Pension advice
“Your pension is often your largest asset. Yet, so many people decide to make decisions for theirs without any professional advice."
Pensions - all part of the plan…
Pensions are simply tax wrappers. They are pots of money with a different legal and tax structure to say, an ISA or a bank account for example. Understanding how this functionality can benefit you is where we come in. Despite the variety in people’s pension pots and aims & objectives, most people require some basic outcomes from their pensions.
Provide an income
Whether it is a guaranteed income or flexibility throughout retirement, the vast majority of people will require some form of income from their pension to support their lifestyle.
Tax-free lump sum
It’s commonly understood that pensions, generally speaking, will provide some form of tax-free lump sum at retirement but there is often more to this than meets the eye.
Be sustainable
As part of a wider financial plan, people will likely access their pensions at different times and at different rates and whatever that strategy may be, it needs to work.
Deliver future growth
Pensions are a long-term investment and as such, are often invested to deliver future growth, inflation protection or a specific future income level. Make sure you understand these options.
Manage tax-efficiency
When combined with other savings and income, pensions can be used to balance your future tax liabilities and deliver more of the money you need each month to live your best life.
Leave a legacy
In some instances, pensions are suplus to requirements (in whole or part) for the wider financial plan to be successful and can form a valuable legacy to the next generation.
Underneath the bonnet…
In order to deliver these outcomes, we need to ensure your pensions are set up to meet your needs. These are just a few of the aspects that we consider when recommending a pension strategy for our clients.
Access options
You will have various ways in which you can turn your pension wealth into an income. Understanding the pros and cons of each will help you to plan your retirement more effectively.
Security
The security of your savings is paramount. Any pension providers or investment strategies we recommend undergo full due diligence of their financial strength and governance.
Liquidity
We consider liquidity of your money, i.e. how easily and quickly you can access it, as a top priority. If you can’t access it and spend it, then it is unlikely to be of benefit.
Investment options
Different pension arrangements allow you to invest in a different number and range of assets. The more of these that are available, the more targeted an investment approach can be.
Service
We all prefer it when things just go smoothly. If we recommend a solution, you want to know that the company behind it are going to deliver what they say they will.
Charges
Once we know what functionality you require, the service level you need and expect, we will find a way of delivering this in a cost effective way so you only pay for what you need.