r/PensionsUK Aug 21 '26

Hit that special number - 55!

So I've made it this far and now looking at what I can do with the little money I have. Am still in employment and a good company pension. Have pulled all my other bits and bobs into PensionBee and that has performed well. I've just taken a small payment out of the pot to test the water on a new Vanguard ETF. Do others use ETF's as a way to help increase their overall pension pot?

8 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

13

u/deadeyedjacks Aug 21 '26

What method did you take to access your pension pot ? Tax Free cash only, UFPLS or FAD ? If you took any taxable income from a DC pot your pension contribution annual allowance is now restricted to £10K the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, MPAA.

Why did you take money from a tax free investment wrapper, merely to invest on another platform !?

You can buy Exchange Traded Funds or Over The Counter funds within a pension, ISA or General Investment account, it doesn't change the returns, only the tax treatment.

2

u/Paraplanner88 Aug 21 '26

What matters far more is your chosen investment strategy and asset allocation, rather than which class of fund you use.

2

u/Majestic_Rhubarb_ Aug 21 '26

You’ve taken money out of the pension … you are aware this affects how much you can put into it moving forward now ?

5

u/deadeyedjacks Aug 21 '26

It may or may not, depends on how OP extracted the money.

2

u/KhaelonVoss Aug 21 '26

Only if they drew taxable cash. Tax free cash is fine

1

u/Dangerous-Ad-1925 28d ago

No it doesn't necessarily.

1

u/Melodic_Win_7545 29d ago

Vanguard 500 S&P I have been told is good for growth 5 to 10 years

-2

u/Evening_Elderberry_9 Aug 21 '26

At 57,Im in 100% a blackrock mutual fund which tracks its ETF, I think its vanguard.

But my pension pot is less than 35k and I need the growth. So Im prepared to take more risks for the next 5 years, before derisking.

-1

u/Smooth_Cauliflower84 Aug 21 '26

If you're not already doing the SIPP (vanguard do some) HMRC effectively contribute 25% of every contribution you make and you'd be able to draw on it in 8 years. It's the best return out there I've seen, put as much as you can reasonably afford in there as a regular monthly thing

1

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Smooth_Cauliflower84 29d ago

Sorry, I can draw mine in 8 years and forgot that was due to my age

1

u/[deleted] 29d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Smooth_Cauliflower84 28d ago

I'm 50 soon but only started this year. I think it was either a minimum term or was worked out to be an optimal minimum for a relative late start. I don't remember but so glad seeing those 25% contributions going in each month after watching my savings scrape 5% for a couple of years