I do hope 2018 is a good year for you, and the year you achieve (or at least start to achieve) some of your financial and other ambitions.
Thank you also for visiting my blog. If you haven’t already, I do hope you will sign up to receive notifications when it is updated using the box in the right-hand column.
Pounds and Sense is also on the popular Bloglovin platform. If you are a member of this free service you can get all my latest posts delivered to you with your updates (and updates on any other blogs you follow as well, of course). Just click through this link to sign up.
There is also a daily Paper.li newsletter for Pounds and Sense. This is semi-automated and curates links from a wide range of personal-finance blogs and other resources. I guarantee you will find something of interest in every issue!
Finally, if your interests also extend to writing, you might also like to check out my Entrepreneur Writer blog. I regularly share tips, advice and market information for writers and aspiring writers here. It would be great to see you there as well 🙂
Once again, I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
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I’ve talked about matched betting a few times on Pounds and Sense. Despite the name it’s not gambling but a genuine way of making a risk-free sideline income.
Matched betting involves (legally) taking advantage of bookmaker special offers. By this means you can generate a guaranteed profit for no risk, regardless of how the event/s you are betting on pan out.
Although it’s not essential to subscribe to a matched betting advisory service, if you are new to betting in particular it is highly advisable. The service I used to recommend (and where I learned the basics of the method) is Profit Accumulator. More recently, however, a range of rival matched betting services have launched, and Profit Accumulator have arguably failed to keep up with the best of them.
Today I thought I would take a look at one of the newer kids on the block, MatchedBets.com. I was kindly given complimentary access to this service so I could see what they have to offer for myself. Here’s what I found…
Table of Contents
First Impressions
The first thing you notice when you log in to the MatchedBets.com website is the bright – some would say garish – colour palette (see example below). Pastel blues, greens and pinks are particularly dominant. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of this myself. It’s readable enough, but makes it look like a site aimed at children. Personally I’d prefer to see something a bit more restrained and professional looking.
The main navigation menu is at the top right of the screen (see below). If you hover the cursor over Offers or Tools, a sub-menu will appear. It’s all quite logical and intuitive. I’d like the menu to be a bit more prominent, and it goes askew on the Information Centre page, but those are minor criticisms.
As with all matched betting advisory services, the site is organized into a number of sections. The main ones are listed below:
Information Centre
Offers
Offer Calendar
Odds Matcher
Acca Backers
Horse Racing Matcher
Calculator
Support Forum
I’ll look at each of these in a bit more detail below.
Information Centre
This is the training area of MatchedBets.com. It is neatly and attractively set out. There are 43 articles in all, covering everything from basic principles of matched betting to how to take advantage of price boosts and acca insurance offers.
The articles consist mainly of text and screen captures, with videos also used in some cases. I found the articles clear and well written. While I am already familiar with the basics of matched betting, I found some of the articles (e.g. on how to remove the iesnare tracking software used by bookmakers from your computer) genuinely eye-opening.
Offers
This is divided into seven sub-sections, as follows:
New Customer Offers
Existing Customer Offers
Accumulator Offers
Free Bet Clubs
Enhanced Odds Offers
Casino Offers
Bingo Offers
These are all pretty self-explanatory. In New Customer Offers, for example, all such offers are listed in order of expected profit, the highest first (see below).
Clicking on Instructions takes you to detailed instructions on how to apply the offer. These generally include a short video plus written instructions. Again, I thought these were very clear, and I like the way the key points of each offer are set out in checklist form at the top of the page.
Offer Calendar
This is a great feature of MatchedBets.com, and one I definitely prefer to Profit Accumulator (where you have to find the relevant topic on the forum). Just by visiting the Offer Calendar page you can see all the day’s recommended offers, along with the expected profit and a link to full instructions for doing them.
Odds Matcher
Of course, every matched betting service needs an odds matcher tool, which helps you find the best bets for matched betting offers. The one on MatchedBets.com is certainly bright and cheerful!
As you would expect, you can filter results according to sport, odds (minimum or maximum), start time, odds percentage, and so on.
One feature I particularly like is that odds are shown in real time, so you don’t have to keep refreshing the screen. This also avoids the situation that can occur using other odds matching software (e.g. on Profit Accumulator) where the information frequently lags behind, so you think you have found a great match only to discover it has already gone.
