#519805
Postby Snakey » August 4th, 2022, 2:07 pm
I'm 50 and I only have to contribute this current year and I'm at the max. The 35-years-or-GTFO thing is only for those starting their "pensions journey" after 5 April 2016 or whatever the date was (plus I actually did pay it or have it credited ever since 1987/8, missing only two years in my late teens when my dodgy employer wasn't paying anything over despite making deductions).
My deep-seated psychological issues around money are spinning like a buttered cat array lately. On the one hand, I have an unexpected amount of freelance coming in and that, plus the fact that I decided not to travel until the whole Covid/disruptions thing sorts itself out, makes me relaxed because my bank balance is increasing and for the first time ever I don't feel like that's money I "owe" to my future self. On the other hand, my pensions/investments have dropped by £115k since 6 April, which dwarfs the few grand coming in here or there from the freelance. So my future self might be a bit shafted. The question is, how much is "a bit" likely to be, and - since it's not going to make the difference between eating or not - do I care enough to step in at the expense of my options today?
Sorry Darka I don't have anything helpful to say! I think I'm pretty much saying the same as you and everyone else.
I was having a bit of a moment the other day when I was reading about double-digit inflation and price caps and recession, at the same time as crystallising chunky pension losses (albeit only while I moved provider), and found myself thinking: wait, am I going to need to go back to work? That's what reading the news without the calming effect of dozens of people in the office not caring a damn does to you! Actually, our plans - that's mine and yours - were stress-tested to still work out fine in a variety of scenarios, and we're still well within that range today. We aren't the sort of people who go full-steam ahead with "dream big!" plans which could only ever work provided nothing at all goes even slightly wrong at any point. So we'll be fine whatever.
My conclusion, in the end, was that my portfolio will make its own money (this is the flip-side of my comment above about market movements making my earned income look like chicken-feed), and that the reason I'm invested is precisely because I have faith that it will all work out in the end. I'm no longer fussed about saving more. What I am struggling with though is starting to spend before I end up saving by default!