Has anybody done anything daft with their pension

wack61

wack61

I've got an itchy hatch
Suspended / Banned
Messages
7,344
Edit My Images
No
I'm 55 in February, for the last 35 years I've been giving somebody money on a monthly basis to keep them in Porsche's and so they can give me it back in derisory amounts until I die

Until last year, the government has decided that I should be free to choose how to spend my pension

So I choose a Maserati

Not sure how much I'm going to spend yet, I'd like a Granturismo but they start at 35k for a good one so that's unlikely but I think i'm looking at something like this

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi.../maserati-quattroporte-sport-gts-2009/4333631

anybody else spent their lump sum or are you keeping it until you die

my thinking has changed in the last few years after seeing a couple of people die young having been scared to spend it

I know a guy who's 60,lives for cars but drives around in one that'll do with 100k in the bank

Life"s too short
 
thought that said has anyone done anything daft with there penis ,might have been more interesting i suppose :beer::beer::beer:
 
My dad really winds me up... saves his money and doesnt do much.. hes now heading towards 90 and I keep telling him to spend it... End of last yr I finally got him to buy a new telly.. took him to currys and he spent over 2 thousand quid on a curve tv and saw a hoover he could use with one hand and cordless... he hasent got tesn of thosuands he isnt rich.. but whats the point of having a few thousand stuck in the bank while you watch a little old telly...

I have safety net money in the bank so never worry too much on the subject.. but i wouldnt hoard too much money... whats the point..
 
I went both ways - put cash in the bank as a lump sum, plus put cash into a pension. Now I've started putting 15% into my pension just to bulk it up but it's doing quite well as are my investments. It's amazing now the rules say they have to declare how much you're actually paying your financial consultant.

I also bought my TVR 10 years ago. I'd honestly suggest keeping some money back for running the car. I put £250 a month away, then don't worry over any bills for it. Masserattis are supposed to be expensive to run, but beautiful to look at - and that noise.... find tunnels, have fun in car parks setting off car alarms, generally just grow old disgracefully. :D
 
Pension, what's one of those? o_O

I don't worry too much about getting old........I am old! :LOL:

We spend most of what we earn & enjoy life, live within our means & save a bit in the bank for emergencies & have a few premium bonds for a rainy day.

Life is for living while you can. If we are poor financially just before our number is up, so be it, we're rich with happy memories to look back on. (unless I get dementia......then I won't know about it anyway)
 
I too have been - and still am - putting money into a private pension scheme, but given my current circumstances as a home carer looking after an elderly mother, I can only afford to put in the most minimum amount and look on it as some kind of savings scheme.
I'm 48 and what I really would like to do right now is to use the pension to pay off the remaining 5 years of what is a small mortgage. That would then leave me with more money for ongoing home improvements (a new kitchen would be a start) without having to take any loans on.
 
Last edited:
I stopped putting into a pension years ago! At the moment we cant really save either. We dont have a mortgage which is a blessing as we paid that off approx 10 yrs ago.
 
KIPAX said:
My dad really winds me up... saves his money and doesnt do much.. hes now heading towards 90 and I keep telling him to spend it... End of last yr I finally got him to buy a new telly.. took him to currys and he spent over 2 thousand quid on a curve tv and saw a hoover he could use with one hand and cordless... he hasent got tesn of thosuands he isnt rich.. but whats the point of having a few thousand stuck in the bank while you watch a little old telly...

I have safety net money in the bank so never worry too much on the subject.. but i wouldnt hoard too much money... whats the point..
Click to expand...
Could you have a quick word with my Mrs?
 
A work colleague was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago and sadly died in May this year. He drove about in a clapped out astra, he worked as many weekends on overtime as he could. He was 57 and single. As his illness took hold the firm gave him a sizeable sum of money and pensioned him off, people asked him what he was going to do with it his lump sum "always fancied a BMW" he replied. . He bought it but died before he'd even driven it. I often wonder if he had any regrets of having plenty of money in the bank but never spending it as he lay on his death bed. I guess the next of Kin are now doing what he should have done.
 
Last edited:
I think it's different if you have children - you want to be able to leave something for them to enjoy (maybe not all of it hehehe) because, let's face it, when you're young you have health and time but no cash. And god knows how my kids will get on the property ladder without a good leg up (I'm hoping they move out before I die).

If you don't have any dependents, then there really is little point sitting on a big pile of cash only to give it to random distant relatives or the cats' home.
 
