People have different reasons for putting off saving towards their retirement.
But sometimes reasons can sound more like excuses. Here are some of the more common ones:
"The Government will give me a pension"
At just over £80 a week, Britain's state pension is one of the lowest in the developed world. It may be a big shock if, overnight, that became your only source of income.
"I'll worry about that later"
Delaying will cost you – big time!
If a 25 year old delayed joining the Scheme until age 45 they’d have to pay over 5 times more each month to get the same target pension by age 65.
Even if you put off saving for a pension until you are 30, you'll have to save a lot harder to make up the shortfall. If you leave it until you're 40 then the chances are that you'll never afford to catch up – and you'll get a much smaller pension when you retire.
If you leave it too late, can you ever afford to catch up? Find out using our online Pensions Planner.
"It just costs too much"
It costs a lot more to NOT have a pension! By not joining the Scheme you're giving up help from both HBOS and the taxman. For example, colleagues in Levels 1 to 4 who save just 4% of their basic salary towards their pension will get a further 6% contribution from HBOS at no extra cost. That's equal to saving 10% of salary, hassle-free.
And don't forget that all contributions - including contributions from HBOS - benefit from tax relief. For example, if you're a basic rate tax payer, then every £100 you contribute to your individual retirement account will only cost you £78.
"I've got a house – that can provide my pension when the time comes"
Your house on its own is not likely to be a good alternative to a pension. The housing market can be risky and who wants to be faced with having to sell their house when they retire?
And even if it does provide enough cash to buy a pension, you'll still need somewhere to live!
"I'm not likely to stay with HBOS for my whole career"
Wherever you work in future, you still need to think about what happens when you retire.
Your individual retirement account with HBOS is portable so in the future you could transfer it to a new employer's scheme or to a personal pension scheme and carry on saving for your retirement.
And for as long as you remain employed by HBOS and are a contributing member of the Scheme, we'll continue to make contributions on your behalf.
