A Place In The Sun presenter Sara Damergi explains why you should ditch your pension for a second home

Saving into a pension scheme is just common sense, right? Not according to A Place In The Sun Presenter Sara Damergi.

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The 40-year-old TV presenter said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday that she doesn't trust paying into a pension scheme and thinks investing in property is the best way to save up for retirement.

'I have got a two-bed flat in Catford, South London, which is my pension pot,' the presenter said. 'I know there are tax advantages to saving into a pension, but even so, in my opinion, there is no better way to invest than in property.'

 The presenter went onto explain that: 'I just do not trust pension schemes – I believe property is more secure, especially long-term. If you invest in a property in your 20s or 30s for your retirement, I would say it's extremely unlikely that by the time you come to sell the property that it will be worth less than what you paid for it.'

Saving up for a property in your 20s if you not on a TV presenters salary can be tough. However, scrimping and saving to get on the property ladder as soon as possible could help leave you more financially secure in the long term.

In fact, Sara Damergi, says her biggest money mistake was not hopping onto the property ladder earlier. 'I've got a couple of properties in London now, but I could have bought my first one when I was in my early 20s,' she explains. 'Instead I wasted money on clothes and having a good time. I was 30 years old when I finally got on the property ladder.'

'I hope that by the time I retire, the value of my Catford flat will have gone up significantly,' The Place In The Sun present continues. 'I expect I will have earned a better return than if I had invested in a pension.'

However, with Brexit uncertainty and houses prices going down in areas such as London, we have to point out that investing does always come with a risk. So what happens if you don't get a better return?

'The advantage of property is you can physically touch it,' says Sara Damergi. 'It is always there, you can always get at your cash. In the worst-case scenario, your tenant will gradually pay off your mortgage and you'll end up with a rental income.

'You do not lose with bricks and mortar,' she adds.

For more advice from Sara Damergi, check out her podcast Lifehackers with co-host Kerr Drummond.

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Would you consider swapping your pension scheme for a second property?