Most people, during their career, accumulate a number of different pension plans. Keeping your pension savings in a number of different plans may result in lost investment opportunities and unnecessary exposure to risk.
If you’ve lost the details of a pension the Pension Tracing Service may be able to help by providing your pension scheme’s address. You can then contact the scheme and find your entitlement.
The annuity market is very competitive and rates differ between annuity providers. You can substantially increase your pension income by purchasing your annuity from the company which pays the most income. This is called ‘exercising the Open Market Option.’
Why your annuity will have to last you for longer
An annuity is an investment which will pay you an income for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. This is achieved by handing over your pension fund to an insurance company in return for an annuity when you retire. The insurer then guarantees to pay you an income for the rest of your life via the annuity.
If you would like to have more control over your own pension fund and be able to make investment decisions yourself with the option of our professional help, a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) could be the retirement planning solution to discuss.
Remove the cap on the retirement income you can take
Pension legislation is always on the move and keeping up to date with the latest changes could open up new opportunities for you in retirement. On 6 April 2011, the government announced that you no longer have to take pension benefits by the age of 75.
In his Autumn Statement, on 29 November 2011, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne announced that the State Pension age will now increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028. The government said it took this decision because of increasing life expectancy, to help manage the cost of State Pensions. If you were born in the 1960s, find out how you could be affected.
Providing retirement benefits based on the accumulation of a ‘pot’ of money
A personal pension plan is a type of defined contribution arrangement. This scheme provides retirement benefits based on the accumulation of a ‘pot’ of money, accumulated through the investment of contributions paid by both the employee and the employer. It is essentially an investment policy that provides an income in retirement. It is available to any UK resident who is under 75 years of age.
The sooner you start saving for your retirement
the more secure your future will be
Saving for your retirement may not seem important when you’re starting out. But the sooner you start saving for your retirement the more secure your future will be.
The annual Cost of a Child Report [1] from protection and retirement specialist LV=, reveals the cost of raising a child from birth to their 21st birthday now totals a record £218,024. This equates to £10,382 a year, £865 a month or £28.44 a day.