blonde poker forum

I've been playing poker professionally for like 3 years now, and someone mentioned to me recently I should think about paying National Insurance. It doesn't seem like I'll be doing anything else for the foreseeable future. Not necessarily intending to do it forever though (busto?), but I don't want to hinder my elder years cos I haven't thought about it now.

Looks like there's some kind of voluntary payment of £12 a week which could be the way forward, but I have no knowledge on anything like this really, and was just hoping for some advice, maybe some fellow professionals can tell me if they've bothered with this?

Any thoughts appreciated!

also make sure you fund a pension not sure how old you are but if your in your early-mid 20s then about 200-250 a month will be worth its weight in gold when you reach retirement age

How many years have you paid NI conts for? How oldish are you?

I always thought it would be cool if a poker room put 3% of your rake into a retirement fund for you, but they're not allowed apparantley.

I'm 24,

Pension is a scary word!


Precisely zero!

mate best thing you can do is tomorrow go see a couple of independant pension advisors and get a pension sorted

trying to earn a living of poker in 40 years might not seems so glamourous as it does now

and sorting out your pension sooner rather than later and you will get a better return

you really dont want to be living off a state pension when you could be getting an average salary plus when you retire

 and no NI = no state pension!.

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=40973.0

It doesn't seem glamorous now!

Also, poker has evolved so much in the last 5 years, it's so hard to say if being a professional will even be feasible in 10 years time.

Looks like I should get NI sorted then look into a pension? Will they consider me to be self-employed do you reckon. Helpline ftw?

Edit: Thanks for the link byron!!

personally i would sort pension out asap aswell as NI contributions

i personally think a pension is the most important thing an 18 year old can set up

prob best getting the cheapest (charges) poss stakeholder pension that tracks the UK stockmarket.

cue 827620782076204623045623 pension salesmen telling you that is nonsense and you should let them set one up for you

You can only be considered self employed if you are declaring for tax.

Unemployed, you can invest a maximum of £3600 a year into a pension gaining 20% tax relief.

Worth speaking to a financial adviser before setting anything up but be aware they can be expensive. A stakeholder can be set up without the use of an adviser, however don't suit everyone.

Can't remember who it was but someone was on here a couple of months back offering "free" quotation services and from what they were saying I would have avoided like the plague.

Most companies have a free quotation service on their online sites. All quotes use the same paramaters, the only difference is the charging structure. Again these will differ between advisers as most advisers have arrangements with the main providers.

I can do some checking for you and gather as much as I can.

I can't advise but I can gather facts for you to enable you to have an idea before going to an adviser.

Forewarned is forearmed etc.

Piece of fact for anyone thinking about pensions............You pay the commission to the adviser, not the life company. It is staggering the amount of clients that have queried their fund values and when given the commission amounts taken from their fund, have stated "but I was told that the Life Office pays that to the adviser"

Yes, they do, after it is taken from your fund.

Geo

Wouldn't fret too much about missing out NI so far as the rules change soon. Old rules you had to pay NI for 40 years by time you got to 65, new rules 30 years by time you get to 66/70 or whatever new retirement year they dream up. Also consider ISAs as from next year you can put up to £10.2K in them each year and the income from them is tax free when you need to take it, unlike a pension.

problem with isa is dicpline

to put money in

and

not to take it out

my pension scheme is called the sunday millions. lol .    1time

Don't get a pension in fifty years they won't exist and we'll all be fukd if u wana save just put the money under your mattress and you know wer ur at,old school ftmfw

[  ] i wish i had a pension scheme
[  ] financial advisors are mint

Dont pay either MC they are both -ev

An ISA is a plan but as iron said you would have to be disciplined.
Theres a fair few places you can stick your spare pennies each month, that will make it work a lot harder for you than watching it shrivel in a pension fund.

lol, I like this idea...

ISA sounds like a good option, less pressure to pay something in every month but more as if and when I can, I reckon I could be disciplined with that

Blogged this a few yrs ago ...think most of it still stands... skip the 1st bit of bollox aout how bad i run in 2006?! lol

http://wonkyjim.blogspot.com/2006/04/do-you-really-want-to-be-playing-full.html (http://wonkyjim.blogspot.com/2006/04/do-you-really-want-to-be-playing-full.html)

Thanks mate, good insight...