Exactly. Its about making sure the kids have something for their future. Different if single.
 
Llamaman said:
I think it's different if you have children - you want to be able to leave something for them to enjoy (maybe not all of it hehehe) because, let's face it, when you're young you have health and time but no cash. And god knows how my kids will get on the property ladder without a good leg up (I'm hoping they move out before I die).

If you don't have any dependents, then there really is little point sitting on a big pile of cash only to give it to random distant relatives or the cats' home.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with that, but depending how much you leave (& how many kids you actually have) they will probably have enough to change their cars, have a good holiday etc & most of it will be spent in a relatively short space of time.
Even that is presuming you don't need to go into a care home £££££'s
 
Llamaman said:
I think it's different if you have children - you want to be able to leave something for them to enjoy (maybe not all of it hehehe) because, let's face it, when you're young you have health and time but no cash. And god knows how my kids will get on the property ladder without a good leg up (I'm hoping they move out before I die).
Click to expand...
I thought along those lines too,
but someone said to me recently, exactly what did your parents leave you?
A house? half a million quid?

Made me stop and think TBH.

wack61 said:
Not sure how much I'm going to spend yet, I'd like a Granturismo but they start at 35k for a good one so that's unlikely but I think i'm looking at something like this

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi.../maserati-quattroporte-sport-gts-2009/4333631
Click to expand...
Thats certainly tempting ;)
 
Ive 4 kids and im never gonna have enough to leave anything of real value to all of them so I've decided to spend it :)

I worked for an LA for a fair while and paid into a pension pot but unlike a normal pension i cant have it yet the new rules dont apply to me. Have to wait till im 62, im 58 this year, if i could have my lump sum now i would be buying a nice new motorhome to replace the 1991 talbot i drive around in at the moment.
 
Last edited:
Llamaman said:
I think it's different if you have children - you want to be able to leave something for them to enjoy (maybe not all of it hehehe) because, let's face it, when you're young you have health and time but no cash. And god knows how my kids will get on the property ladder without a good leg up (I'm hoping they move out before I die)..
Click to expand...


You have to take into consideration ages.. hopefuly if we die of old age out kids wont be kids.. they will be adults with there own families leading there own lives.... I would rather my nearly 90 dad enjoyed whats left than leave me a 3rd of whatever he has...seems a lot to him but it isnt....
 
KIPAX said:
You have to take into consideration ages.. hopefuly if we die of old age out kids wont be kids.. they will be adults with there own families leading there own lives.... I would rather my nearly 90 dad enjoyed whats left than leave me a 3rd of whatever he has...seems a lot to him but it isnt....
Click to expand...
My concern is that my kids might struggle to setup home and have a family if housing costs continue to rise. I'd rather they had the cash when they were younger than wait until I'm dead and they're in the 40s/50s.

That said, though, I'm partial to a fine ale/whisky and whilst that may hasten my demise, it also decreases their inheritance... one delicious sip at a time. Sorry kids!
 
I have a company pension, I have 3 options how it is paid when I retire.
  1. Monthly pension
  2. Lump sum with enhanced monthly pension if I retire early, but once I reach retirement age and get my state pension then my monthly payment will fall by the equivalent of the state pension.
  3. Lump sum and monthly pension.
If I retire early, I'll be taking option 2, if I wait until pension age, it will be option 3.
Lump sum will be invested in various savings accounts, and each year I'll transfer money into ISA's to add a tax free income to my pension each month.
Work is fairly relaxed, hours are good with plenty of free time during the week as well as weekends and overtime is optional. My wife will need an income if I pop off first, but I have absolutely no problem leaving my two sons as much money as possible. I'll still be able to enjoy the things I do now such as watching motorsport and going to the gym, I can't see anything changing there for the foreseeable future.
 
I've done the dutiful father, putting food on the table, paying bills, being sensible , I've reached a point in my life where I owe very little and come february I won't owe anybody anything so this is for ME

my inspiration is the MD of a company I used to work for

lovely guy but tight like you wouldn't believe, he must have been on £70k , company car, house paid for, wife in a 10 year old micra, holidays to cornwall

Lived for rugby league, and really wanted to go to australia to watch his team play but couldn't bring himself to write the cheque

worked until he was 69 then got made redundant so had to retire

died at 72 with hundreds of thousands in the bank

Byker28i said:
I also bought my TVR 10 years ago. I'd honestly suggest keeping some money back for running the car. I put £250 a month away, . :D
Click to expand...