Acca Backers
As mentioned in this blog post a few months ago, accumulator offers are a particular favourite of mine. These are where you take advantage of bookmakers’ offers to refund your stake if one leg of your accumulator loses. This gives punters an in-built edge and means they should enjoy steady profits so long as they back and lay appropriately.
MatchedBets.com accumulator software offers four different ways to make money from accumulator offers: Lay Sequential, Lay at Start, Lay With Lock-In, and No Lay. All four methods are explained in the Information Centre, mentioned earlier. This is more advanced than other platforms’ accumulator tools, which typically only offer three options.
As you may have noticed, on MatchedBets.com by default you see all four types of offer listed according to their expected value (average profit generated). However, if you prefer one particular type of acca (e.g. Lay With Lock In, which I prefer personally) you can set the filter to show only this type.
Horse Racing Matcher
This is the latest addition to the suite of tools on offer at MatchedBets.com. It is provided for use with horse racing offers, e.g. your money back if your horse is second to the SP favourite. By careful backing and laying you can generate a good return when a refund is triggered and a small qualifying loss otherwise, hopefully producing steady profits overall.
The Horse Racing Matcher is still in Beta at the time of writing, but appears to be working well. As with the Odds Matcher and Acca Backers, the odds in this software tool automatically update when they fluctuate on betting exchange and bookmaker sites.
Calculator
This is another standard feature on matched betting service websites, but the one offered by MatchedBets.com is undeniably impressive. Although it looks simple at first sight (see below), it is actually a very powerful tool.
As well as standard matched betting calculations for qualifying bets and free bets, you can use it to calculate bonus on win, bonus on loss, enhanced odds as free bets, and several more. Pretty much any bonus situation is therefore covered. You can also use the calculator to work out what to do in the event of incomplete lays, and if you want to overlay or underlay a bet.
Forum
Likewise, every matched betting service needs a forum, where members can ask questions, share offers and opportunities, or just discuss anything matched betting related (or otherwise).
The MatchedBets.com forum is neatly set out and works well. It isn’t as busy as some forums, as MatchedBets.com is still fairly new and building its membership. There is plenty of good content, though, and staff are usually around to assist as required.
Another thing I should mention is that MatchedBets.com has a bet tracker tool that tracks all your betting activity automatically. It keeps keeps track of profits and bet details and displays them in your account. This makes it easy to keep track of your bets and profits, and does away with the need to maintain your own spreadsheets (although personally I still like to do this!).
One final comment is that the site is fully mobile optimized – so if you like to bet on your smartphone, you should find using MatchedBets.com a pleasanter experience than with some rival services.
Pricing
Joining MatchedBets.com currently costs £15 a month or a best value £119 a year (rising to £149 a year on 1st May 2018). That is cheaper than most other services, e.g. Profit Accumulator currently charge £17.99 a month or £150 a year. You can also sign up for a free trial, which includes access to three matched betting offers that should generate around £50 in net profits for you.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, I have been very impressed with MatchedBets.com. In my view it is a leading contender among matched betting advisory services, and I now prefer it to Profit Accumulator. Its main rival is probably Odds Monkey, another service of which I have heard good reports, although I haven’t yet had the opportunity to try it myself.
My only slight reservation about MatchedBets.com concerns the design and especially the colour scheme. Personally I would like to see this tweaked a bit so it looks less garish and more professional. That’s just my personal opinion, though.
If you are thinking of giving matched betting a go, or looking for an alternative platform once your existing advisory service subscription runs out, I strongly recommend checking out MatchedBets.com. They are adding new tools and features all the time, and joining now will ensure you have access to these at no extra cost.
As ever, if you have any queries about MatchedBets.com or matched betting generally, please do post them below.
Disclosure: This review includes tracked affiliate links. If you click through and sign up with the service in question, I will receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the service you receive in any way.
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As is customary for bloggers at this time of year, here are the top posts on Pounds and Sense in 2017, based on comments, page-views and social media shares. They are in no particular order. Obviously, I have excluded any posts that are no longer relevant.
I hope you will enjoy revisiting these posts, or seeing them for the first time if you are new to PAS. Don’t forget, you can always subscribe using the box on the right to be notified of new posts as soon as they appear.
