How to plan for your retirement.

Since April 2015 pension members are able to access their pension with a lot more choice. However pension scammers are continually looking for ways to target individuals and their pension savings - if an investment is offering significant returns or early access to your pension funds, these could be a scam. We actively encourage our clients to discuss investment proposals with us.

The most popular options for saving for your retirement are personal pensions which can include Personal Pensions, Stakeholder pensions or Self invested personal pensions. Personal pensions work on a money purchase basis; in other words the money you save each month or through a lump sum contribution, is invested and used at retirement to provide you with benefits.

What is a self invested personal pension (SIPP)?

These are a form of personal pensions but provide you with much greater investment freedom over your pension funds, along with, potentially, more flexible options on how to take benefits at retirement.

What about occupational pension schemes?

We can advise on two types of occupational pension schemes which are designed for small companies. These are Group Personal Pension schemes (GPP) or for businesses with less than 11 employees. Small Self Administered Schemes (SSAS).

A SSAS gives its members considerable flexibility and control over the investment policy and underlying assets of the pension and it can provide financial benefits for a business, including a loan back to the founder or sponsoring employer of up to 50% of the fund value (subject to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) rules).

A business can also purchase property to lease back to the sponsoring employer at an open market rent, which can provide a range of tax advantages.

Please note: Dentons Wealth does not provide auto-enrolment pensions. Auto-enrolment is when an employee who meets certain requirements is automatically made a member of a workplace pension scheme without needing to ask to be part of it.

What retirement plan is best for you?

We will discuss the various options with you to ensure you have the most appropriate pension vehicle to suit your individual or business needs. Contributions you make will usually benefit from tax relief and the funds will grow in a tax free environment. When you are ready to retire – for most people from age 55 at the earliest – the fund is used to provide you with pension benefits.

You should not rely on State Benefits alone providing you with the lifestyle you require during your retirement years.

What are your options when you come to take benefits?

Your pension fund will be used to provide you with an income for your retirement years and may also include a tax free cash lump sum. If you have 12 months or less before your expected retirement, we would recommend that you carefully consider your options.

Annuity purchase

For clients that don’t want responsibility for the investment risk of their funds, an annuity provides a set level of income which can remain level throughout their retirement or increase, or with additional spouse benefits. Once purchased the terms of the annuity cannot be altered so it is vital that you make the right choices at outset. It is no longer a requirement to purchase an annuity from an insurance company.

Drawdown, including Flexi-access drawdown

This allows you to choose the income you want in retirement with no maximum limit, subject to certain qualifying criteria. You now have the choice to take your funds as an income for life or to 'flexibly access' as much as you want when you want. The amount of tax you will pay will depend on how you draw your pension funds and on your own personal circumstances. 

Please note: Taking too much pension fund at once could leave you with a large tax bill or you could find that your pension fund is no longer sufficient to see you through retirement. We are here to give you the advice you need to help you ensure a comfortable retirement.

Awards.

In addition to being short-listed for Professional Adviser Awards 'Best Adviser - South East' in 2017, 2015 and 2014 from over 200 entries, we have also been shortlisted for "The Mortgage Awards 2019 - specialist broker of the year".