Providing an income for your loved ones to enjoy, long after you are gone
If you’ve spent a lifetime saving for retirement, you’d probably like any remaining money to go to a loved one after your death. But whether pension benefits are payable to a beneficiary, and how they’ll receive them, is dependent on the type of pension you’ve chosen and how you’ve accessed it in your retirement.
General guidelines that can help you determine whether you’re ready to retire
One of the most difficult decisions you’ll ever have to make is when to retire. It’s a personal choice that depends on many factors, both financial and non-financial. There’s no single right answer, but there are some key things to consider that can help you decide if retirement is the right choice for you.
Once the money is gone, it’s almost impossible to get it back
Your pension is one of your most valuable assets, and for many it offers financial security throughout retirement and the rest of their lives. But, like anything valuable, your pension can become the target for illegal activities, scams or inappropriate and high-risk investments
Self-employed people are at risk of financial hardship if they don’t have sufficient provision in place. Without a regular income, it can be difficult to cover expenses and also save for the future. In many cases, the self-employed are unable to claim for many of the benefits that employees are entitled to, including statutory sick pay.
What if I could make my wealth more tax-efficient?
We all want to leave a legacy and make sure the ones we care about most are well taken care of when we’re gone. That’s why making plans for Inheritance Tax is so important, to have confidence that your children, grandchildren and those you hold dearest will be taken care of long into the future.
Preparing both ‘the family’ and ‘the money’ for the transition of wealth to the next generation
If you want to pass wealth on to your children and grandchildren, it’s wise to contemplate when it might be best to make that gift. Should you transfer wealth during your lifetime—or after?
Cost-of-living crisis delays homeownership, having children and retirement
Rising living costs have been so significant in recent months that most UK households will have noticed a squeeze on their monthly budgets. Not only does this have a direct impact on people’s lifestyles, even though they are making every effort to cut back, but it has a knock-on effect on their lifelong goals such as owning a home or retiring comfortably.
Deciding whether to withdraw cash from your pension pot
Choosing what to do with your pension is a big decision. If you’ve been saving into a defined contribution pension (sometimes called ‘money purchase’) during your working life, from age 55 (age 57 in 2028) you need to decide what to do with the money you’ve saved towards your pension when you eventually decide to retire.
Despite the fact that the government has been trying to encourage people to save for their retirement through initiatives such as auto-enrolment, there are still too many Britons who have no pension savings at all. Research reveals that a fifth (20%) of people still have no pension savings at all, and people nearing retirement aren’t doing much better[1].
