Few days ago, while taking part at an event, for the Guys & Dolls musical premiere, I had the pleasure of meeting Sir John Hurt (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000457/) a brilliant actor and an amazing human being. For those who know my good friend Dima, that level of kindness and humbleness. Here it is in this picture to the right of Simon Thomas (http://www.hippodromecasino.com/about/simon-thomas-ceo-and-chairman) who is just as noble and humble person.
Self-employed Pensions.
Probably not the most popular subject, but definitely an educative one.
Those cheeky employees, like my girlfriend, have everything set up for them by their employers. While us, the clever freelancers have to make our on arrangements.
Well, here are some benefits and a couple of tips, if you are a smart self-employed like me and you want to take care of future you, by setting up a private pension:
Why be smart.
State pensions are as small as £155.65 / week and it looks like in the future it will go down even further.
Good pensions plans, are managed by professionals and they are also diversified, spreading your invested amount across a range of funds including: bonds, cash and assets, which is better than, let's say, a property investment, where all your money are invested in on place, making it a high-risk investment.
The government contributes to your private pension, in form of a tax relief, with a standard rate of 20% and even double if you pay a higher rate tax.
If you happen to die, before the age of 75, your pension, if under 1 million, can be passed on to your beneficiary, without any inheritance tax deduction.
From 2028, you will have the option to withdraw up to 25% without paying any tax and after, withdraw the rest as often as you wish, subject to your tax rates at the time.
How to get started.
Find out any existing pensions from previous workplaces, by asking your pension provider, your old employ, or by going on the government's Pension Tracing Services
https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
If you already have one, find out the amount you have accumulated so far.
Look into the existing plan and find out: what are the fees, how will your money be invested, how will you be able to manage your pension, are there minimum contribution levels? and find out if it's worth restarting your contribution towards this pension plan, or starting a new one.
If you don't have a pension plan already set up, or you want to move your existing one to a new plan, here are a couple of types of private pensions: personal pension, a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), or a stakeholder pension.
Chose the best plan for you asking the same question as above mentioned and decide how much you want to put away. Some suggest aiming for 15% of your salary. I think maybe look up a pension calculator, to help you decide the amount per no. of years.
You can also pay an ad hoc amount instead of a fixed amount every month.
It's recommended to keep an eye on your investment to see how are they performing so preferable try to get one of this pensions that can be managed online.
Risk.
As with any investment, pension plans have their on risk and so the value of your pension may go down, as well as up. So be aware and try to keep an eye on its progress.
I know this might not be enough for some of you, but none of the less, I hope this will open some of your, guys and girls, appetite for more information and in the end, you will end up making a good decision.
All I ask of you, is to buy me a beer, next time we met, if you learn something from my post and end up making a good investment towards the future you.
Ps.
And also comment and 👍 my post if you agree with me, or just think that the picture I chose is suitable for the article ;p
http://ift.tt/2dfqudY