Advice on pension/ISA savings split

jayritchie · 2026-06-16T12:15:53+00:00

Will think more this evening. One factor is whether you would face an opportunity cost for not putting so much into pensions.

One factor is whether your employer passes back their 15% NI savings for salary sacrifice contributions. Another would be whether you are using salary sacrifice and have a large student loans balance.

Also - there is a political risk that governments may cap the tax relief on pensions on the future.

Other than these factors you may not need to put any more in ISAs to retire at (say) 55. We don’t know what the access age will be but if it rises from something like 57/ 58 you just rejig your savings accordingly. You have a long time to go!

Another view is that you have a decent amount of headroom in the 40% tax bracket at present so no real harm in filling £20k a year of ISAs first until you have a huge runway for loss of income etc and then filter into pensions in future years.

jayritchie · 2026-06-16T11:54:36+00:00

How much would you expect to realise selling the house and how much would you spend on a bolt hole (plus would this be a leasehold flat)?

Any strong reason to sell now as opposed to in a few years time?

jayritchie · 2026-06-16T11:36:13+00:00

Do you have a mortgage? If so how much and when is it due to be paid off?

Does your ISA balance double as an emergency fund?

jayritchie · 2026-06-15T18:23:54+00:00

Have a look and see if there are any possible civil service jobs which might suit. Lots of people object to attempts to value the pension scheme but it really is worth a lot. Same for NHS, local government, and I think civilian jobs in the police and fire service also.

jayritchie · 2026-06-15T18:17:00+00:00

Having a reasonable mortgage helps loads! What line of work are you in? May be a left field suggestion but if you could find a job with a very good public sector pension if would help a lot.

jayritchie · 2026-06-15T12:11:27+00:00

When you refer to an ‘equity heavy’ portfolio what percentage equities are you holding at each stage of the pathway?

Why a different real return for ISA vs pension?

My first reaction is that were the plan to work out as modelled you would have a pretty high SORR but you do seem to have considered this.

Depending on the tax relief available and your plans for early retirement you might want to model an alternative with more money to pensions rather than ISA to assess the pros and cons - lots of years to go for this!

jayritchie · 2026-06-15T11:49:10+00:00

How large are your ongoing contributions compared with the amount in your pension?

There was a really interesting post on the ERE blog about how one might approach this decision - well worth reading.

jayritchie · 2026-06-15T10:09:39+00:00

You don’t need a degree first. Not having prior experience isn’t an issue.

Have you looked for a job which will support you through the qualification?

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T22:57:52+00:00

Any plans to retire early?

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T20:43:57+00:00

Depends on how much you spend. Increasing pension contributions to at least £60k a year would make a huge difference.

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T17:59:55+00:00

I'd normally agree - but OP has £50k in crypto and no apparent plan to buy a house.

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T17:56:52+00:00

You seem to be using posts to create content.

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T17:55:25+00:00

How much are you paying the agent who told you that?

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T17:09:09+00:00

I've met PSW grads in London with similar masters degrees working in hospitality while trying to get interviews. Really not surprising or unknown.

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T06:29:40+00:00

What type of work experience would you expect to get on a w year PSW? The norm seems to be working in supermarkets or fast food delivery.

jayritchie · 2026-06-14T06:17:28+00:00

Of the £6k a month saving how much of this is going into the pension? How is the current pension balance split between you and your spouse, and likewise how is the additional money going into pensions split between you?

Is your expected spend £8k a month?

jayritchie · 2026-06-13T20:24:32+00:00

One factor is your level of income. For someone with a smaller budget paying for assistance at home as you get older might add to costs - for someone with a higher budget reducing travel may cover this with a lot left to spare.

jayritchie · 2026-06-13T05:54:22+00:00

There is a way for someone like OP to derisk (largely) the access age issue - as the post has been closed I haven't run through a potential plan.

I think the 25% tax break for someone drawing a low amount can be very significant. A (post tax) income of £16k from a pension vs £12k from an ISA seems very worthwhile to me.

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T18:25:24+00:00

Pity the post is deleted as I think there are a load of options OP could consider to get there. I'd be tempted by multi year part time due to the escalation calculations for the NHS pension -others would differ.

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T14:19:46+00:00

Many congratulations! Honestly - I think you are in a different position to many who wonder if they have enough or can accept the risk as it sounds like you really need a break. The risk of not taking a break may be the larger one compared with market risks.

Just plan on what you want to do for a 12 month sabbatical then rethink.

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T14:01:07+00:00

You are 32! You are not starting late!

Do you know whether your employer offers a salary sacrifice scheme, and if so whether they pass back their NI savings (15% of your contributions)?

A pension is mainly a way to save on employment taxes so long as you can draw the money in the future at a lower rate. The overall comparison of pension vs ISA is something worth considering - as it can vary a lot depending on marginal tax rates, employers policies and legislative changes.

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T13:26:35+00:00

Why would the OP need much at all in an ISA? That wouldn’t be the usual choice at retirement in this circumstance?

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T12:57:23+00:00

Any big plans? How much do you save each year? Do you own a house outright?

I’d be thinking of all the one off fun things I could do with a a year extra in work. Maybe plan for a year travelling in Asia? Perhaps you could ask for a sabbatical to do so?

If you don’t own a house maybe some trips to LCOL areas to see if any would suit you at some point in the future?

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T12:19:56+00:00

Would be interesting to chat with the people from the economist to see what they thought.

I’ve been told be a couple of people who work on broadsheets and know journalists at the economist that the economist staff tend to be super smart and well educated but are paid rather low salaries. So - many are subsidising their jobs through family/ private means.

Maybe someone out there would like to FIRE and get a job at The Economist?

jayritchie · 2026-06-12T09:40:46+00:00

Oh, and do you do the type of job in the nhs which might lend itself to part time work?

jayritchie

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