Pension stuff, how's it all looking ? HAve you prepared ?

[MyLittleStudPony]

My rather unimpressive Vanguard took a hit last month because of the shenanigans in the Gulf (4.64% drop).

This month it's back up 4.98%, so just a minor short-term hiccup.

Yeah this week mine is at the highest its ever been. I'm not unhappy with that

I was going to buy into the dip but, truth be told, I don't have a lot of spare cash floating about currently. Kicking myself now.

Did prompt me to revisit my work DC scheme and have a review. One of my best performing funds is the Islamic Growth Fund I've got 15% in. Praise be to Allah, indeed.
And because fortune favours the brave, I've reduced my holding in the Steady Growth Fund as it was lagging.
Retirement risk reduction, be damned!

God, I know how to live an exciting life...

I had plans to buy the dip, but I thought the low would be further away and lower.

I'm still amazed the S&P is so high and the FTSE's doing pretty well. The US / Israeli war on Iran is still going, the ceasefire is pretty shaky and there's talk the impacts will be long lasting even if it did completely end today. I'm amazed the markets have rebounded so soon and so strongly.

[JackyJoll]

l one guy said he'd cashed in his final salary scheme to put into another pension pot to use as draw-down when he retires.

Probably depends on the details of the pension, the value of it and what other things a person has in their stash.

Obviously I don't know his personal details.

If - and enrolling was, back then, voluntary - he had a DB then it was for, probably, more years than I had (16/60ths) in the scheme. Plus, he could have taken it at age 65 whereas he won't get state pension at 67.

And they have the second property as a lump sum.

Some of us are having to get by on 80ths.

[Horse]

Probably depends on the details of the pension, the value of it and what other things a person has in their stash.

Obviously I don't know his personal details.

If - and enrolling was, back then, voluntary - he had a DB then it was for, probably, more years than I had (16/60ths) in the scheme. Plus, he could have taken it at age 65 whereas he won't get state pension at 67.

And they have the second property as a lump sum.

Some of us are having to get by on 80ths.

Just as well farthings are no longer legal tender, eh?

[JackyJoll]

Obviously I don't know his personal details.

If - and enrolling was, back then, voluntary - he had a DB then it was for, probably, more years than I had (16/60ths) in the scheme. Plus, he could have taken it at age 65 whereas he won't get state pension at 67.

And they have the second property as a lump sum.

Some of us are having to get by on 80ths.

Just as well farthings are no longer legal tender, eh?

That’s a 960th.

[Supermofo]

I don't think people put enough thought into their overall employment packages, a decent pension where the employer is bunging a big wad in every month is a massive creeping benefit.

It's been said before but kids need to get taught this stuff along with the three Rs, in decades to come if you haven't got a decent pot then retirement is going to be a thing of the past and people will work until they drop on the job. I've always felt a huge pressure to try and leave the kids enough to bridge the gap, The Pony is right really, the toxic elderly really have buggered the future up.

One of the reasons I'm staying put at the moment, my employer matches my contributions up to 11%. It was 6% till I hit 45 then went up to 11%.

[IccyV2]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75kp1y43lgo

No surprises here…except it seems for the deputy governor of the Bank of England*, who is announcing this like it’s news no one already had.

* Apart from Rachel Reeves who didn’t see it coming and changed ISAs to try and force people to throw their money away.

[Yorick]

My free Govt beer tokens has just gone up to £1001.75

[gremlin]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75kp1y43lgo

No surprises here…except it seems for the deputy governor of the Bank of England*, who is announcing this like it’s news no one already had.

* Apart from Rachel Reeves who didn’t see it coming and changed ISAs to try and force people to throw their money away.

There's a couple of issues bubbling away that could prove to be the financial straw:

As you say, bloated stock market. There are quite simple calculations to work out how much one share should cost, which is of course just an indicator. Many factors can swing the actual price up or down. Apply those tests to the entire FTSE or DOW and you can get an idea how over/undervalued the market is. Current 'guesstimates' range from c. 110% to 180%. Even when economists agree, they can find room to disagree on what they are agreeing about. A lot of this bloat can be attributed to the AI frenzy, which seems to be promising lots but delivering less in terms of actual bottom line expectation.

Conversation are being had around private credit lenders and the amount they're leveraged. Generally people have short memories, but the Global Crash is kind of imprinted on many people's brains. The market boomed, not least in the UK as banks were restricted from certain lending (oh, the irony). Some are reporting sharp losses, others restricting investors from withdrawing their money. Slow burn run on these institutions? Maybe.

Add in the perennial favourite of high oil prices and you do get a whiff of the global fuck up stars aligning.

The $64 billion question is when and how severe? Tell people it's going to rain every morning and eventually you'll be proved right, of course, but how many sunny days will you have missed?

[weeksy]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75kp1y43lgo

No surprises here…except it seems for the deputy governor of the Bank of England*, who is announcing this like it’s news no one already had.

