (about 10 years ago) they seem to have the lowest charges for what I expected to do, a decent range of funds to invest in (though I only use passive ETFs), a good online interface (I can buy & sell ETFs in real time, none of this daily unit pricing nonsense) and a good reputation.

 

[Dustydazzler]

I've had a Scotish Widows stakeholder pension for a few years now and the growth rates per year are very very good.

both my parents were with Scottish widows and both did really well from it

 

[Dustydazzler]

I am worried Rishi Sunak is talking about raiding the state pension pot to help pay for this bloody mess we are in.

I’m 42 and I’m pretty sceptical that I will even receive a single penny in state pension before I die

 

[plugsandsparks]

Have Sipp invest in funds, shares and cash

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I have my own sipp which my ltd comapany pays into - couple thousand a year, it reduces corporation tax liability and is not subject to income tax either. I also make a notional payment each month into the SIPP - with the tax relief and other benefits of running my own company it works out really well. Mine is with Hargreaves Lansdown, Initially chose the funds myself and over 5 years it is up 61% despite pandemic and brexit etc...
As its grown I am now going to speak to a financial advisor I know to see if it needs tweaking.

 

[Deleted account]

When loads of peeps lost a big part if not all there pensions a few years ago due to fraud. I stopped paying into a private pension. What guarantee is there that all that money will still be there when you retire.
This wasn’t a case of stock market values dropping. It was actual fraud. Th3 peeps never got there pensions.

instead of a pension ive invested in property. Paid my own mortgage off early and invested in 2 other rental properties.
im getting returns now before my official retirement in the form of rent and massive capital gains.
The rental income has gone up from £570 per month to £800 per month in the last 9 years On one of my properties.

also I’ve gained about £200,000 in capital gains in the last nine years.

I say scrap the pensions. Buy property. Don’t trust the IFA , the pension scemes or stock market investors.