A quick mention too for my other blog Entrepreneur Writer. If you are interested in writing I hope you will check this out if you haven’t already. I look forward to publishing plenty more posts on both blogs in 2018.
If you have any comments or questions, of course, please do feel free to leave them below.
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Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a happy and peaceful Christmas, and a fulfilling and prosperous new year.
Pounds and Sense was launched in December 2016, so it has been going for a year now. Thank you to everyone who has visited the blog during this time, and especially to all those people who have commented on my posts and/or signed up to be notified of new ones. You can do that by entering your name and email address in the ‘Subscribe’ box on the right (hint, hint!).
I hope you have found at least some of my posts of value, and they have helped you to save money and make money in these financially uncertain times. If you have any comments or suggestions for topics I ought to cover in the coming months, please do leave a comment below or contact me directly. The same applies if you would like to guest post on the blog or work with me on sponsored posts or promotions.
I’ll be back with more advice, tips and information soon, but for now I hope you have a wonderful festive season. I’ll leave you with this charming ‘Christmas Eve’ video featuring the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Enjoy!
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If you’ve spent any time at all looking online for sideline-earning opportunities, chances are you’ll have come across survey sites.
Unfortunately, you may also have discovered that many are a waste of time. So-called short surveys can end up taking over half an hour and pay the princely sum of 20p. No wonder many people get disillusioned and decide they aren’t worth the time and effort.
Well, here’s one website that definitely is. People for Research is constantly recruiting people to take part in consumer research studies. Some of these take place in large cities (London and Bristol especially) but many others are done remotely via the phone and/or the internet.
The studies cover a huge range of topics and are for the most part interesting and enjoyable. But the best thing is that they are fairly (and sometimes generously) recompensed – usually in cash, though sometimes in Amazon vouchers.
An Example
Here’s a study I took part in myself just a few weeks ago. All I knew beforehand was that it was something to do with ‘culture’. I had to complete a few screening questions and obviously passed, as I was emailed an invitation to take part.
The study was done remotely over the internet. I had to download a special meetings app called Zoom to my smartphone.
At the appointed hour I made contact with the researcher. Using the app he took me to a cinema website, and I had to perform various tasks on it, including checking the cinema’s location and finding out what films were currently showing. Then I had to book tickets (not giving my actual credit card details, obviously).
The researcher asked me to talk through what I was doing. He could see via the app how I was navigating the site and any problems I was having. All of this will presumably be fed back to the client in the interest of making their website as user-friendly as possible.
The study was fun to do and took about 30 minutes. Afterwards I sent my bank details as instructed and received my £30 fee literally the day after. That’s a rate of £60 an hour, which is more than I get for most of my freelance work!
Longer Studies
As mentioned, the studies vary widely, and sometimes involve participating over a period of several days or longer, e.g. keeping a written and/or video diary. A recent example was a study on cheese. On the website it said:
‘For this study, you will be required to make a 5-minute video each day for the duration of the study (5 days total). In this video, you will first need to state what meal you are going to make and how you are using the cheese. We’ll also want to know what other cheese brand you are replacing this one with, if applicable! After the meal, you will review it and state how it tasted, whether your family enjoyed it and any other comments you would like to add.’
For this interesting and enjoyable task, which was open UK-wide, a fee of £110 was on offer. The study in question is now closed, but new ones are being launched all the time, so it’s worth checking back regularly.
Even if there is nothing you currently want to apply for, it’s still worth taking a few moments to register on the People for Research website. You will then be notified by email when new opportunities are posted.
Top Tips
Finally, here are a few more tips on making the most of People for Research, based on my experiences with them.
Don’t expect to be accepted for every study you apply for. There are generally screening questions to answer and only people who match the profile required are invited to take part. There are plenty of new studies coming along all the time, so don’t be disappointed if you aren’t accepted for some of them.
Not all studies are advertised by email, so it’s important to return regularly to the website to see if anything new has been posted.
Some shorter studies offer prize draw entries instead of guaranteed payments. It’s your choice whether to enter these. Personally I do them if they sound interesting and I have the time, but not otherwise.
