Coming to terms with the realities of your later years
f you’ve not thought about planning your retirement yet, don’t panic. We can discuss the different options available to you. This may include a personal pension, or a defined contribution pension. If appropriate, your provider invests the money you pay in and gives you an accumulated sum on retirement, with which you can currently buy an annuity or go into income drawdown.
A regular income once you reach State Pension age
The State Pension gives you a regular income once you reach State Pension age. It is based on National Insurance contributions and the amount you get depends on how much you paid in. To receive it, you must have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions.
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.
Thinking about your plans for the future means taking action now
Retirement planning involves thinking about your plans for the future now – that means investing your money with the aim of maximising its value ready for when you retire. Careful retirement planning, the right mix of assets and starting sooner rather than later will help lead to the retirement you are looking for.
undamental plans proposed to redesign the UK defined contribution pension system (as opposed to workplace final salary schemes) were announced as part of the Budget 2014 speech. This is the most far-reaching reform to the taxation of pensions since the regime was introduced in 1921, introducing new flexibility to the pensions system.
The freedom to choose how and when you access your pension
Your retirement should be something to look forward to, not worry about how to make ends meet. Whatever you want to do, understanding how to build up enough retirement savings and how pensions work should help you achieve your goals.
Keeping track of your pension portfolio pays dividends
If you’ve accumulated numerous workplace pensions over the years from different employers, it can be difficult to keep track of how they are performing. There is a danger that long-forgotten plans may end up festering in expensive, poorly performing funds, and the paperwork alone can be enough to put you off becoming more proactive.
Building a savings pot to provide income when you retire
Investing regularly from as young an age as possible, while taking advantage of various tax incentives, is the logical way to achieve this.
Investors should not delay in disclosing their assets
With the latest HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) campaign aimed at targeting investors with overseas assets, some investors could be worried about the impact this could have on their overseas investments, and others could be put off from investing overseas altogether. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Once assets have been appropriately disclosed, there are ways in which the investments can be restructured, or new investments made, to make them more efficient going forwards.
Families are feeling the impact of benefit cuts
The cost of bringing up a child has reached £227,266, up from £222,458 last year, with the first year of a child’s life seeing the largest increase.