Pension stories
We talked to five interactive investor customers at different life stages about their attitude towards their pension and their savings habits and goals. Two of our experts offer their views and ex-pensions minister Steve Webb reflects on the state of pension saving.
Natasha Melunsky
Pension investor in her 20s
I do worry that I am not saving enough and not investing my money in the right funds.
Cheng Zhen
Pension investor in his 30s
A SIPP is great for individuals who are willing to spend a bit of time taking care of their own finances.
Margaret Stoikovich
Pension investor in her 40s
I tend to invest in commodities and watch the market during times of adversity or major change.
Jatinder Dhanoa
Pension investor in his 50s
Start saving for a pension as early as possible... and learn to live within your means while saving for your retirement.
Shaun Springer
Active SIPP trader
The aim is to get my pension pot to £1 million by the time I’m 55.
Steve Webb writes...
It is encouraging to see that everyone started pension saving in their mid-20s or even earlier. Starting early is especially important for women, who will often face career breaks or periods of reduced earnings, and these can seriously damage your pension prospects if you haven’t already made a head start.
The responses on how frequently people monitor their pensions highlight the tension that, while we want people to be engaged with their savings and investments, there is a risk that if people are too engaged, they will ‘over-trade’ or overreact to short-term market movements.
Sadly, the very fact that these investors are so engaged makes them almost entirely untypical of much of the wider British public. For many in the wider population, if they had not been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension they might have little or no pension provision. These investors have shown that investing can be fascinating. If engagement means higher savings levels, then this could lead more people to have the kind of retirement provision they need.
Several investors have a goal of retiring well before state pension age, and this is only possible for those who can afford to do so through a mixture of meaningful savings levels and effective investment of those funds.
Steve Webb is a partner at consultants LCP, and was UK pensions minister from 2010 to 2015.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
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The ii SIPP is aimed at clients who have sufficient knowledge and experience of investing to make their own investment decisions and want to actively manage their investments. A SIPP is not suitable for every investor. Other types of pensions may be more appropriate. The value of investments made within a SIPP can fall as well as rise and you may end up with a fund at retirement that’s worth less than you invested. You can normally only access the money from age 55 (age 57 from 2028). Prior to making any decision about the suitability of a SIPP, or transferring any existing pension plan(s) into a SIPP we recommend that you seek the advice of a suitably qualified financial adviser. Please note the tax treatment of these products depends on the individual circumstances of each customer and may be subject to change in future.