I have made several hundred pounds from People for Research since joining their panel earlier this year, and have found the people who work there a pleasure to deal with as well.
In my view, People for Research deserves a place in everyone’s sideline money-making portfolio!
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Today, in the seasonal spirit of sharing, I thought I’d list some other great blogs you might like to follow.
All these blogs are written by over-fifties and/or aimed at them. They aren’t all dedicated personal finance blogs, but they all include tips and advice on saving money, and in some cases making money and investing too. All ten are UK-based.
This is a personal finance blog by Susan Wilson. It is focused on preparing for retirement, and covers topics from solo travel to taking up a new hobby. Sample Post: Unleashing Your Inner Drama Queen.
Debt Camel is a blog by Sara Williams. Sara says: “Debt, including mortgages, is an important issue for the over 50s. The low level of pay rises and cuts to benefits have left many people in a much worse position than they would have expected ten years ago… and they have less time to improve it before retirement.” Sample Post: IVAs – Pros, Cons and Problems.
Your Money Sorted is a blog by financial coach Eileen Adamson. Eileen says: “As we get older retirement is something that begins to prey on the minds of many. Don’t ignore those nagging fears though – take action. Find out exactly how much you are likely to need in retirement, as well as how much you are predicted to get on retirement. Then take actions to help you to ensure that you are prepared effectively. The sooner you deal with it, the easier it will be.” Sample Post: Big Savings – Brilliant Tricks with Zeek Discounted Gift Cards.
Stupid is the Norm is a blog by 56-year-old Perry Wilson. Perry reveals on his website, YouTube and Facebook how he is building a fund of £300,000 in 10 years as well as repaying £10k of debt. He says it’s never too late to become wealthy! Sample Post: What Are the Odds of Becoming a Millionaire?
Much More With Less is a blog by Faith Archer aimed at anyone hoping to escape from the rat race. She says, “I blog about moving to the country, living on less and making the most of it. I cover both cutting costs and earning more from investments and pensions, so I can afford to retire.” Sample Post: Investing Isn’t Just for Men in Braces.
Joleisa.com is a blog run by 50-year-old twins Jo and Leisa, who are both teachers who have given up the rat race to live a more fulfilled, happy and stress-reducing lifestyle. Their blog features frugal lifestyle and money-saving tips. Sample Post: Don’t Order Takeaway, Make it!
Shoestring Cottage (great name!) is a blog by Jane Berry. She says, “Shoestring Cottage helps you to save money for the things you love to do, covering everything connected to living a fun but frugal life.” Sample Post: How to Make Money Selling on eBay.
So there you are – ten great blogs to check out and add to your favourites list! If you have any comments or questions, of course, please do leave them below.
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Today I am sharing an infographic about mobile phone contracts kindly provided by Handset Expert.
The graphic contains a variety of interesting information, but it focuses especially on the attractions of buying a phone with a separate SIM-only contract rather than a monthly contract that includes both.
Have a read of the infographic, and I’ll share a few thoughts of my own at the bottom.
I will lay my cards on the table and reveal that I have a SIM-only contract myself. This has always been my preference, but there are pros and cons both ways, so I’ll go through them briefly here.
On the plus side, as the infographic says, having a separate SIM-only contract is likely to work out cheaper overall. In addition, you can change phone any time just by swapping your SIM card to a new handset. And you can switch to a different network provider if you like without having to face the hassle of paying off your contract and “unlocking” your phone.
There are, though, some possible drawbacks as well. For one, you won’t be able to access technical support for your phone so easily if you buy it outright rather than on a monthly contract. In addition, you are likely to have to pay the full cost of your handset up front rather than by monthly instalments. And upgrading will involve buying a new handset rather than simply negotiating a new deal with your monthly contract provider.
Overall, though, my advice for most people would be to choose a separate SIM-only deal. This is likely to offer better value, not to mention greater flexibility. But if you prefer the simplicity of a monthly contract that covers both device and phone service and don’t mind paying a bit extra for this, you might prefer to stick with that. The same applies if you can’t afford the up-front cost of paying for the handset you want – though bear in mind that if you opt for a single monthly contact for this reason you are still likely to end up paying more money overall.
So that’s my opinion, but what do YOU think? Do you have a separate SIM-only contract or single monthly contract for your device and phone service? I’d love to hear your views!
