BOSS: Future You's Pension Call
Lesson 13 of 13 in our free Pensions guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.
This lesson is in the full version.
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Questions you'll answer
You earn £26,000. Minimum auto-enrolment: 8% of qualifying earnings (pay between £6,240 and £50,270). How much goes into your pension per year in total?
Final call. What does Future You want to hear?
Quick facts
- Fact: “Auto-enrolment applies to workers aged 22+ earning over £10,000 with one employer.” — Under 22 or under £10,000 you can usually opt in.
- Myth: “Opting out has no downside if you're young.” — Young is when employer money and tax relief have the most time to grow.
- Fact: “You usually need 35 qualifying NI years for the full new State Pension.” — Check your forecast on gov.uk.
- Fact: “A free pension tracing service exists to find lost pots.” — The government's Pension Tracing Service — no fee needed.
- Red flag: “Dear Pension Holder,” — Generic greeting. Your real scheme knows your name.
- Red flag: “the government has approved a new scheme letting under-55s unlock 50% of their pension tax-free.” — No such scheme. Early access generally means huge tax charges.
- Red flag: “Click here to claim before Friday” — Deadline pressure plus a link.
- Red flag: “— our FCA number is 'pending'.” — Not on the register = not authorised. Walk away.