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Is now a good time to start a pension aged 50+?

by deelighted 07 December 2008 |

3 comments | Love

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this was posed as your weekly question but aimed at 24 yr olds why? many of us thought the state would provide our pensions.....but it seems that will not happen AND we'll have to work until 70 due to older populations and better life expectancy etc. So what do we do and have we missed the boat in our 40's, 50's or even 60 as a time to invest?

Property was seen as the best investment but in the current market think credit crunch aka recession call it what it is humbug to political correctness;its beginning to look like all is lost......

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824

MikeGG1 posted
If you were born before 6 April 1959 then your State Pension Age will remain at 65. Any younger and you will have to work longer. Under-30-year-olds will have to work to 68 with 10-yearly annual movements in between.

See http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/state-pension/age-calculator.asp

It is not too late for you but you need to pay a higher contribution because of the shorter period.

Avoid property because of the short period. Go for UK Equities until 5 years before retirement and then gradually shift into 75% UK Bonds/25% Cash to match the Annuity funding basis and the Tax-free Cash Sum, avoiding the possibility of a collapse shortly before retirement.
Posted on 07 December 2008 | Love 0 loves Report
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AllTorque posted
I agree with MikeGG1.

I would also add that in my opinion I think there may be some very good opportunities for growth over the the next 10 years or so.

Although we may not have seen the bottom of the market yet, we have had falls of over 40% in a year and in the long term that makes this a good time to be looking at the markets again especially if you are investing monthly.
Posted on 08 December 2008 | Love 0 loves Report
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JoeEasedale posted
I think that it is a very high risk strategy in the curent climate. We my be facing ten years of depression, deflation, inflation, stock market falls far greater than we have already had, property falls well above this years and an acceleratd failure from the financial sector.
Whilst it may be prudent to continue existing policies, I cannot see the sense in starting any new ones rght now. Save, by all means, but there is no clear investment route that I can see.

The bond market could easily crash, and who knows how many mortgage derivatives and cds's are stuck within insurance companies.

Financial planning as we have known it will never be the same again, wait for some clarity to arrive in two or three years time before movng out of cash equivalents imho.
Posted on 08 December 2008 | Love 0 loves Report

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