People planning for retirement should think hard about what they want to do when they eventually stop work. It is helpful to have a good idea of the lifestyle you want, how much it will cost and how you are going to pay for it.
Continue reading “Develop a robust retirement plan”
The earnings benchmark of the State Pension triple lock has been temporarily set aside for this year. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed on 7 September 2021 that the State Pension triple lock rule has not been applied for the current 2022/23 financial year over concerns of the potential costs involved.
Continue reading “Triple lock set aside”
The normal minimum pension age (NMPA), currently 55, is the earliest age that members of a registered pension scheme can draw their benefits without incurring an unauthorised payments tax charge, other than in cases of ill health or where they have a protected pension age.
Continue reading “Raising of the State Pension age”
Are you ‘mid or late career’ or planning to retire within ten years? If the answer’s ‘yes’, then you probably want to know the answers to these questions: Will I be able to retire when I want to? Will I run out of money? How can I guarantee the kind of retirement I want?
Continue reading “Countdown has commenced”
Early retirement may be the ultimate dream for some, but the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic made it the only option for many. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that over-50s had the highest redundancy rate between December 2020 and February 2021[1].
Continue reading “Planning for early retirement”
Saving into a pension is one of the most tax-efficient ways to save for your retirement. Not only do pensions enable you to grow your retirement savings largely free of tax, but they also provide tax relief on the contributions you make.
Continue reading “Pension allowances”
If you’ve been diligently saving into a pension throughout your working life, you should be entitled to feel confident about your retirement. But, unfortunately, the best savers sometimes find themselves inadvertently breaching their pension Lifetime Allowance (LTA) and being charged an additional tax that erodes their savings.
Continue reading “Pension Lifetime Allowance”
The days of working for a single employer for your entire career and retiring with a comfortable pension are largely gone. The responsibility for accumulating a retirement nest egg now rests with individuals as opposed to their employers.
Continue reading “Accumulating a nest egg”
The changes in the retirement landscape mean that many people today are having to adjust their outlook towards retirement. With more people living longer, expectations of retirement are being reshaped and there is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach to retirement planning.
Continue reading “Changing landscape”
The question, ‘Have I saved enough to retire?’ is a difficult one. It requires a lot of information about you, your family, your income needs in retirement, and an understanding of the various financial vehicles available for saving and investing before it can be answered definitively.
Continue reading “Building up your pension pot”