* Apart from Rachel Reeves who didn’t see it coming and changed ISAs to try and force people to throw their money away.

There's a couple of issues bubbling away that could prove to be the financial straw:

As you say, bloated stock market. There are quite simple calculations to work out how much one share should cost, which is of course just an indicator. Many factors can swing the actual price up or down. Apply those tests to the entire FTSE or DOW and you can get an idea how over/undervalued the market is. Current 'guesstimates' range from c. 110% to 180%. Even when economists agree, they can find room to disagree on what they are agreeing about. A lot of this bloat can be attributed to the AI frenzy, which seems to be promising lots but delivering less in terms of actual bottom line expectation.

Conversation are being had around private credit lenders and the amount they're leveraged. Generally people have short memories, but the Global Crash is kind of imprinted on many people's brains. The market boomed, not least in the UK as banks were restricted from certain lending (oh, the irony). Some are reporting sharp losses, others restricting investors from withdrawing their money. Slow burn run on these institutions? Maybe.

Add in the perennial favourite of high oil prices and you do get a whiff of the global fuck up stars aligning.

The $64 billion question is when and how severe? Tell people it's going to rain every morning and eventually you'll be proved right, of course, but how many sunny days will you have missed?

Is it a case of the market will crash of it's own accord, or now because everyone is banging on about it all the time which will cause people to be overly cautious and cause the market to crash because of the scare-mongering..

We often reap what we sow and the doom and gloom merchants will have their day.

[gremlin]

Is it a case of the market will crash of it's own accord, or now because everyone is banging on about it all the time which will cause people to be overly cautious and cause the market to crash because of the scare-mongering..

We often reap what we sow and the doom and gloom merchants will have their day.

Good question. It may be a case of a lot of the buy-side trades being dealt by algorithm: model sees a rising market and trades to buy into it. I'd like to think that there are humans overseeing the algo's and applying some human common sense, but at the end of the day they're only doing what humans do. Plus, who wants to step away from the roulette table when they're winning?

Talking down the market when it's bullish is, I think, like telling everyone at a party to maybe turn the music down a bit and think about ordering a taxi. It's when the smaller investors see the whales changing tack they'll follow suit and then the withdrawal becomes a rout.

IMO, market corrections aren't the be-all and end-all. I'd be more weary of another liquidity squeeze, which is what triggered the 2007 credit crunch. When the liquidity dries up, it fucks everything.

[Horse]

Worth noting some interesting 'good' news:

As of April 2026, the United Kingdom has reclaimed its position as the world's 5th largest economy, with a nominal GDP of approximately $4.26 trillion, placing it just ahead of India. The UK surpassed India due to faster nominal growth, while India dropped to 6th. The top four are the US, China, Germany, and Japan.

Key Economic Rankings (Nominal GDP - Early 2026):
1. United States: ~$30-32 trillion
2. China: ~$14-20 trillion
3. Germany: ~$5.0-5.4 trillion
4. Japan: ~$4.2-4.3 trillion
5. United Kingdom: ~$4.26 trillion
6. India: ~$4.13 trillion

[Cousin Jack]

Barclays took a hit on some non standard lenders recently. A blip? Or a sign that credit is going to be squeezed?

[Count Steer]

I suspect the narrative from the BoE is to try and let some of the exuberant froth out of the markets rather than waiting for it to go pop!

By most reliable methods the main markets are overvalued and we've been in the 'every man and his dog thinks investing is an easy way to make money' territory, just like all previous bubbles. People happily ignore the fact that you've made absolutely nothing until it's in your pocket/bank account.

Markets go up, markets go down...sometimes they go down rapidly. There are enough warning flags re AI/tech and the state of lending/debt out there to suggest it might just be sensible to ease into a more defensive approach - protect what's been gained and free up cash ready for the buying opportunity that's coming. Might mean missing out on the final flurry of optimism that always seems to happen just before things go really south but hey ho, better than timing it wrong and watching all that virtual profit evaporate.

[Taipan]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

[Yorick]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

Best decision you'll ever make

[Horse]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

That time will go quickly!

[Pirahna]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

A good choice. May 1st next year is a Saturday, April 30th sounds better and it's only 363 days away.

[Taipan]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

A good choice. May 1st next year is a Saturday, April 30th sounds better and it's only 363 days away.

Might bring that forward to my birthday on March 6th as I'm not sure going another few weeks brings any more pension benefits? Will ask the pension people if i need to complete a full tax year or if its my birthday date that matters?

[Count Steer]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

So this could be your last motorbike?!

Or should we start a sweep on how many bikes you can fit in between now and then?

What made you decide to quit? I thought you were inclined to carry on given that you enjoy what you do.

[Yorick]

Retiring 1st of May next year.

So this could be your last motorbike?!

Or should we start a sweep on how many bikes you can fit in between now and then?

What made you decide to quit? I thought you were inclined to carry on given that you enjoy what you do.

Maybe Mrs T wears the trousers in that house ?