Around one in four Britons aged 50+ currently have no private pension savings, according to research by insurance group SunLife. While the State Pension obviously provides some support, it’s no secret that it doesn’t come close to covering the bare minimum. And with the cost of living continually rising, the gap’s only getting wider.
However, by acting quickly, even a 50-year-old still has time to build up a substantial £300,000 nest egg for retirement. Here’s how…
The three-step plan
Step one: open a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). This is a powerful retirement investing vehicle that provides tax relief from the government on all contributions – a critical advantage.
Step two: start putting aside some money each month from a paycheque and add it to a SIPP.
Step three: invest this money by drip feeding capital into high-quality shares and letting compounding work its magic.
That could be all investors need to do to aim for a £300k pension pot. And depending on when they plan to retire, this nest egg could end up being substantially larger.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Reaching £300k+
When someone adds £700 each month to their SIPP, the government automatically tops up this balance to £875 thanks to 20% income tax relief. And on average, the UK stock market has generated a historical annual return of around 8% over the long run.
If a 50-year-old plans on retiring at age 65, then investing £875 a month at an 8% rate for 15 years translates into a pension pot worth £302,783.
But if they’re willing to delay retirement by two years until age 67, that grows to £377,823. And for those able to keep contributing until age 70, compounding transforms this nest egg into just over half a million!
By comparison, the average pension pot size in the UK is around £145,900. And it just goes to show that with some consistent, prudent investing, it’s possible to unlock a massively superior retirement.
Earning 8%+ a year
Replicating the stock market’s performance is pretty straightforward with a low-cost index tracker. The only catch is that past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns. As such, a pension could end up being much smaller than expected when retirement comes knocking.
This is where stock picking offers a potential solution. By investing directly in high-quality companies, a SIPP can go on to generate vastly superior returns. Just ask anyone who’s been buying Howden Joinery (LSE:HWDN) shares over the last 15 years.
The fitted kitchen specialist has generated an average of 16.1% annually over the last 15 years, transforming a £875 monthly investment into £652,925. And looking ahead, the business looks set to continue thriving.
Even with higher interest rates subduing the home renovation market, Howden has continued to outmanoeuvre its industry rivals, stealing market share in the process, both in the UK and in France.
Prolonged weakness within the UK housing market is undeniably a handicap for growth. And inflation has only added to this pressure, resulting in fairly flat returns over the last five years, perfectly demonstrating the cyclical risk surrounding this business.
But looking out to the next 15 years, the company has plenty of runway to expand and reward shareholders. That’s why I’ve already added Howden to my pension portfolio.
