What X day rate do you stick in a pension?

[Dallas]

Just as an aside.. does anyone still trust Money Saving Expert since it was sold to Money Supermarket group

Lewis cashed in and bailed? He was the one who kept it honest (initially) so now it may not be and advertising will kick in? Thats pants.

[cojak]

Just as an aside.. does anyone still trust Money Saving Expert since it was sold to Money Supermarket group

No more or less than any other freebie website - their forums are quite good and offer reasonable advice (I like the 'get out of debt' ones - it seems that saving money can be quite addictive).

[Pondlife]

I think I might have to register moneyspunkingexpert as I have a lot of useful advice to give on the subject.

Pretty sure someone on here will already have spunkingexpert.com and so they might do you a deal on a subdomain.

[d000hg]

Lewis cashed in and bailed? He was the one who kept it honest (initially) so now it may not be and advertising will kick in? Thats pants.

I thought he was still involved even after the sale.

[ASB]

If it is one thing I have learned it is never give money to others to manage on my behalf. Unless you enjoy a Public sector pension it is far better to take the hit on taxed income to have full control of any investments you make over your working life. My mother died before she could enjoy any benefit & my fathers pension was burned through paying £900 @week in care home fees.
The Govt. is planning another raid on pensions by limiting the cash amount that can be taken tax free so all seems a pretty pointless exercise - with investing yourself in either shares or property you have full control & assets that you can hand on to your children

It certainly can be. Remember a -pension is primarily tax deference; the only real benefit arise from the 25% lump sum tax free (which as you say is under threat again). That gives you about 6% effective gain.

The other substantial benefit can come from being a higher rate taxpayer whilst contributing, but a basic rate taxpayer in retirement. There is obviously rather less flexibility on how a pension is used.

In terms of trying to maximize I would think the most appropriate way (with total taxation as the driver) is:-

1) Pension contributions up to no more than your personal allowance (because you get tax releif going into the pension even though no tax was suffered in the firstplace)
2) Full ISA allowance used
3) Pension contributions from company to keep income down into basic rate band.

Depends on individual circumstances of course.

[cojak]

I moved mine into a SIPP last December, so do feel much more in control. Prior to that, I got a statement once a year where the amount never seemed to increase very much, and I had no idea where stuff was invested. Now I log in daily to see how rich I am - currently it's around 3% up on December, so reasonable growth for 3 months, if that continues!

How did you research this MS? I must admit that I'm paralysed atm because all this stuff frightens me a bit. I know that I should get this all organised but I have no idea where to start...

[mudskipper]

How did you research this MS? I must admit that I'm paralysed atm because all this stuff frightens me a bit. I know that I should get this all organised but I have no idea where to start...

I have to confess that I've no real idea what I'm doing.

HL have some excellent guides, and offer suggestions for where to invest your pension fund SIPP investment ideas | SIPP investment ideas from our research team | Hargreaves Lansdown, as well as telling you where others have invested. Where do people invest their SIPPs? | Most popular funds invested in the Vantage SIPP | Hargreaves Lansdown

I kind of did a mixture of the suggestions and what others had, and hope that others know what they're doing! TBH, it can't be doing much worse than it was.

[Zero Liability]

I am considering putting some of my money in commodities (including and especially gold & silver, c. 20% for all; Rogers International Commodities Index seems like a good starting point), c. 10% in P2P lending for passive income generation as it's better than nearly any savings account/bond even accounting for its risk, c. 25% in stock markets in emerging countries and economies with good growth prospects, the rest in stocks in solid Western firms providing vital goods and services and paying good dividends. Also considering putting some into REITs to gain exposure to the property market. Commercial real estate is one area touted to have good growth prospects and to provide good diversification from stock markets, as well as REITs specialised in ground rents. A bit in BTC as a speculative punt would not go amiss, either.

I have a subscription to CXO Advisory but I haven't really taken the time yet to see what their investment recommendations are. They seem to go with an ETF based strategy that allegedly makes good returns.

Like Cojak, I think I am a bit "paralysed" with this stuff. But you have to start somewhere.