Pensions are a financial product in which investments are held, allowing you to build upon a fund to use while retired. The likelihood is that you will accumulate many different pension pots across your career and be unsure of how much you have in total, and how much you will require in retirement to live comfortably. This is our speciality. We will provide an overview of your position, make recommendations on the management of these pots, and provide you with a picture of what you can expect in the future and when you can afford to retire.
To date, the introduction of pension freedoms has been the biggest shake-up of the pensions market and has given individuals control over how to use their retirement savings, but the array of pension options and their tax implications can be tricky to navigate. That’s why our team of experts is on hand to provide tailored pension advice, whether to offer guidance on setting up a new pension scheme or to review existing pension plans.
Types of pension schemes
Pensions come in a variety of forms, though most people start theirs when they start their job. That’s not the only way, but it’s certainly the most common, especially as all employers must auto-enrol qualifying employees into a workplace pension scheme.
- Personal Pensions & Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs)
- Workplace or Group Pensions – either a defined benefit or a defined contribution scheme
- Executive Pensions
- State Pension – you are entitled to a state pension based on your National Insurance Contributions history and, while not exactly huge, the £141.85 per week for the Basic State Pension or £185.15 per week for the New State Pension paid to you by the government, on top of any workplace pension, is a very nice added bonus
Is a pension necessary?
It is essential that you start to plan for your retirement as early as possible so that you are able to live comfortably in the knowledge that your lifestyle needs are covered. This means that careful consideration and management of your pension fund throughout your working life is essential. With retirement planning, it is important to take into account the fact we’re all living longer. Couple that with the fact that the cost of living continues to rise, and the value of the State Pension is a relatively insubstantial amount for most people, this provides a very strong case for starting to save early for your future.
Another advantage of a pension plan is the tax relief, which comes in two forms depending on whether you are a basic-rate or higher-rate taxpayer. Your pension saving is essentially topped up by the government, and you may get some tax back on the money you put into a pension depending on your position, while gains from the investments you make into a pension are tax-free. Personal Pensions are placed outside of your estate, and therefore do not attract Inheritance Tax in almost all cases, making this a very effective estate planning tool as well.
As part of our holistic approach, we will review your whole financial position with a particular focus on those aspects that affect the chances of achieving your financial goals, such as Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Protection, and Investments and Savings.
Key Benefits of the Service
With the UK State Pension amounting to just a few thousand pounds per year in the best-case scenario, providing for your own financial stability in retirement has increasingly become a necessity for everyone, rather than an option.
- We advise on your available pension options
- We help you understand tax relief and how to implement the best pension saving strategy for you
- We help you consolidate your pension pots and manage the investments to help you ahieve your goals in retirement
- We help you understand complicated legislation, such as the money purchase annual allowance, the lifetime allowance, fixed protection and more