Here, we explain why pension planning is so important, and describe some of the options available to you.
The individual and group pensions market is an ever changing world, with new legislation being brought out on a regular basis, it is difficult to keep track of what options are available with regard to your retirement planning. Hopefully within this section of our website we can explain many of these options in plain simple language and help you plan for your future. This information is purely intended as guidance and therefore if you require any specific advice please contact us directly for independent financial advice.
A pension is a long-term investment. The fund value can fluctuate and go down. Your eventual income may depend on the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates and tax legislation.
We all know it’s important to plan for retirement, but many of us are still not planning well enough. Despite all the media headlines and Government initiatives, many of us still have a ‘tomorrow will do’ attitude. This is worrying for one simple reason – we are going to live longer than most of us think. This article explains further.
A workplace pension is a way of saving for retirement arranged by an individual’s employer. It is sometimes called a ‘company pension’, an ‘occupational pension’ or a ‘works pension’. Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension is an easy, hassle-free way for workers to save for their retirement while they are earning.
The government has introduced a new law designed to help people save more for their retirement. It requires all employers to enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension scheme if they are not already in one.
Personal pensions may be suitable if you are self-employed, if you are not working but can afford to put aside money for retirement, or even in addition to a company pension.
The fundamental idea of a personal pension plan is simple. You put money into a savings fund and it hopefully grows in value. At retirement, you have several options which are usually designed to replace some (or all) of your employment income.
With pensions being most people’s second-largest asset, they can become a major consideration in any divorce settlement.
On 6 April 2015 new pension rules came into force, giving you much greater flexibility over how you use your money purchase pension savings and the options you have in retirement.
| Indices | ||
| Value | Move | % |
| FTSE 100 | 8,023.87 | 128.02  | 1.62 |
| FTSE All Share | 4,362.60 | 66.19 | 1.54 |
| Currencies | ||
| Value | Move | % |
| Euro | ||
| 1.16 | 0.00  | -0.04 |
| United States Dollar | ||
| 1.23 | 0.00 | -0.05 |