I was reading on another forum about a TVR trip to Le Mans, a group of them

this summed it up

Typical TVR
2 wouldn't start
1 lost all its water
1 lost it's clutch

I'd love a TVR but I'd want to use it
 
Last edited:
I'm no where near a pension yet but when I am if I was spending a wack of money on 4 wheels it would be with out doubt a camper van and a year on the road . That would allow me to live more , have more life experiences , more fun , meet interesting people in interesting places than anything else would but that's just me .
 
I'm not exactly being sensible at the moment, I don't have expensive tastes, not interested in holidays or travelling, although I maybe tempted to go to Australia, just to see the motor racing at Bathurst, if I am, I'll be treating my two sons to the trip also, that's if we haven't already done it before I retire. Not sure what I'll do for a car just yet, not really interested in buying a Maserati or Aston Martin, I'll settle for a new Focus RS or such.
 
what you have to beware of in drawing your pension early as a lump sum is that you will be taxed at source. The first 25% tax free, then the remainder at 55%

In order to cover its back, the government has legislated that an individual cannot go direct to his/her pension provider and ask for the cash. It has to be done via a "financial advisor" which is an opportunity for scam firms to charge extortionate fees for this "service"

And further legislation is afoot to say that if you wilfullly have spent your pension pot, later you may be denied benifits
 
kennethwfd said:
what you have to beware of in drawing your pension early as a lump sum is that you will be taxed at source. The first 25% tax free, then the remainder at 55%

In order to cover its back, the government has legislated that an individual cannot go direct to his/her pension provider and ask for the cash. It has to be done via a "financial advisor" which is an opportunity for scam firms to charge extortionate fees for this "service"

And further legislation is afoot to say that if you wilfullly have spent your pension pot, later you may be denied benifits
Click to expand...

At least some of that information is wrong because I have first hand experience of a guy in the office ringing his pension provider for information and coming away 40 minutes later with it cashed in, this was on the Monday, by the Friday the 25% was in his bank and the rest took another week while they went through his earnings

Plus where do you get 55% from , it's only taxed at the prevailing rate as far as I'm aware , if you're not working that's 20% then 40% then 55%

It's not 55% on all of it

Plus they can't deny you a state pension because this is a personal pension, money I've paid in, state pension is funded from NI payments, if you've paid the NI, your entitled

So f*** em
 
Last edited:
It really shouldn't be taxed at all, we already pay tax on what we put in, it's unfair to pay again when you draw on it .
 
wack61 said:
At least some of that information is wrong because I have first hand experience of a guy in the office ringing his pension provider for information and coming away 40 minutes later with it cashed in, this was on the Monday, by the Friday the 25% was in his bank and the rest took another week while they went through his earnings
Click to expand...
Agreed, I spoke to mine at the beginning of the year, and they talked me through it, its all very easy,
They only other thing they did say that although they were offering me advice on "how to" I was at liberty to contact a personal advisor and let them deal on my behalf.
What? with all these scams/ dodgy investments you hear about ?
No thank you!
 
wack61 said:
Plus they can't deny you a state pension because this is a personal pension......
Click to expand...

ATM you are OK (I think) but in years to come the govt will surely change the rules.

Can't remember which country it was now (possibly NZ) where they introduced a new system, where anyone with a private pension (no matter if it was very small) lost the right to the full state pension.
Eventually it will be compulsory to have a private pension.
 
OldCarlos said:
Eventually it will be compulsory to have a private pension.
Click to expand...
Didn't they try and push that through for anyone over 25 or something?
Not sure if it was successful or not.
And I'm also sure that the state pension will disappear before too long as well ;)
 
wack61 said:
At least some of that information is wrong because I have first hand experience of a guy in the office ringing his pension provider for information and coming away 40 minutes later with it cashed in, this was on the Monday, by the Friday the 25% was in his bank and the rest took another week while they went through his earnings

Plus where do you get 55% from , it's only taxed at the prevailing rate as far as I'm aware , if you're not working that's 20% then 40% then 55%

It's not 55% on all of it

Plus they can't deny you a state pension because this is a personal pension, money I've paid in, state pension is funded from NI payments, if you've paid the NI, your entitled

So f*** em
Click to expand...
Sorry, but the facts are

1. where did I say 55% on all of it.....I said 25% tax free
2. someone who i know well, very, very well, applied for £14k withdrawal and received £9,700, the rest was taken in fees and taxes
3. yes, you can't stop entitlement to retirement pension. But DWP can officiate regarding additional entitlements
4. sorry for trying to be helpful
 