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Today I am pleased to share with you an infographic from Ireland-based insurance company Easy Life Cover (shared with their permission). This covers various aspects of finance in retirement, which is of course a core theme of this blog.
One of the most interesting facts shared in the infographic is that 7 out of 10 pre-retirees say they plan to carry on working in retirement. This represents a sea change from the old days when most people worked till retirement, took their pensions, and lived off that for the rest of their lives.
Nowadays retirement is increasingly done in stages, with many people choosing to work part-time in the run-up to retirement, perhaps switching to a different job or role within their organisation. The concept of semi-retirement would have been barely understood fifty years ago, but is increasingly becoming the norm now. I am 61 and regard myself as semi-retired, incidentally.
And even in retirement, many people choose to continue doing some work, part-time or short-term. As the graphic says, 80% do this because they want to rather than have to. Important reasons might include using (and passing on) skills they have built up over many years, keeping physically and mentally active, and providing a source of engagement outside the home. Many older people do voluntary work, while others do paid work to help supplement their pension.
As mentioned above, the nature of retirement has changed dramatically in recent times. The old certainties are long gone. Retirement is undoubtedly more challenging than it used to be, but with people on average living longer, healthier lives, there are many more opportunities to enjoy this period of life as well. But this does mean it is more important than ever to plan carefully for retirement in order to enjoy it rather than merely survive it.
If you are retired or semi-retired, I do of course regularly list opportunities on this blog to generate extra income. They include home-based opportunities such as matched betting and part-time work in the gig economy, such as supervising property viewings for Viewber.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post and the points raised in the infographic, please do leave them below.
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Today I wanted to tell you about a smartphone app called DreamLab. You can download this free to your smartphone or tablet, to add its computing power to a massive cancer research project. Versions are available for both Android and Apple iOS.
DreamLab was developed by Vodafone Australia and the Garvan Insitute of Medical Research. While your smartphone is charging (typically overnight; hence the name), the app automatically downloads genetic sequencing profiles provided by the Garvan Institute. This information is then processed using your smartphone’s CPU and sent back to the Institute to be used in cancer research.
There are currently two projects you can support. The first one, Project Decode, aims to decode breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancers. The second, which launched recently, is Project Genetic Profile. This aims to decode brain, lung, melanoma and sarcoma cancers.
As well as the project you wish to support, you can select how much mobile data (if any) the app uses every month. Personally I only use DreamLab with my wifi, so I have the monthly data allowance set to zero. You might, though, like to know that if VodaFone is your service provider, any data used for DreamLab processing is free of charge.
The app keeps track of how many hours of computing time you have donated to the project and the number of sequencing problems your device has solved. You can also see what proportion of the overall project has been completed. In the case of Project Decode – which I am supporting – the figure is currently 69 percent. So while the project is well past the half-way mark, there is still a fair way to go.
DreamLab is a distributed computing project, which relies on volunteers donating spare processing capacity on their computers and mobile devices to a specific cause. One of the best-known such projects is SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), which uses this method to search for extra-terrestrial life by analyzing radio waves emanating from space. You can read more about this and other distributed computing projects (including DreamLab) on this Wikipedia page.
Today I thought I would discuss the state pension. This is a subject that concerns everyone, but may be of particular interest to readers of this blog who are approaching retirement age.
Of course, many people have one or more workplace or private pensions. However, the state pension is still a very important component of most people’s income in later life.
And unlike many workplace/private pensions, it rises automatically every year at the rate of inflation or above (under the current triple lock guarantee). That makes it increasingly valuable as you get older.
In this article I’ll be revealing how to check how much state pension you are due and when. But I’ll start with a look at the various changes to the state pension in the last few years and how they affect anyone coming up to pensionable age now.
Speaking of which, let’s start with one of the biggest changes…
Table of Contents
Your State Pension Age
It’s unlikely to have escaped your notice that the pension age is rising. At present men can access their state pension at 65 while women get it at around 64. The age for women is in transition at the moment as it rises to equalize with men in 2018.
By 2020, the pension age for both men and women will go up to 66. Between 2026 and 2028 it is due to rise again to 67, and under current government plans it will go up again to 68 in 2037.
