PENSION: Should you stay in a job just for the pension?

[Crowstalker]

As the title suggests should you or would you stay in a decent enough paying job with a good pension but work that you hate and dread going to with a crazy amount of responsibility and stress?

This has recently been a conversion I have had with a friend of mine who is considering packing it in for a low paid aka £11 - £12.50 hr roughly job but will have no stress, no odd hours, just turn up do the work that they actually would enjoy and then go home.

Long term they are giving up good pay and pensions etc.

Is it worth it?

Can you live comfortably enough on a low wage ie pay the mortgage and put food on the table?

 

[deerstalker.308]

Rather depends what you value in life I guess, none of us knows how long we are here for, I’d try and enjoy it personally

 

[sikamalc]

Its a sad fact with many jobs these days that you are just a number. Being loyal to a stressful well paid job does not always pay off long term in my opinion. However we all have bills to pay and of course families to support. With any job its putting the pros and cons on a piece of paper and of course the pay and then seeing if you can afford to leave a stressful job.

Fact is your health and general well being is beyond any wage that anyone throws at you, and in most instances you may have a lower income, but in general manage some how to keep paying off the bills.
As I am now getting older, its all a matter of being happy in life and contented. You can have all the money in the world, big house, fancy car, etc. But when you fall into that wooden box all of that is worthless and you cant take it with you. However you can take your memories with you.

Be happy in life, look for the simple things and the love of your family and spending time with them and close friends. All of this is priceless.

 

[JockStalk]

You are here for a good time not a long time.

 

[VSS]

No.
You might not even live long enough to get the benefit of the pension.
Do the things that you enjoy doing now, instead of always putting them off for retirement.
Yes, it is quite possible to live a comfortable and stress-free life on a low income.
I've never earned much more than 10k a year, but I do what I want, when I want, and thoroughly enjoy myself. I'd rather that than sweat my balls off doing a job I hated just for the sake of the pension.

 

[John Gryphon]

but will have no stress, no odd hours, just turn up do the work that they actually would enjoy and then go home.

And live longer and more happily.

 

[Bo Diddley]

No, I wouldn't. And I also wouldn't rely too heavily on a pension scheme paying out either, they have been close to failing already. Stress may kill you before you get to draw down on your pension.

 

[muddy42]

I presume you are referring to a final salary pension, where you might accrue a proportion of your final salary for every year you worked? For example you might accrue 1/60th of your final salary for every year you work. So someone who ends up on a 60k salary after 30 years at the company will receive 30k for the rest of their life inflation linked. Sometimes the benefits can transfer to a spouse.

Because we all live longer these types of arrangements are closed to new entrants and no company would be stupid enough to set them up as they end up costing the company a fortune. As an aside you should consider the health of the pension fund closely because many are struggling to pay out. The security of your pension is probably higher when receiving the benefits than when building them up just before retirement. I digress, but as a result they may 'do a deal' with employees to stop you accruing further benefits, basically a lump sum payment. TAKE ADVICE.

 

[howy308]

Spend and enjoy, a pal of mine died 6 months ago left £800,000 and it has gone to probate, he was not married so it looks like his daughter, who never called him dad, will end up with it. He was 62. He was obsessed with saving for his old age. Would not even buy himself a car.

 

[Cottis]

This is impossible to answer. Only the individual knows the answer. And it probably comes down to what they value the most.

Some people love expensive cars, expensive houses, nice holidays and stuff like that. It costs money. That money needs to be earned. If you can find a job that pays and that you enjoy, great. If you don't you must accept the slog for the lifestyle that the pain affords you.

Me personally, I would rather be paid in freedom and I am. Aged 27 I packed in a well paying job and took on a role where I can work when I like as long as the work is done. Since 2007 I have never woken up and not wanted to go to work. Not necessarily because I love my job but because I like it and never lose sight of the fact that it realises a work/life balance for me that is brilliant. I play golf and hunt every day if I want. I can still run a car and truck and pay my bills. Ok so I don't have expensive holidays and live the high life but that was never for me anyway. I like efficiency and freedom. That might not work for others. I will add, I don't have kids and did not burden myself from a young age with financial and social responsibility. That is also a large part of brokering a good balanced lifestyle.

Irrelevant of your outlook, it does pay to give attention to the facts of ageing. My mother took early retirement. She spent the next 4yrs travelling and loved her life after 30yrs of bad luck and hard work (she lost her husband, my dad, when she was 31 and I was 2 weeks old) that were very different to the life she envisaged. To cut a long story short, she died a handful of weeks after what whould have been her normal retirement age. Had she worked up until normal retirement age, she would not have had those 4 wonderful years of enjoying her friends and travel time. It makes me smile when I think of her face each time she came home from China, South America, the mountains, Tanzania and more. She was always a free spirit but parenthood and crap luck kept her dreams on hold. She got there in the end but only because she decided to forego the end prize for a bigger prize (to her)

 

[Crowstalker]

I presume you are referring to a final salary pension, where you might accrue a proportion of your final salary for every year you worked? For example you might accrue 1/60th of your final salary for every year you work. So someone who ends up on a 60k salary after 30 years at the company will receive 30k for the rest of their life inflation linked. Sometimes the benefits can transfer to a spouse.

Because we all live longer these types of arrangements are closed to new entrants and no company would be stupid enough to set them up as they end up costing the company a fortune. As an aside you should consider the health of the pension fund closely because many are struggling to pay out. The security of your pension is probably higher when receiving the benefits than when building them up just before retirement. I digress, but as a result they may 'do a deal' with employees to stop you accruing further benefits, basically a lump sum payment. TAKE ADVICE.

