Making the most of your pension

Making the most of your pension

To be used in conjunction with the 'Making the most of your pension' presentation D100733 01/24 DC002605.

Slide 1. Making the most of your pension

Welcome and introductions

At Legal & General we feel it’s important for members to engage with their retirement savings and to think about their future, hopefully the session today will help you start to make the most of your retirement savings.

This session has been designed to provide members over the age of 30 with a better understanding of how pension saving works and the things you can start doing now to get the most out of your workplace pension. 

It’s likely that you will have already started to build up your pension pot, so now is a good time to start thinking about the lifestyle you’d like to enjoy in the future. Remember, the savings in your workplace pension could become an important part of your income once you’re ready to slow down or stop working altogether.  

So, although this might seem like it’s some way off, the decisions you make today are likely to play a vital role in shaping your future lifestyle.

Please note that we’re unable to answer any individual questions today.

To assist you, we’ve created a webpage that provides answers to some of the questions you may have about your workplace pension and includes links to the websites and tools that we’ll be looking at in today’s session, which you’ll find at legalandgeneral.com/pensionquestions.

If you have a question about your individual plan, please contact our Helpline on 0345 070 8686.

Slide 2 Important information

Risk warnings:

• This is a general education presentation and does not represent financial advice.
• It’s based on the 2023/2024 tax year.
• The law, tax rates and any allowances may change in the future.
• The value of your investment will go up and down. It isn’t guaranteed, so you may get back less than you put in.

We’re experiencing tough economic conditions, right now. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising cost of living means that many people are naturally concerned about their finances. The invasion of Ukraine and its effect on global products and commodities has also led to investment market turbulence. If you would like to know more, visit our response hub to see what this could mean for you and your savings, as well as access useful support and information.

Please note that we’re unable to answer market related questions or questions of a personal nature that are related to your personal circumstances or current economic conditions. If you are looking for a recommendation you should consider taking financial advice.

Slide 3. Agenda: What are we going to cover today?

Today we’ll be focusing on:

• Saving for retirement

Things to think about, how it all works and what to look out for.

• Investing your savings

How your savings are invested and what to think about.

• Taking money from your pension

The ways of taking your savings when the time comes.

• Getting your pensions into one place

Normally, an area of some interest, given most of us are likely to have paid into more than one pension.

• Resources that can help

What’s available and how these tools can help with your own planning.

• Guidance and advice

Where to find additional support if you need it.

• Important considerations

Things you can do to support your everyday finances.

• Summary

Three key take aways from today’s session.

Slide 4. Saving for retirement

As we’ve already mentioned, the future may appear to be a long way off. But, wherever you are in your pension saving journey, saving for retirement is important.

Your Legal & General pension will provide you with a source of income that can help to replace your salary when you want to slow down or stop working altogether.

Slide 5. What will my future lifestyle cost?

Asking yourself ‘What will my future lifestyle look like and how much will it cost?’ is a good place to start.

According to research carried out by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) only 23% of savers know how much they are likely to need in retirement.

To help pension savers visualise the cost of this for themselves, the PLSA created the Retirement Living Standards.

And, with that in mind. We’re going to play you a short video to set the scene…

<play video>

If you’d like more information visit retirementlivingstandards.org.uk which you can access via the QR code on the slide. You might be wondering why it’s so important to start picturing your future now, given that your retirement is so far away. In simple terms, if you don’t know where you’re heading for, how are you going to get there?

Saving for retirement is a very long journey. So, not only is it important to know what you’re aiming for, but it’s also vital to keep checking your progress to work out if you’re on track to reach your preferred destination.

The good news is, we’ve tried to make this as easy as possible, by providing you with tools that can help you to do just that. We’ll look at these in more detail later in the presentation.

Slide 6. Will the State Pension be enough?

Having just seen how much you might need to support your lifestyle in retirement, let’s start by looking at how much you might get from the State Pension.

Let’s take a look at how it works.

For the 2023/2024 tax year, the full State Pension is £203.85 per week or approximately £10,600 per year.

To receive a full State Pension, you need 35 years’ qualifying National Insurance (NI) contributions.  You must have at least 10 qualifying years of NI contributions to receive any State Pension entitlement. 

As well as paying contributions while working, you can also ‘earn’ qualifying years by receiving NI credits if you’re unemployed, ill, parenting or a carer.  

Currently, the State Pension age is between 66 and 68, depending on when you were born.

However, as we saw in the PLSA video earlier, even if you qualify for the full State Pension, this will be less than the amount required to support the PLSA’s Minimum lifestyle in retirement (the video we watched at the start of the presentation). And it will fall some way short of the amounts required to support a Moderate or Comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

Slide 7. Saving into a workplace pension

So, how does pension saving work?

Each month, your contributions – along with those from your employer and any tax relief from the government – are paid into your pension pot.

These contributions are then invested, along with the rest of your pension pot, with the aim of protecting or increasing the value of your savings over the long term. Please note that this is not guaranteed and the value of your savings can go down in value as well.

Charges are deducted for managing the scheme and the investments.

Please note that, whilst there are a number of factors that can influence the size of your pension pot when the time comes to start taking money from it, the more you are able to save and the longer you are able to maintain that level of saving, the better your chances are of achieving your retirement saving goals.

You can take money from your pension in different ways, although the options available to you will depend on your scheme rules.

Currently, you can start to take money from your workplace pension from age 55 but this will increase to age 57 from 2028.

Slide 8. Are there any limits on how much I can save?

In case you’re wondering whether there is a limit on how much you can save into a pension each year and still receive tax relief, the answer is yes.

You can normally pay the equivalent of your annual UK salary into your company pension plan each year and still get tax relief. However, there is an Annual Allowance and if you go beyond this, you may incur a tax penalty.

