Is a Workplace Pension Worth It? Pros, Cons, and Benefits Explained

Full state pension I believe will be just under £11,500 for 2024. You only get that if you pay NI for 35 years and only at state pension age (which is rising over the years).
Workplace pension is usually a perk as they pay in a % and so do you so think of it as "free" money from your employer on top of your wages.
 
Depending on your age, the state pension may not be worth anything by the time you come to claim it.
If you put into a company/private pension, not only does your company contribute - some will match your contribution up to a certain percentage - your pension pot is invested into stocks and shares - a bit like an isa - so over time your pot will (should) increase in value on top of your and your company’s contributions. You also have the choice to input additional voluntary contributions should you get a one off bonus, or your salary takes you over the upper tax threshold at any point. Thus meaning you will have a much more comfortable retirement.
You would also receive this in addition to any state pension come retirement.
 
The way it's going thr government are gonna be giving me a state pension at 95, so it's double down on the private pension or nothing
 
I took redundancy from a job I’d been at for 22 years. My pension from that paid out at 50 and I now work for the local authority paying into their pension! So I get my company pension and my wages. Definitely keep paying in x
 
A state pension is likely not going to allow you to live comfortably (hence why so many seniors are struggling financially) so you definitely should invest in a workplace pension which you will get in addition to the state pension.
 
I cant afford to pay into the company pension. I had to take a pension break as they deduct too much... would prefer to have the money each month to be honest
 
What would be your reason not to? The amount you contribute is worth more as it is tax free and your employer also puts in an additional contribution. The state pension will not be enough to live on by itself. Not only is it building up your pot for retirement, but if something were to happen before retirement such as dying or becoming too unwell to work, there are other benefits such as a lump sum to your nominated people on death, or able to claim ill health retirement. It’s a no brainer.
 
Because a state pension won't be enough to live on for most people. Personally I would pay in as much as you can afford and definitely as much as they match to.
 
Your choice but I would keep private. Basically it’s a win, win at the moment. You can take a quarter of each pot/scheme if you have changed employer, tax free .,State pension is no where near enough to live on considering your needs change. If you want quality of life rather than just existing in old age you needs investments or savings. Yes you will loose the state giving you extra any extra help.
No one can see the future to 30 plus years time and can not guarantee what pensions will be like then. However looking at the media a lot of young people appear to be very anti pensions getting anything but a a struggle old age. In the past as younger working people no one was outraged by their pension money supporting their parents/grandparents.
As far as I am concerned I had a letter from pension dept telling me if I didn’t pay £500 while bringing up my children and only working when my husband was home (no child care help back then and would have lost the house if I hadn’t had a job at all) then I would not be entitled to the full pension, therefore if I ‘owed ‘ money for my pension then it is now my right to have a pension I have paid for but not what is stated by them now! So I don’t trust them at all and would have a back up private pension at all costs. At the time I was not even earning £300 a month and they want the £500 in three months, just totally totally impossible when your mortgage had gone up over double, plus food etc.
 
It’s a really good way of topping up the state pension you can also take a tax free lump sum when you reach 55. My husband done this and paid off our remaining mortgage of £20,000 !! Yes this means his weekly private contributions when retiring are a lot less but that money helped us for the here and now ☺️ if you can afford to put a little away each month, most company will match it or more (all tax free) it is worth doing I never put much in over the years with working part time but it’s something ☺️
 
Thank God for my private pension. I retired at 55 whereas the state pension won’t kick in until I’m 66 and 5 months. Unfortunately I have fibromyalgia and could not have coped with working past 55. You might be fit and well now but your circumstances may change. Don’t rely on benefits, you might not qualify for them if you’ve had a good job, therefore bought your own home, had savings etc. A workplace pension is worth every penny you put in and if you can afford to top it up with additional voluntary contributions, go for it. You will thank me when you are older. Likewise a lot of people said to me don’t take your workplace pension at 55 because if you wait until you are older you will get more each month. True but my plan was to take it as soon as I could and hopefully live as long as possible. That way overall I will get more out of it than if I’d waited. Enjoy the money while you still have the energy to. Don’t know how I ever found time to go to work!
 
From how I see it (this is also watching my elderly parents with theirs too) if you can survive on the current state pension for food bills and social life then leave your work based pension.
If you can’t survive on it then have your work based pension to back it up. Google currently says it’s £203.85 p/w. That equals roughly £883 per calendar month.
Yes you won’t have a mortgage but take into account gas, electric, other bills such as food, holidays, up keep of a car if you have one, presents to buy, social life.
I’m 52 I had a work based pension when I worked in a bank then had many years working as a nurse in the private sector as nhs had no jobs when I qualified where they did not do a work based pension.
As soon as it was made compulsory to offer them I jumped and signed up. I simply am not risking my health and well-being in retirement further. Due to my job as a nurse I have a big gap of no pension, I’m dreading what life will be like post retirement.
 
Workplace pensions usually have an employer contribution, so that's essentially "free money", in a sense, as your company pays in a percentage as well. A private pension is your money only, but has been invested, so you get an amount of interest on it throughout the time you're paying in. You get your lump sum, then a regular amount throughout your retirement. The state pension is determined by the amount of tax you've paid in your lifetime, which is why there has been such uproar about women's pensions and the age change for claiming, as so many women are much worse off due to having brought up families rather than working, when this was commonplace in the 60's/70's/80's. State pension should never be affected by anything other than the amount of tax (or stamp) paid over your adult life,and private pensions are investment so essentially your own savings, and shouldn't ever be affected by any other entitlement. If people currently have never or rarely worked in their lives, they will get a minimum state pension, though will then receive benefits to whatever the current level is. Also, your state pension will start at the government set age (68 I think at the minute) whereas your private/ workplace pensions will start at the age it was set at when you started it, usually 60
 
All those on here saying you need 30 or 35 years of NI contributions to get a full state pension. Well at the moment it’s 39 years. When I looked at taking early retirement I was told I had already paid my full amount but since then the goal posts have been moved. I paid 38 years so now have a shortfall. When I asked how much I need to pay to top this up I was told I had to pay about £800. I worked out that my shortfall was just over a £1 a week, (won’t even buy you a cup of coffee these days). To get my money back would take roughly 15 years. So I decided I’d rather keep my money!
 
It depends whether you are happy to live on the basic state pension or whether you’d like more. I’d say definitely pay in. The fact the employer pays in too is great because that’s “free” money. I have only recently opted into mine and I only work part time. So by the time I get to pension age it will only pay £300 a year (if I keep making the same contributions) I almost opted out as that doesn’t seem much. But as the employer is contributing I may as well carry on paying in too.
 
Need to watch Martin Lewis when he is on This Morning or Good Morning Britain he also has a programme on ITV not sure which night but he explains everything to do with pensions and finance brilliantly,he also does a weekly email which is full of helpful information regarding investments,insurance,offers.
 
I currently pay 5% pre tax and my employer pays in 10% so I'm currently getting 15% of my salary a month. State pension is nothing and I want to live my life as well as I can. It could also able you to be able to retire early!
 
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