Always remember and old neighbour of mine saying what a con private pensions were, he paid into his firms one for years in the hop of being
better off when he retired, people surviving on the pension got help with everything, free rent, council tax etc. he had to pay it all and wasn't a lot better
off, despite paying out all his working life
 
Gremlin said:
It really shouldn't be taxed at all, we already pay tax on what we put in, it's unfair to pay again when you draw on it .
Click to expand...
Unless you're paying in large amounts, no it isn't.
An employer pension is deducted from your gross salary before tax, and a private one you should be deducting on your tax return.
 
Cobra said:
Didn't they try and push that through for anyone over 25 or something?
Not sure if it was successful or not.
And I'm also sure that the state pension will disappear before too long as well ;)
Click to expand...
There's an opt-out scheme being introduced, starting with the largest employers and working down.
It's pretty paltry though - I think the max rate will be 2% - compared to my workplace pension which is 7% by me and 14% by my employer.
 
This is exactly the sort of scaremongering they like , ooh you'll have to keep it what will you do when you get old

This is England , not Some African dictatorship , you'll never starve.

I've seen too many people living s*** lives because they're terrified of having no money when they're old then when they get old the government takes it all off them
 
Gremlin said:
It really shouldn't be taxed at all, we already pay tax on what we put in, it's unfair to pay again when you draw on it .
Click to expand...
Mine pension payments aren't taxed. My pension is deducted from my pay before tax is deducted.
 
Llamaman said:
There's an opt-out scheme being introduced,
Click to expand...
IIRC there was an opt out scheme years ago, and a lot of people opted out, but soon opted back in again, when they realised it wasn't to their advantage.
I can't remember the details now, but it was explained to me at length by someone that understood tax and pensions.

I guess someone has to :D
 
Cobra said:
IIRC there was an opt out scheme years ago, and a lot of people opted out, but soon opted back in again, when they realised it wasn't to their advantage.
I can't remember the details now, but it was explained to me at length by someone that understood tax and pensions.

I guess someone has to :D
Click to expand...
In my prior job, I got put on the scheme. As it was ramping up, it was 0.5%. Why bother?

Yes, someone DOES have to. Hurrah. Keeps me in beer.
(I'm a tax adviser, although my specialism is corporate taxes so my personal tax knowledge is, ahem, not to be relied upon...)
 
wack61 said:
I was reading on another forum about a TVR trip to Le Mans, a group of them

this summed it up

Typical TVR
2 wouldn't start
1 lost all its water
1 lost it's clutch

I'd love a TVR but I'd want to use it
Click to expand...


LOL - the old unreliability crap - same old song
Just for interest, 7 of us recently went to Ypres, drove all around for a few days (cobbled streets aren't sports car friendly) all came home fine, despite the m25's best 10mph traffic jam.

But the point was about running costs
 
Cobra said:
Didn't they try and push that through for anyone over 25 or something?
Not sure if it was successful or not
Click to expand...

Yes they did, you could opt out of SERPS.
I think It must be over 30 yrs ago. I remember `opting out` at the time, but years later............opted back in! :LOL:

A company I worked for many years ago used to put in double the % that we saved in their pension scheme, but I left their employment before they closed & luckily just under 2 years after joining the pension scheme, which enabled me to `cash in` my payments.

What's the minimum % figure that's recommended for folk to save from their earnings? Is it something around (half your age & use that as a %) eg 10% @ 20 yr old, 15% @ 30 yr old?
Thing is, with the economic climate as it is & the price of housing etc life is going to be very different for the young uns of today. :(
 
OldCarlos said:
Yes they did, you could opt out of SERPS.
I think It must be over 30 yrs ago. I remember `opting out` at the time, but years later............opted back in! :LOL:
Click to expand...
Yep that was it :thumbs:
Blimey was it really 30 years ago?
OldCarlos said:
I remember `opting out` at the time, but years later............opted back in! :LOL:
Click to expand...
Same here ;)
 
Byker28i said:
LOL - the old unreliability crap - same old song
Just for interest, 7 of us recently went to Ypres, drove all around for a few days (cobbled streets aren't sports car friendly) all came home fine, despite the m25's best 10mph traffic jam.

But the point was about running costs
Click to expand...

I wasn't having a dig, they had a great time it was just the way he'd written it like it was inevtiible
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top