In the December issue of Dynamic I talked about the Pensions Gender Gap, and lots of women in business have answered my clarion call to take greater responsibility for their finances and future planning. As such, I’m now calling on women to investigate their old pensions. Tracking down and reviewing your existing pots can improve your retirement prospects – and now is the perfect time to ‘spring-clean’ your pensions!
TRACKING DOWN
If you’ve had a number of jobs over the years, or if your address (or surname) has changed, you may therefore have pensions that you have lost track of. According to recent research from Profile Pensions, there are approximately 1.6 million unclaimed pension pots in the UK worth £37 billion.
While I’m not suggesting there’s a pot of gold waiting for you, finding out what you have will help you plan for your retirement. Tracking down a lost pension can be as simple as going through that ‘miscellaneous paperwork’ drawer, or making sure any old pension providers have current details for you. You can also use the government’s ‘Find your Pension’ tool: gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
REVIEWING
Once you have tracked down all of your pensions, it’s important to review them to get an idea of what your pension could be worth at retirement – and what you should be aiming for. According to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, just two in five workers know roughly how much they have saved so far for retirement – we need to change this! It’s also important to review the features of each plan – for example: how you can access the funds, charges, fund choices, death benefits etc.
CONSOLIDATING
After you’ve tracked down and reviewed your existing pensions, it may be a good idea to combine them into one pot. This could help you keep track of your overall savings, help avoid dealing with multiple providers, and can even make it easier to diversify your investments.
Bear in mind that some pensions have high exit fees, or include guaranteed annuity rates that may be lost, so it’s important to understand the risks of transferring out of your scheme. This is where professional financial advice can help.
DISCLAIMER
The value of a pension with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
The level of income from pension drawdown is not guaranteed. There is
a very real chance that you may need to reduce your drawdown income in the future, in particular if the performance of your investments is lower than expected, or you live to a greater age than originally anticipated when choosing your initial income level.
CONTACT ME TODAY
Wherever you are on your business journey, it is important that you’re getting the right advice on planning
for a financially secure future. If you have a question about pensions or would like more information about my services, please contact me today.
a very real chance that you may need to reduce your drawdown income in the future, in particular if the performance of your investments is lower than expected, or you live to a greater age than originally anticipated when choosing your initial income level.
CONTACT ME TODAY
Wherever you are on your business journey, it is important that you’re getting the right advice on planning
for a financially secure future. If you have a question about pensions or would like more information about my services, please contact me today.
Wellesley House, 50 Victoria Road, Burgess Hill,
West Sussex RH15 9LH