FAQ for ISA

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/isa/faqs.htm#13

NICS

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensioners/approaching-nino.htm

Only other option is Personal or Stakeholder pension. Anyone not declaring earnings for tax can only invest max of £3600 which will receive 20% tax relief. All pensions have cash accounts which gain set interest, ideally need to root around to find best deal.

For example the company I work for offer a "control account" which offers bank of England base rate. Very nice in previous years but since April 2008 it has dropped from 5% to 0.5%

Splash's blog only mentions Annuity at retirement. Annuities offer up to 25% tax free lump sum and a set income till you die. Once you die, the annuity dies with you.

Currently from 50 years of age (as of 2010 it is from 55 years of age.) you can take the Income Drawdown option. Again up to 25% of the fund paid as a tax free lump sum but a monthly or annual income paid which is then recalculated every 5 years. By the time you reach 75 you must have converted any remaining fund into an annuity.

A couple of differences on the Income drawdown:

1. Should you die whilst in income drawdown, any remaining fund goes to your estate (subject to up to 35% tax)

2. You can, if you choose, take the 25% tax free cash sum from 55 and then recycle the monthly/annual income back into another pension, gaining tax relief and also building another pot from which to take a further tax free sum at a later date.

The annuity and drawdown bits are a good bit away for you mate, but might be of use for some of the more senior members.

Geo

FWIW I have paid NI during all the time I've not worked.

No downside really, a direct debit pays it yearly.

forget pension funds or ISA funds, they are just funds!

Pensions / ISAs are just different tax wrappers around the underlying funds, hence you can invest your pension in exactly the same funds as your ISA!

Pick decent funds, not tracker funds, and the appropriate tax wrapper for you.

As for active managed vs tracker funds, I would go with active managed any day. Quick example L&G Managed +44% over 5 years vs L&G UK Index +36% over same 5 years - source trustnet.com

THIS IS NOT ADVICE!!!!!

You are not comparing the same asset class (managed funds will contain property and bonds) so this comparison is result orientated.  If comparing trackers to managed equities you should use a similar fund e.g. L&G uk equity fund (presumably there is one)

I have probably missed it somewhere, but how much is this?

Also what exactly do you get for it?

The state pension?

and....??

Paying NI would be like burning money.

Pay it into any other investment vehicle other than NI.  Retirement ages are going to constantly move skywards and there is no guarantee that by the time you retire a state pension will even exist (imo it most definately won't once personal accounts have been introduced and running for a while).

If your in dire straights by retirement age you'll get loads of free stuff anyway NI or not.  Its how this country works.  Pay nought.

You make a valid point, although the argument was really pension funds (which normally means ABC Managed fund) vs low cost trackers.

But to answer your question, L&G UK Alpha Pension fund has done 65% over five years.

A clearer conscience.

i suggest trading the conscicience in . i got three magic beans for mine. 

If you are looking at investing in equities for a Pension you shouldn't look at 5 year performance but 15 or 25 yr ones  and as you get to within 5 years of your intended R day you should move into cash etc. Anyone who still has their whole fund in equities in the year before cashing in deserves to lose a big chunk of their pension.

If you are not working but you are claiming child benefit then the following can apply - Obv depends wether your partner is working or not

quoted from the child benefit website

How Child Benefit can help protect your basic state pension

Home Responsibilities Protection, known as HRP, is a scheme, not a benefit, which helps to protect your basic State Pension if you don't work, or if you work but your earnings are low and you are unable to pay enough National Insurance Contributions for State Pension purposes.

You get HRP automatically for each full tax year that you get Child Benefit for a child under 16. If you are entitled to HRP through Child Benefit for a child under the age of 6, your HRP will enable you to automatically build up entitlement to an additional State Pension through State Second Pension.

Only the person who has claimed and been awarded Child Benefit can get HRP. So it is very important to decide carefully who should claim Child Benefit and get HRP.

Again I agree, but few fund managers have 25 yr track records, and I was simply illustrating that trackers are not that great!


They deserve to because?