Comparing the 9 to 5 Working Life Vs Investing in Property

Analysing where we are likely to end up if we work the 9 to 5 and pay into the average pension rather than taking control and investing in the property market for income.

Traditionally we are told to pay into our pensions and buy our own home and then live a happy life, but what if we actually took a moment to realise that just doing average is just not good enough when it comes to the point of retirement.

With the national average wage currently set at £27,600 a year, those who save the 8% minimum pension contribution would have to work until age 77 in order to achieve what is coined as the Gold Standard pension of two thirds of their pre-pension salary.

Even if you were to achieve the Silver Standard of half your pre-pension salary you would still have to work until you are aged 71 with no breaks.

This no doubt paints a rather bleak picture for most of you. Of course those calculations are based on today, who knows where the goal posts will be in 20 years’ time.

The idea of winding down as we get older appears for many as an unachievable ideal. If you are banking on your pension giving you a retirement of comfort it could be wise that you now, consider other alternatives to boost your savings so that you are ultimately taking control of your financial future and perhaps setting yourself up for a more ideal retirement.

Even investing in property can lead to a situation where you find yourself with the option to move away from employment altogether and become financially free and independent of relying on the need to actually go to work.

Property values are continuing to increase, bank savings rates are continuing their declines, pension pay-outs are falling but the buy-to-let residential market is booming here in the UK and perhaps now the market is primed for a stretch of growth.

An average rent is now £743 a month and with the population in the UK rising rapidly we are seeing internal migration increase along with people living longer. This means that currently an investor purchasing a property at the right price in the right area is able to see a good 9 to 10% NET from the rents whereas the return from a pension averages an abysmal 4.3%.

FJP Investment is a team of investment specialists sourcing a wide range of investment opportunities both in the UK and overseas, including buy-to-let property investments.

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Annual house price growth halves in September

UK annual house price growth halved to 0.8% in September, from 1.6% in August Northern Ireland remained best performing region, with prices up 5.9% year on year in Q3 2026 East Anglia weakest performing region, with annual decline of 0.7% Terraced properties were the strongest performing property type, with a 1.8% rise, whilst flats remained…
Read More →
Estate Agents should not all look the same
Estate Agent Talk

Homesellers say valuation appointment is key

Nearly nine in 10 home sellers say the valuation appointment is key when choosing an estate agent   The latest research from GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that the valuation appointment remains one of the most influential stages of the home selling journey, with almost nine in 10 sellers saying it played an important role when deciding which…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

London’s rental market bucks the national trend

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that rental demand in the capital is up 7% in September while Great Britain overall is 2% below last year Rental demand in London had been running around 7% below 2025 levels on average throughout 2026 until the end of August before moving into growth…
Read More →
Breaking News

Higher mortgage rates put buyers in the driving seat

Market conditions vary locally: three in four Scottish homes find a buyer within three months, compared with just three in ten in London   Mortgage rates now average 5.2 per cent, the highest level in three years, adding £150 a month (£1,800 a year) to typical repayments and further cooling buyer demand Homes for sale…
Read More →
Breaking News

Prime London buyer demand cools in Q3

he latest Prime London Demand Index by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals that buyer demand across London’s core prime property market cooled during the third quarter of 2026, falling by -1.3% on a quarterly basis. However, a number of central London markets bucked the wider trend, with demand across the super-prime sector…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 30/9/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. SaaS traditionally sells access, AI sells outcomes Thought Leadership by Author Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR For twenty years, one of the safest assumptions in property technology has been that software companies will become increasingly important. A property business identifies an inefficient process, a proptech company…
Read More →