How little is too little for a pension?

Interesting Stansgran - I agree with the posters who say it's worth having.

It did remind me that workplace/occupational pensions were not available to all employees up to and including the 1960s/early 70s.

They were not available to most workers who were weekly paid, or 'on the clock', only to salaried and 'office staff'.

Most of the hourly/weekly paid - especially in manufacturing industry only had the state pension to rely on.

If you have a small pension from whatever source, other than the UK's miserly offering, then hang on to it like grim death.

£6.16 every 4 weeks,

I had an old account with the Abbey National that I'd opened as a kid away back in the 70s for holiday money. My parents were having a clear out and found the book so went into a local branch. There was £6.50 in the account and when they rung up the interest (after 30 years) it came to a staggering £6.61! They then wanted to charge me £10 to close the account until the manager came over and said to wave the £10 fee and give me a £10 for my "loyalty after all those years"

I inherited some of those from my father annsixty. His minute holding was divided equally amongst his children, so it's nothing really, but a bit better than yours. I looked at getting rid of them but it's so complicated I gave up. I guess when I die they'll be divided again!

A diversion, sorry.
In the days when building societies were being taken over by banks and customers were given shares free,we had money in the Halifax BS.
We received a lot of shares in TSB. When we eventually sold them I made a mistake and sold 5 less shares than we had.
These somehow went to 3 when Lloyd's took over.
Every year I receive a dividend, this year it was .03 pence.
I really should frame them but they go in recycling.

Yes I have a Swiss pension, but it's about £550 a year. Real pain, yes, I have to go to the Council Offices and even worse I have to fill in an Tax Return as it's foreign earnings. But that's not bad for a mornings work. Shows you how lazy I am now.

I think I'll go with Maggie's suggestion although I'd say the stamp is about £2 so when the pension drops below that then I'll play dead!

I took out an additional pension with Prudential for a couple of years till it was shown to be not a good idea - so I get £34 a year from them - less than £3 a month Petra

In the 1960s I and my employer paid into a private pension run by an Assurance company. Over a couple of years about £250 was paid in and when I left I was told this amounted to a pension of £10 a year. This money remained invested with the insurance company for about 40 years, each year earning, no doubt some interest from them.

This was before all the legislation protecting frozen pensions and saying that such frozen pensions should receive interest etc. When I got to 60 I wrote to the Legal General and they told me that the capital and income stream remained at their 1968 value, roughly £250 and anannual pension of £10.

To say this made me angry is an understatement. In current money values I had contributed several thousand pounds to this pension and all I could get from the L&G was £170, after tax or £10 a year. I couldn't bear to have an annual reminder of the way I felt I had been cheated so I took the £170 and put it in my bank account where it could get 'lost' among the other money I had in my current account.

I still seethe at the thought of the way I was cheated over this small pension.

Can anyone beat £6.80 per month?

My husband gets a small annual pension from Switzerland where he worked for 3 years. He wanted a lump sum but it wasn't an option so we hope he lives to a ripe old age and it costs them more!!?

I get £40 a month from an annuity my late husband had - he had forgotten about it and I found out by chance after he died. It's not a big pension and if they still paid widows' pension that would be more, but it all helps. Better in my pocket than with the insurance company!

My late husband wrote books and even now I get a small amount in inherited royalties each year. Less than a hundred but it's nice to think he's still handing it over! (smile)
I do say thank you.

It is all grist to the mill! ?

Totally agree. It's your money and you deserve it, no matter how small.

I would rather it was in my pocket than lost in the system, so anything more than say, a pound, would be fair game.

As long as it's less than the cost of the stamp, I'd keep sending the form in. Even one bottle a year's worth having!

H would have got £40ish a year from an old works pension dating back to '70s. He chose to take it in a lump sum of about 300-400 quid.

Every year on my birthday I get £250 from a very small pension I paid when I foolishly forayed into the Private sector from the NHS for three years. I don't think that's a small amount its very welcome and pays for a nice treat for us both.

My DH gets £31 per month from an old private pension he didn't even remember having. We tend to think it's £31 more than we did have, so...... Could buy about 6 bottles of Aldi Toro Loco wine for that (if we had a mind to) which is great so definitely worth having.

I don't drink much, don't drink wine, and wouldn't know the price of a good wine.

How little is pennies. I paid into a fund which did not have the positive result that was projected when it was sold to me. Once a year I get a lump sum, £340. Might be pennies to some, it pays my car insurance

If things are really tight even just one would be good!