Pension guidance
It's important to seek advice and guidance before making any decisions about your pension savings. Learn more about the difference between them, and where you can find support.
What's the difference between pensions guidance and pensions advice?
Guidance
An organisation offering guidance will explain the choices you have based on the information you give them. They will leave you to decide what's best for you.
Someone offering guidance:
- may take a commission from any product you buy from them
- isn’t providing advice, so it's difficult to hold them to account if you get the wrong product
- doesn’t have to hold professional qualifications, though many will have
Advice
Someone offering advice will make a personal recommendation based on specific questions they have asked you about your finances.
Someone offering advice:
- must hold professional financial qualifications in the areas of advice they provide
- is liable for the advice they give, so if it’s wrong you could seek compensation
- can receive a commission and may charge you a fee for their service
Guidance and advice guide
Download our free guide to understand the difference between guidance and advice, when you need each of them and how to get the most out of them.
Free impartial guidance
Pension Wise is a government service from MoneyHelper that offers free impartial guidance about your defined contribution pension options.
If you’re aged 50 or over you can book a telephone or face-to-face appointment with one of their pension specialists.
It's important to have your free Pension Wise guidance appointment before you're ready to access your pension.
Are you ready to book your free Pension Wise appointment?
What will you get at your Pension Wise appointment?
- Guidance on how to make the best use of your pension pot
- Information about tax when taking money from your pension
- Tips including how to compare products, get financial advice and avoid scams
Remember, they won’t give any recommendations on the best choice for you.
Get expert advice
Need expert advice?
Retirement might be round the corner, or decades away. Our independent financial advisers can keep your retirement goals on track, or help you start taking an income.
They will:
- help you understand your retirement income options
- answer any questions you have, so you fully understand the advice you're getting
- give you a personalised plan to help you achieve your financial goals
Unbiased can help
To find your own independent financial adviser, you can search Unbiased. You'll probably have to pay for their advice.
Questions about taking your pension
Yes - products will vary in the features provided, key considerations when looking at options for accessing your pension include:
- Flexibility
- Period of payout
- Lump sum
- Market risk
- Guaranteed income
Our deciding how to use your pension tool aims to help you understand some of the decisions you need to make when thinking about how to use your pension pot.
No - Different providers may have higher rates of payment, different options, features, qualifying criteria and charges.
The options they offer could have different tax implications for you.
The FCA now requires pensions providers to refer customers to Pension Wise guidance and explain the nature and purpose of this guidance, when they decide to access their pension savings.
Pension Wise from MoneyHelper is a free and impartial Government pension guidance service.
Your decision about which options to choose is likely to be influenced by many factors, such as how much income or cash you need now and in the future.
You should also consider your personal circumstances and the impact that your choices may have on taxation, State Benefits, Annual Allowances and any dependants.
More support with planning your retirement
Pensions and tax
Understanding how your pension benefits will be taxed, and how inheritance tax affects pensions, is an important part of developing your retirement income plan.
What does your happy retirement look like?
Discover your retirement persona and find out where you could grow your happy retirement.
Deciding how to use your pension pot?
Answer a few simple questions to get an idea of how and when you might want to access your pension savings.