Retirees now have a whole host of new options
The pension freedoms, introduced on 6 April 2015, have given retirees a whole host of new options. There is no longer a compulsory requirement to purchase an annuity (a guaranteed income for life for a fixed number of years) when you retire. The introduction of pension freedoms brought about fundamental changes to the way we can access our pension savings.
Government’s bid to ensure ‘pension age equalisation’
On 3 October, campaigners lost a significant legal battle against the Government’s handling of the rise in women’s State Pension age. Up until 2010, women received their State Pensions at the age of 60, but that has been increasing since then.
How much will you need to save to afford a comfortable retirement?
There is a widespread and common-sense-based perception, backed to some extent by evidence, that planning and preparing for later life is associated with increased well-being in older age. Despite this, it’s concerning that some people at mid-life have not thought much about their later life nor taken fundamental future-oriented actions, such as engaging in financial planning or writing a Will.
Critical gap in consumer awareness
Drawdown allows most pension holders to withdraw a tax-free lump sum and reinvest the remainder as an income. But hundreds of thousands of DIY drawdown investors are unaware they can scale back or stop their withdrawals, putting them in danger of draining their retirement savings too rapidly, according to new research[1].
Make sure your pension savings don’t get left behind
The employment landscape has evolved significantly over the last few decades, and changing jobs multiple times before retirement is now very much the norm. Even if you have not had that many jobs, you may still have a number of different pensions to keep track of.