Pensions:
With an ageing population the age for accessing your state pension continues to rise, whether you’re many years away from retirement or it’s just on the horizon, thoughtful retirement planning is key to achieving the lifestyle you envision and ensuring long-term financial security.
With recent changes to pension legislation, there are now more options than ever for accessing your pension savings. However, this increased flexibility comes with added complexity. At Equity Select, we specialise in developing personalised retirement plans tailored to your unique needs and goals. Plus, with our optional ongoing advice service, we’ll review your plan regularly to help maximise growth and keep you on track for the retirement you’ve worked hard for. After all, staying on top of your pension funds today is just as important as planning for tomorrow.
What is a pension?
First things first, when we talk about pensions, we’re referring to your pension plan—your way of investing for retirement. Simply put, a pension is a long-term investment designed to help you save for your future.
Your contributions are pooled together and invested, gradually building up a fund that will provide you with regular income once you retire.
Pension Tax Relief
To encourage saving for retirement, the government has made pension plans tax-efficient. You can benefit from basic rate tax relief on your contributions. Right now, for every £80 you pay in, the government will add an extra £20 to your pension fund. And if you pay tax at a higher rate, you may be eligible to reclaim additional tax relief through your tax return (although this won’t be added to your pension fund directly).
When you reach retirement age you are able to withdraw 25% of the money within the pension tax free. The remaining 75% is taxed as income as and when you withdraw it.
It’s important to keep in mind that tax rules could change in the future. Additionally, the value of your investment can fluctuate—it may go up, but it can also go down, meaning your pension fund could end up being worth less than what was originally invested.
When was the last time you reviewed your pension?
You may have built up several pension pots over the years but never sat down to work out if they are in line with your longer term plans. Keeping an eye on your pension and ensuring it aligns with your goals can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re faced with confusing charges, benefits, fund performance comparisons, and countless other factors. But don’t worry—our in-depth review process breaks it all down for you, providing clear, jargon-free information to help you make the best decisions with confidence.
When can you afford to retire?
When thinking about retirement there are many different elements to consider. By using cash flow modelling software we can input your personal circumstances and give you a projection of what your financial future may look like. This is a great visual tool that helps us identify whether or not you are on track. It also allows us to run hypothetical scenarios with your income and expenditure so we can plan for the future!
Our Advice Process:
STEP 1: Initial Meeting
To help us learn a bit more about you and how we can help, we have a short, initial meeting to get known each other a little better. It is also your opportunity to decide if we are right for you, helping you understand our service, the likely costs and agree next steps. This can be carried out over the phone or face to face
STEP 2: Fact Find Session
During the meeting we will discuss your current situation and what you would like to achieve over the coming years. We’ll discuss your existing savings, investments, pensions and current debts. This part of the process is where we can really get to know you and start to create a plan for your future.
STEP 3: Presentation Meeting
This next step will provide you with a full review of your finances as well as an action plan and investment proposal to help improve your position and address any concerns. There is usually between 2 and 6 weeks between the Fact Find Session and Presentation meeting depending on the complexity of your situation and the amount of time required to prepare all the relevant paperwork. We will always ensure that we minimise this time where possible without compromising on the quality of our work.
STEP 4: Implementation
After the Presentation Meeting the next step is to implement the agreed plan of action. Most of this falls on us to arrange however there may be paperwork or signatures required from you along the way. During this stage we will keep you updated regularly and confirm once all the agreed points have been successfully actioned.
STEP 5: Check-in
This is a little check-in call, usually 6 weeks after all of the implementation process has been completed to make sure you are happy with your new plan and also answer any questions you have.
STEP 6: Annual Review
Life has a way of throwing unexpected events your way, which can derail your plan if they’re not addressed. Plus, your goals and priorities may shift over time. That’s why it’s essential for us to meet regularly to keep your plan on track. Before our meeting, we’ll reach out to see what’s changed in your life and if there’s anything specific you’d like to discuss, including any new priorities or concerns. During the meeting, we’ll revisit your goals, review investment performance, and explore tax planning, before focusing on your plan and discussing your future. Afterwards, we’ll provide a new action plan for both of us to work on.
The performance of your investments is subject to risk(s). Its performance may fluctuate based on movements in the market and economic condition(s). Capital at risk. Currency movements may also affect the value of investments. You may get back less than you originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of the future performance. Tax treatment is based on individual’s unique circumstances.