You can check when exactly you can start to claim the state pension by entering your date of birth and gender at this government website.
The New Flat Rate Pension
This is the other major change to the state pension in recent years.
Prior to April 2016 everyone received a basic pension (currently £122.30 a week). This was (and still is) topped up by additional state pension elements (S2P and Serps) which you accrued during your working life.
Anyone retiring from April 2016 onwards now receives a ‘flat rate’ pension currently worth £159.55 a week. If, however, you ‘contracted out’ of S2P and Serps at some point in your working life, you may get less than this. The presumption is that your contracted-out pension will provide another source of income for you, so you don’t need (or qualify for) the full flat-rate pension.
A further complication is that the government doesn’t want people who accrued large state pension entitlements under the old scheme (basic pension plus S2P and SERPS) to miss out. So when you reach pension age your entitlement under both the old and new methods of calculation will be worked out and you will receive the larger of the two. That means some people could actually qualify for more than the new flat-rate pension (£159.55 currently). If this is the case, it will be shown separately as a ‘protected payment’ on your state pension statement.
Also, to get the maximum new flat-rate pension you need to have at least 35 years of qualifying National Insurance contributions at the full (non-contracted-out) rate. If you have less than that you will get a reduced pension; and if less than 10 years, nothing at all.
In some circumstances – which I’ll discuss shortly – you may be able to pay a lump sum to fill in gaps in your record. Even if you do have 35 years or more of contributions, though, it may not entitle you to a full pension. The government website (see below) tells me I have 37 years of contributions, but because I was contracted-out for some of these years and so paying a lower rate of National Insurance I still have to contribute for another three years to get the full flat-rate pension. Here’s a screen capture of my actual statement:
If you’re confused by all this, I’m not surprised. The rules are complicated and still being tweaked. So to avoid any nasty surprises it’s important to check what you are due to receive as well as when you are due to do so. There is now an official website where you can access all this information in one place.
Checking Your State Pension
Anyone aged 55 or over who has lived and worked in the UK for 10 years or more (even if they are not British citizens) can now visit https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension to get an estimate of how much state pension they will receive when they retire.
Doing this is a bit more involved than just checking your start date on the pension age site mentioned earlier. You have to sign in with proof of identity, so allow a bit of time for this. If you already have an HMRC online tax account, the good news is you can use this to log in.
Once you’ve done so, you will see a forecast of how much state pension you will get once you’re eligible to start receiving it. This is based on current figures, so if you won’t reach retirement age for a few years yet, it will of course have risen by that time.
Boosting Your State Pension
If you’re disappointed by the amount forecast, one thing you can do to boost your state pension is defer taking it. Under the new rules you will receive an extra 1% for every 9 weeks you put off claiming.
Obviously, to benefit from this overall you should be in good health. For women especially, as their life expectancy tends to be a few years longer than men, deferring your pension (if you can afford to do so) could well be a profitable option. In a way this is a form of investment, underwritten by the government.
No special action is required to defer taking your pension. You just delay claiming and it will be assumed that you wish to defer it.
Another thing you may be able to do to boost your state pension is buy extra voluntary contributions to fill in any gaps in your record. Buying a year of extra contributions (normally Class 3 National Insurance) costs around £733 and will boost your pension by around £230 or £4600 over a 20-year retirement. This can be well worth doing if, for example, you were contracted out for several years.
There are some restrictions, however. In particular, as a general rule it must be done within six years of the end of the tax year concerned. So if the gaps in your record go back further than this, it’s unlikely you will be allowed to make up the whole shortfall in this way.
There’s also the question whether paying voluntary contributions to fill gaps in your record will be cost-effective for you. There is no easy way of calculating this, and I highly recommend getting advice from an independent financial adviser specializing in pensions if you are thinking of going down this route. It’s also a good idea to contact the government’s Future Pension Centre to find out what your options are.
Finally , it should be said that while the state pension provides a baseline income (currently equivalent to around £8,300 a year), on its own it won’t stretch to many (or any) luxuries. Most people will have private or workplace pensions and perhaps other investments as well, and this will be very important if you hope to enjoy your retirement rather than merely survive it. I will look at these in more detail in future posts.
As ever, if you have any comments or questions on this post, please do leave them below.
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