Knowledgebase
What can I do with my pension?
There are a number of ways you can use your defined contribution pension pot, but before withdrawing money from your pension you need to consider the following points.
Pensions freedoms
Familiarise yourself with the pensions freedoms so you are aware of your options. You can now do a lot more with your pension pot than previously. Everyone is different and it is important to find the right solution for your circumstances. What risks are you willing to take?
Saving requirements
Consider the amount of money you will need each month to maintain your lifestyle. Ask yourself: How much might I need? How much might I get? Do I still have a mortgage to pay off? What other sources of income do I have, and do I need my pension to keep up with inflation? Could I consider working for longer? Do I want to have annual holidays?
Costs later in retirement
Think about costs later in your retirement. What will your living costs be in the future? Care needs are not a subject we are comfortable thinking about but it is important to have conversations about it with your family, as well as powers of attorney, wills and inheritance.
Health and life expectancy
We often vastly underestimate this, but evidence shows we are mostly living longer, with a growing variation in healthy life expectancy. If you have a partner, do you need to provide for them financially after you die, or are you relying on them?
Obtain professional financial advice
Few of us may expect to give up work altogether in our 50s. But a growing number of us are dipping into our pension before retirement age. Try asking yourself the following questions: How long will I need my money to last? How long do I want to keep working? How much tax might I pay? Could my health and lifestyle affect what I get? How much do I want to leave behind?
Knowledgebase
Pensions
Pension types
- Children’s pensions
- Defined benefit (or final salary) pensions
- Defined contribution pensions
- Personal pensions
- Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs)
- The state pension
Pensions technical
- Annual allowance and lifetime allowance limits
- Busting myths about pensions
- Increases to pension age and new normal minimum pension age
- Pension freedoms
- Pension withdrawal methods
- The lifetime allowance
Retirement planning
- Delaying retirement
- Generating income from investments throughout your retirement years
- Importance of a retirement wealth check
- Retirement goal setting
- Retirement planning
- Reviewing your retirement plan
- Staggered retirement
- Taking control of your retirement plans
- What can I do with my pension?
- What happens to my pension on death?
Pensions other
Investments
Growing your wealth
Goals based investing
- Cash flow modelling
- Creating a financial roadmap
- Investment objectives
- Timescales and market activity and the impact of losses
- ‘What if’ scenarios
Legacy planning
- Discussing legacy planning with your loved ones
- Inheritance Tax (IHT)
- Inheritance Tax Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB)
- Lasting power of attorney
- Lifetime transfers
- Making a Will
- Preserving wealth for future generations
- Protecting your assets for the next generation
- Slicing up your wealth pie