Yes execpt its not even the final salary sceme its the newer one so not as good.

It seems as others have said you could save up for retirement and not even see it.

 

[3595wilk]

I left early from my job and hence my final salary scheme 2.5 years before the 30 year mark, which is when it was due to kick in. I’d seen too many people simply hanging on for pensions, and become bitter along the way.

I jumped, got another job (with another pension) and never been happier.

More to life than money..

 

[Crowstalker]

This is impossible to answer. Only the individual knows the answer. And it probably comes down to what they value the most.

Some people love expensive cars, expensive houses, nice holidays and stuff like that. It costs money. That money needs to be earned. If you can find a job that pays and that you enjoy, great. If you don't you must accept the slog for the lifestyle that the pain affords you.

Me personally, I would rather be paid in freedom and I am. Aged 27 I packed in a well paying job and took on a role where I can work when I like as long as the work is done. Since 2007 I have never woken up and not wanted to go to work. Not necessarily because I love my job but because I like it and never lose sight of the fact that it realises a work/life balance for me that is brilliant. I play golf and hunt every day if I want. I can still run a car and truck and pay my bills. Ok so I don't have expensive holidays and live the high life but that was never for me anyway. I like efficiency and freedom. That might not work for others. I will add, I don't have kids and did not burden myself from a young age with financial and social responsibility. That is also a large part of brokering a good balanced lifestyle.

Irrelevant of your outlook, it does pay to give attention to the facts of ageing. My mother took early retirement. She spent the next 4yrs travelling and loved her life after 30yrs of bad luck and hard work (she lost her husband, my dad, when she was 31 and I was 2 weeks old) that were very different to the life she envisaged. To cut a long story short, she died a handful of weeks after what whould have been her normal retirement age. Had she worked up until normal retirement age, she would not have had those 4 wonderful years of enjoying her friends and travel time. It makes me smile when I think of her face each time she came home from China, South America, the mountains, Tanzania and more. She was always a free spirit but parenthood and crap luck kept her dreams on hold. She got there in the end but only because she decided to forego the end prize for a bigger prize (to her)

sorry for you loss,

just shows you the importance of enjyoing life when you can.

 

[Jimboblincs2]

Back in the day Scunthorpe steel works engineers referred to their pension as the golden handcuffs. Typically someone retiring at 60 would pick up approx £100,000 and £300/week. I was not jealous but slightly envious but could never have done the 44 years.

 

[Sampo]

These days choose quality of life over money. By the time you get to see any pension, the value has halved and government has come up with some reason not yo hand it to you. Unless you are making six figures, apart for tax purposes, I see no reason why anyone would want to contribute to pensions. If you can live of minimal wage with a good quality of life, its a lot better as you dont waste paying taxes and get to keep all that you earn or at least a major portion of it.

 

[Bowland blades]

Do you need your pension ? Can it be left and you sort your money by doing a job you actually would like to do ?
Always seek advice ! I wont ever fully retire but i have certainly stepped down a long way out of personal choice and situations within the family. Sometimes i really miss the money but then you dont get paid the big bucks for nothing, that is for sure .
lump sums are soon spent.
There is much to be said for taking a little job even into old age imo , folks tend to live longer with better health when they do

 

[Tazz]

Often the dilemma is while working and earning you have the money to do stuff you want to but not the time to devote to it family etc, then in later life you have lots of time but not the money, it’s all something of a balance/compromise

 

[opticron1]

As the title suggests should you or would you stay in a decent enough paying job with a good pension but work that you hate and dread going to with a crazy amount of responsibility and stress?

This has recently been a conversion I have had with a friend of mine who is considering packing it in for a low paid aka £11 - £12.50 hr roughly job but will have no stress, no odd hours, just turn up do the work that they actually would enjoy and then go home.

Long term they are giving up good pay and pensions etc.

Is it worth it?

Can you live comfortably enough on a low wage ie pay the mortgage and put food on the table?

Can the person take his/her pension with them? Can they cash in (and invest) or take a lump sum or will they have to wait until 60 or 65 to start drawing down the pension? Lots of questions.....
Work out how much they can live on comfortably, can they really do it on minimum wage/living wage? Can they still pay for treats as well as transport/holidays/stalking?
Will they be bored to tears with a job that gives them no responsibility? Sometimes a job with stress and responsibility can be a positive and rewarding thing - I've done both and the boring part errr..... drove me mad!
Get another job if it's causing them to hate it so much, but don't assume the grass is greener just because it's not as stressful.

 

[Dunwaters]

It’s not the pension, its the job. The pension is a side issue.
Some people don’t like stress or having to react on the fly to changing circumstances. They like to be told what to do.
Put someone like that into an area where they have to show a bit of initiative and they’re not happy bunnies.
Theres also a lot of people in 2 or more roles “ temporarily”, that’s hard going and you don’t get 2 wage packets.
Get out your contract and check the job description and duties, if you’re doing more than you should have a word with management, explain the problem and ask for a resolution. It helps if you’re a union member.
Either way, its a formal process, be sure to take notes and keep all correspondence.

 

[NoIDeer]

Work - life balance should never be weighted towards work. If they have a job lined up that they will enjoy being at its a no brainer.

Having said that if they only have a couple of years to do and are in good health then maybe stick it out.