RETIREMENT PLANNING

The time will come when you no longer want the stresses of working full-time, and instead you'll want to spend more of your days doing the pleasurable things you don't have enough time for now. The age at which you do this will most likely depend on your financial position, - quite simply whether you can afford it. Some people say retirement is the longest holiday of your life, and so you should plan for this long ‘holiday' accordingly, and make sure you have enough ‘spending money' so that you can enjoy it properly.

Nowadays, ‘Retirement Planning' does not simply mean "Pensions", whether they are from a previous employer, the state, or personal pensions. It is becoming much more likely that retirement income will be generated from other sources as well, such as savings, investment property and maybe even the equity in your home. One thing is certain - the State Pension alone is not enough to live on.

Working with your adviser, you can put in place a long-term financial plan that suits you, so that you can begin your retirement ‘holiday' when you choose to, and have the income to do the things that you want.

STATE PENSIONS

Your State Pension may include some of all of the following elements:

Basic State Pension, State Earnings Related Pension, State Second Pension, Graduated Pension and Pension Credit.

Although it is generally accepted that the State Pension is not sufficient for most people to enjoy the lifestyle that they'd like, it shouldn't be ignored altogether in the financial planning process. You can obtain a State Pension Forecast by contacting the Department for Work and Pensions State Pension Forecasting Team on 0845 3000 168

PERSONAL PENSIONS

Personal Pensions are invariably long-term contracts, and they are an attractive way of saving for your retirement. You control how much you want to save, and receive full tax relief on all your contributions. What's more, the money grows in a tax-efficient environment, and you can control where in the world your money is invested.

Nowadays, most Personal Pensions offer a wide range of different investment funds to suit your attitude to risk. You can usually change your investment funds at any time at low or even no cost, and so you should review the funds in your pension plans periodically, to check that they are still appropriate to your attitude to risk, and the rate of growth still meets your needs

COMPANY PENSIONS

Many companies offer their employees membership of a pension scheme. Some employers leave all the contributions to you while others may pay into your pension plan as part of their overall employment ‘package'.

There are various types of scheme on offer from the very simple to the very complicated. If you are a member of your employer's scheme, or if you're thinking of joining it, your Halton Insurance Financial Adviser will be able to explain the features of your company's arrangements. They will also be able to assist you with choosing the right investment fund and/or whether you should pay extra amounts, if these options are available.

SELF-INVESTMENT

In recent years the pensions industry has become much more advanced in terms of the flexibility of pension arrangements and the range of investments that can be held within them is now huge. The list of ‘Permitted Investments' doesn't just include conventional investments such as deposits, unit trusts, stocks and shares, but also more unusual assets such as commercial property and ‘loan-backs'.

However, despite the hype of recent years, the truth is that the benefits of ‘self investment' in personal pensions are only advantageous and cost-effective for people with relatively large funds, because these contracts invariably involve additional charges dealing with unusual or bespoke investment transactions, which would erode smaller funds very quickly.

Your adviser can discuss with you all your options and how appropriate they are to your personal circumstances and goals.

The easy way to arrange a consultation with us:

Call us on FREEPHONE 0800 980 1795

or

email ifa@haltoninsurance.co.uk