Approaching Retirement.

PLANNING FOR THE RETIREMENT YOU WANT

You have a number of options when it comes to taking your pension benefits.  As you get closer to retirement, you’ll need to plan and make sure that you make the right choice at the right time.  To help you, we’ve outlined a number of things to consider in your retirement planning.

CHECK ON YOUR PENSION FUNDS

• Consider how much income you might get from your pension funds.  Use our Retirement Planner to see how much income your pension might give you when you reach your retirement age.
• Think about where your pension is invested and whether you are happy with the amount of risk that you’re taking.  Check your attitude to risk and monitor where your money is currently invested by logging in to Manage Your Account .

FIND OUT ABOUT OTHER BENEFITS

• Find out whether you have benefits with other companies by using the Pension Tracing Service or get a state pension forecast from the Government’s Pensions Service.

REVIEW YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES

• Consider any financial commitments you have, such as loan or mortgage.  Will you be able to pay these off before you stop working?  Do you have any other savings or investments?  Will you need to rely on them, and do you need to give any notice to access them?

TAKING YOUR BENEFITS

When you’ve decided to start taking your retirement benefits, you’ll need to choose how you want to do this.

• You can use your fund to buy what is known as a lifetime annuity. You don't have to buy an annuity from your pension provider and it often pays to shop around. This will pay you an income for the rest of your life and can be tailored to suit your personal circumstances. Once you've chosen this, you can't change your mind afterwards. Pension income is currently taxed as earned income.
• Instead, you could withdraw money directly from your pension fund.  There are limits to the amount of income you can take and this may not suit everyone.
• You may also be able to take part of your fund as a tax-free cash lump sum, typically up to one quarter of the value of your pension fund.  If you choose to do this, less money will be available to provide you with an income.

There’s a lot to think about, and we recommend you seek financial advice for more help and information before making any decisions.