Have you got a pension?

[LatteLiberal]

I will pass my 3 million pounds worth of property onto my kids, if I had stuck all that in a pension it would be gone.

[escapeUK]

Its all a big scam, as £10,000 today will have the spending power of £5,000 in 10 years time.

Having paid lots of tax to pay for others to live a nice life, I look forward to the day when others can pay for me to. I see this demonstrated in my own family, one grandma has a nice pension, other nothing so government gives her lots of money, paid for her house etc, they lived pretty comparable lives.

[DimPrawn]

The main question really is:

Is putting my money into a pension the best way to generate an income in later life?

Obviously, putting nothing into anything means your only income will be the state pension.

Although pensions are touted as tax efficient, losing the lot when you die and being at the whim of ever changing rules is a game changer for me. Also apart from the 25% tax free lump sum, there is tax to pay on the income.

I would suggest filling your ISA allowance every year first (you and the Mrs) as that is tax free on capital gains and dividend income forever, and can be cashed anytime (flexible).

Imagine if all your grandparents instead of buying into a pension had generated their retirement wealth from buying gold and property and antiques. You would be sitting on a huge sum of real tangible wealth that you could also add to and pass down the generations of your family.

Western govts are bankrupt and the temptation to first remove most of the tax advantages of a pension (save the govt a fortune) and then actually grab the pots of money in return for a pledge to up your state pension are just too great.

[DimPrawn]

And for all those who have been paying into their pension pot for the last 20 years, how much would you have now if you had been buying property at 1990 prices and gold at 1990 prices?

[sasguru]

It'll be a good lesson to your kids that they should get a pension so they can support themselves in old age.

You must be deaf by now from that loud whooshing that constantly goes on over your head.

[alreadypacked]

Got a few bits and pieces of various pensions lying around that might be enough to buy me a Saga holiday but will be dependent on BTL, property and ISAs for the bulk of my retirement income.

+1
But for ISAs read Lotto

[nomadd]

And for all those who have been paying into their pension pot for the last 20 years, how much would you have now if you had been buying property at 1990 prices and gold at 1990 prices?

Ah, the investment power of hindsight. Where do I buy a cup?

Take a look at those who were ploughing into property seven years ago in Ireland, Spain, Greece (etc., etc.) Not looking so rosy for them now, is it?

The UK is no different. Tiny island, huge debts, bankrupt youth (i.e. anyone under 35). And property prices are already falling across the UK...

Never use the past - especially the biggest, unsustainable bubble in history - as a performance guide to the future.

[MarillionFan]

+1
But for ISAs read Lotto

I always use up cash isa first (except this year) because I bought a 500 acre estate in Trowbridge with plans to build a 30 bedroom mansion & golf course (MF in How to Bulltulip like Old Hack) mode.

[DimPrawn]

Ah, the investment power of hindsight. Where do I buy a cup?

Take a look at those who were ploughing into property seven years ago in Ireland, Spain, Greece (etc., etc.) Not looking so rosy for them now, is it?

The UK is no different. Tiny island, huge debts, bankrupt youth (i.e. anyone under 35). And property prices are already falling across the UK...

Never use the past - especially the biggest, unsustainable bubble in history - as a performance guide to the future.

UK property prices will never collapse in Sterling terms, govt money printing, immigration and draconian planning laws will see to that. Plus most MPs own huge amounts of property. Vested interests.

[nomadd]

UK property prices will never collapse in Sterling terms, govt money printing, immigration and draconian planning laws will see to that. Plus most MPs own huge amounts of property. Vested interests.

An ill-considered argument at best.

The under 35 age group have so little pay, so much debt, so few prospects, they will never have the money to keep the housing bubble inflated. Why on earth do you think housing transaction volumes have collapsed?

Immigrants are among the worst paid people in the country. Most of them are looking to return home.

The housing bubble was a direct result of lax lending policies which have now disappeared - completely.

QE has already proved a failure. Further QE seems to be well and truly off the table.

A few MPs property portfolios aren't going to keep the biggest bubble in history afloat.

Here's a few nice houses in Hale, Cheshire. This is an area of extreme wealth, so the least likely to be affected by a downturn in the economy. Notice a trend on the following graphs?:

Home.co.uk: Price Information for 8-Bed Detached House For Sale In Broad Lane, Hale, Cheshire, WA15 0DE
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 6-Bed Detached House For Sale In South Downs Road, Bowdon
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 6-Bed Detached House For Sale In Theobald Road, Bowdon, Altrincham WA14
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 7-Bed Detached House For Sale In Church Green, Warburton
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 6-Bed Detached House For Sale In Barry Rise, Bowdon
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 5-Bed Detached House For Sale In Barrow Lane, Hale
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 6-Bed Detached House For Sale In Oakmere, Park Drive, Hale WA15
Home.co.uk: Price Information for 6-Bed Detached House For Sale In Hale Road, Hale

EDIT: BTW, I've lived and worked in London for the last 25 years also, so am well aware of the London/SE market. Again, an even bigger bubble with even greater falls ahead of it. Nearly all the I.T. has gone to India, and thousands of Banking job losses are announced every week these days. All the young people coming to London are utterly broke, so forever rising rents are not an option to cover BTL portfolios taken out at today's prices with artificially low IRs. Where I live in North London, the rent on a property would never cover the BTL mortgage taken out on it today - you'd be effectively subsidising a renter for the next 25 years.