What you need to consider at every life stage. When you’re starting out working in your 20s, you may not be thinking about retirement in 40 years. The same goes for your 30s, 40s and even 50s. There is always something on the horizon you could be saving for besides your retirement. No matter how old you are, it’s always a good time to review your pension savings and update your retirement plan. Understanding your retirement goals during each decade

How much pension income will you need for a comfortable retirement? The purpose of a pension is to provide an income for you to live the life you want once you have retired. But, due to longer life expectancies, less generous schemes and lack of understanding around saving, a common problem is that some people don’t retire with enough to last them. The current life expectancy in the United Kingdom[1] in 2017 to 2019 was 79.4 years for males and

Grow, protect and transfer your wealth. Financial planning is a step-by-step approach to ensure you meet your life goals. Your financial plan should act as a guide as you move through life’s journey. Essentially, it should help you remain in control of your income, expenses and investments so you can manage your money and achieve your goals. Life rarely stands still. Priorities shift, circumstances change, opportunities come and go and plans need to adapt. But regular discussion and reviews are

Age change to when people can start taking pension savings. The government has confirmed that it plans to increase the minimum pension age at which benefits under registered pension schemes can generally be accessed, without a tax penalty, from age 55 to age 57 commencing 6 April 2028. The Treasury is consulting on how best to apply its decision to increase the age when people can start taking their private pension savings. The Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) will increase

Plan for a better tomorrow, today. Responsible investment is a catch-all term to broadly describe funds that invest to make a positive change, either to the environment or for society. Within this umbrella term there are four broad investment approaches: ethical exclusion; responsible practice; sustainable solutions; and impact funds. Increasingly more pension savers are asking where their funds are invested. Many are no longer just concerned about getting the best returns – they also want their money to be used in

Sharing your wealth during your lifetime can make a big difference. With all of us leading longer lives, you might be considering how you can help your family when it matters most. Sharing your wealth during your lifetime can make a big difference and bring you a lot of joy, particularly when helping younger generations who are dealing with rising house prices and university fees. After you’ve determined how much you can afford to give, there’s a simple starting point.

What can you do with your pension pot? When the time comes to access your pension, you’ll need to choose which method you use to do so, with options including: buying an annuity, taking income through (flexi-access) drawdown, withdrawing lump sums or a combination of all of them. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method, and in some cases your decision is permanent, so it’s important to ensure that you obtain professional financial advice when considering your different options.

Creating a roadmap for your future financial success. It’s always a good time to consider financial planning, but at the start of a new tax year, when you have a fresh set of annual allowances to take advantage of, you have the perfect opportunity to get your financial affairs in order and align them with your goals. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April each year. These dates don’t change but tax rules and regulations do

Impact on people opting for early retirement as a result of the pandemic. An increasing number of people have been forced into early retirement due to the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), with many worried about how they’ll make ends meet in the future. Because of the pandemic, we are currently in a challenging economic period. The global economy has taken over ten years to recover from the shock of the last financial crisis. In a recent survey, the

Planning to achieve your retirement goals sooner. 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? But, for many different reasons, planning for retirement is a commonly overlooked aspect of personal financial planning and this

Are you giving yourself the best chance of success? Before you start, defining any goals you may have will help you plan, budget and choose the right investments. Your goals might be around enhancing your current lifestyle, planning for your family or your own retirement. The sooner you start investing, the better off you will be. Match your long-term investment goals with your short-term lifestyle aspirations. When you have created your goals and time frames, define your budget. Be realistic

Life events that professional financial advice can help you navigate. In the current climate, we understand that you may be feeling worried about your work, your finances and what the future holds. Research carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that, since the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), over 25 million people have experienced ‘high’ levels of anxiety[1]. Professional financial advice offers so much more than just practical, financial benefits. It also helps to improve your emotional wellbeing