pension or life cover ?

[kronas]

ok, i maybe young but im always thinking about the future, so i have been thinking about either taking out a personal pension for the future or making inroads to obtaining a life policy, in the long run at this time i can only afford one of these, so for the foreseeable future which would be best to start off first ?

opnions and thoughts are welcomed

a pension is for you, life cover is to benefit people who depend on you.

- in your case I would imagine a pension would be the first consideration.

As homealone pointed out, go for the pension.

Hit the highstreet and talk to some independant financil advisers, and see what they say.

[kronas]

Originally Posted by homealone

a pension is for you, life cover is to benefit people who depend on you.

i thought it would feasable to set a life policy up even for yourself (at the present time) ?

I've been looking online reciently at life cover.

The policy was £143 per month for 5 year Term Life Cover. £1 million if killed or £500k if critically injured. Thing is with insurance, you pay for however long the term is and may not make a claim. So you basically loose thousands of pounds, for no return.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by kronas

i thought it would feasable to set a life policy up even for yourself (at the present time) ?

Nope, life assurance pays out if you die, and is designed to ensure your wife and kids aren't left destitute, and can pay the mortgage etc. There's absolutely no point buying it at your stage in life. Money you put into a pension now though, is worth its weight in gold. If you can save for a pension for the best part of 50 years, you will be much better off than if you leave it.

[Xaccers]

Unless you have dependants (kids or a partner) there's no point having life insurance.
Better to put any spare cash into a pension, the sooner you start, the larger the pension should be (in theory)

WARNING! Your interest in this topic may go up as well as down.

[kronas]

Originally Posted by towny

Nope, life assurance pays out if you die, and is designed to ensure your wife and kids aren't left destitute, and can pay the mortgage etc.

yep i realised that but you never know if you'll ever meet 'the one'

Originally Posted by towny

There's absolutely no point buying it at your stage in life. Money you put into a pension now though, is worth its weight in gold. If you can save for a pension for the best part of 50 years, you will be much better off than if you leave it.

to be honest i was going to go for the pension, a personal pension, it seems the most flexible for me....

[Chris]

Originally Posted by kronas

yep i realised that but you never know if you'll ever meet 'the one'

Of course you will.

But life assurance isn't a savings plan - it won't be worth any more if you die after paying into it for 5 years instead of just 6 months. The benefit will always be the same, so as with any insurance policy, don't take it out until you actually need it.

to be honest i was going to go for the pension, a personal pension, it seems the most flexible for me....

A very sensible idea

[Chris W]

To be honest i would put it in a high intest savings account, and save it towards the deposit on your first house. After all, your not going to need a pension until you are at 65 (or sooner possible) but you will probably want to buy a house before then!

I put money every month into a 120day notice account with the Bradford and Bingley, and it is surpising how quickly it builds up.

I personally am not going to start paying into my pension until i have saved a fair amount and settle down (maybe five years time) and i agree with what Xaccers said- no point in having life assurance until you have some dependants.

MB

[Xaccers]

Although, at your stage in life it may be a better idea to put the money into a high interest ( ) account to save for a deposit on your first home.

D'oh MB beat me to it

[kronas]

Originally Posted by towny

But life assurance isn't a savings plan

thats why my plan (the original one) is to go for a pension, then try and setup a savings account, only for extreme emergency use something extraordinary.

edit MB and Xaccers must be smoking the same dope i see your point guys hence my reply to towny above just noticed both of your posts, i shall be taking a look at all the branches in my town and see which gives me the most benefit on savings, suited to my needs, although im stuck for someone providing me a pension, who to trust..........

[Tricky]

Kronas - Go speak to a financial advisor - Don't stick to one company as many will only sell their own products (or those that give them the highest commission!!!). Pensions are a real nightmare to understand but you are the right age to start thinking about it. Remember the earlier you start generally the earlier you can retire and start to enjoy life.

[Maggy J]

Errrr...you can put money into a short term insurance policy.I have done this on two occasions.They are both specific 15 year policies.One has already matured(for eldestborn's university career and was very useful)the other is due just about the time the youngest is at university.

Of course at the time I took them out they were really for use as a means of giving my offspring a springboard into life(house deposit,buy a car) but due to this fecking government's ineptitude the first was used for everyday living expenses for eldest whilst at uni.BAH!

I'll never forgive them for the way they screwed up so many young lives.Barstewards!

Anyway IF you are not considering any form of further education maybe it might be better to concentrate on a pension.However be very careful and get some really good professional advice about this.Ask more than one source.

Incog.

[kronas]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Anyway IF you are not considering any form of further education maybe it might be better to concentrate on a pension.However be very careful and get some really good professional advice about this.Ask more than one source.

Incog.

i am thinking of doing a part time course, or (additional) part time work, this decision has not yet been made.

as for the advice, any pointers anyone, to some advisors ? where would i find them ?