Tony Watts worked as a chef for most of his life, including as head chef at several restaurants, before later taking over as manager of a fish and chip shop. But while he was focused on getting through each month, he never properly planned for retirement.
Tony, now 65, from Yorkshire, joined a workplace pension scheme early in his career, but later opted out when he was struggling with debt and needed as much take-home pay as possible. He then continued opting out of pension schemes throughout much of his working life.
Although his original pension pot continued to grow, by the time he turned 55 it was worth just £8,000 – nowhere near enough to fund a comfortable retirement. As soon as he was able to access it, Tony decided to cash in the whole pot and use the lump sum to clear his debt.
Shorts
Tony later began saving into a pension again from scratch, but three years ago he was made redundant.