In the current tax year, it has been set at £60,000.

This allowance applies across all schemes you belong to, and includes all contributions paid by you or anyone else on your behalf – including your employer.

And whilst not many people’s contributions will exceed this allowance it could also be useful to know if, for example, you receive a bonus at work and you want to pay some or all of it into your pension.

It’s also worth being aware that there are other circumstances that can restrict the amount of money you can contribute into a pension and still receive tax relief, including the Tapered Annual Allowance and the Money Purchase Annual Allowance and the Lifetime Allowance.

All of these tax rates and allowances are subject to change.

Legal & General’s ‘Tax Year Rates and Allowances’ booklet has up to date information on these. If you want to find out more, detailed information is also available on the HMRC website at Gov.uk, which you can access via the QR code on the slide.

Slide 9. Am I paying enough?

There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ answer. However, as we touched on earlier, contributions are an important factor.

Ideally, you should contribute as much as you can sensibly afford to pay, in line with the income you’ll need to support your plans for later life. And, in case you haven’t done so already, don’t forget that we have a range of planning tools that can help you to work out how much you might need to support your future lifestyle.

Things to do:

• Review what you’re currently paying in.
  • Check your payslip to see how much you’re paying in and/or review the regular transactions in your online account in Manage Your Account. This will help you to work out where you are and what you need to do.
• Set up an annual review in your calendar.
  • Having a regular review will help to keep your plans on track.
• Increase the amount you’re paying in.
  • Look for savings in other areas that could help. Think about reviewing or creating a household budget.
  • Consider paying in some or all of any annual bonus or pay increase you receive into your pension.
  • Even small amounts can make a real difference over time. Saving an extra £30 a month from the age of 27 could add around £100,000 to your pot by the time you reach the current State Pension age.
  • Your employer may increase what they pay if you contribute more. So, make sure you’re familiar with your scheme’s contribution structure.

Our retirement planning tool can help you to see if you’re on track to have the income you’re looking for at retirement. You can also use it on a regular basis to check whether you’re on track to achieve your goals. You can experiment with different contribution amounts to see how much difference paying in a bit more might make.

We’ll look at this tool in a more detail later in the presentation.

Slide 10. Mind the gap!

You may not realise it but, when it comes to building up your pension pot, your gender and ethnicity can make it even harder to achieve your retirement goals.

Starting with the Gender Pension Gap. Recent research carried out by Legal & General has identified that, if you’re a woman:

• The future value of your pension pot is already 16% less than a man’s when you start working.
• By the time you reach retirement, the difference will be 56%.

The Gender Pension Gap exists because women are generally:

• paid less.
• less likely to be in senior leadership positions, resulting in lower pay and lower pension contributions.
• more likely to take career breaks for childcare or as an unpaid carer.
• more likely to work part time or reduced hours.
• less confident when it comes to savings and investments.

Divorce can also have an impact, as can retiring early due to the symptoms of the menopause.

The Ethnicity Pensions Gap means that your pension pot at retirement is likely to be less than half that of the average of white British counterparts.

There are lots of reasons to explain why this gap exists and there is some overlap with some of the reasons that lead to the Gender Pension Gap, such as low pay, a lack of access to senior leadership positions and taking time out or working part-time to fulfil caring responsibilities or to take maternity leave. 

If you think you might be affected by either of these gaps, here are 5 things that you can do to close them for yourself.

1. Try to contribute as much as you can into your pension - and start early.
2. Make the most of your workplace pension. Find out more about the contribution structure and any additional contributions your employer might make if you pay more in. And remember that the more you pay in, the more you’ll get added by the government in tax relief.
3. If you’re able to, try to maintain your contributions when taking time out to look after children or care for others.
4. Review your savings at regular intervals to make sure you stay on track, particularly if your circumstances change, to avoid falling into one of these potential gaps.
5. Talk to your partner about your retirement savings, to ensure you’re on the same page and that your retirement plans are in sync.

We would also suggest making use of the support and guidance that’s available on the MoneyHelper or Retirement Living Standards websites.

Slide 11.  Investing your savings

We’re going to take a little time to look at some of the things to consider when it comes to investing your pension savings. Please note, that the purpose of today’s session is to provide you with an understanding of the basics. Not all of our schemes have the same investment options, so the purpose of today’s session is to introduce you to the basic concepts of investing that are common to all our workplace schemes.

If you’re interested to learn more about how your savings are invested, following today’s presentation, you’ll find more information on your own scheme website.

Please note that, before making any changes to the way your savings are invested, you should consider speaking to a financial adviser. You can find one in your local area at unbiased.co.uk. Financial advisers usually charge for their services.

Slide 12. Understanding risk and reward

When it comes to investing your money, there is a relationship between investment performance and investment risk.

This means that, if you choose a high-risk fund that might have the potential to perform better than other investments, there’s likely to be a greater chance that you could lose a large part – and in some cases all – of the money you have invested.

By investing in a low-risk fund, you’re unlikely to lose your savings but they’re unlikely to go up in value by as much.

You can reduce risk by putting your money in different types of investment with varying levels of risk. This is commonly referred to as 'diversification'.

It’s important to be aware that, in periods of extreme market shock, some asset classes can be more volatile and, as a result, the chance of you losing some or all of your money could be greater.

When you put your money into your pension, it’s invested into one or more funds with the aim of helping your savings grow. Funds can be made up of a range of assets - assets can commonly include equities (company shares), property, bonds (loans to businesses and government), cash (short-term deposits with governments and financial institutions such as banks and building societies).

You can find out more about risk and reward, and how Legal & General risk rates its funds, on your scheme website.

Slide 13. How are your savings invested?

The default investment option for your scheme will have been selected by your employer and/or your scheme Trustees, possibly in conjunction with their investment advisers.

Not all schemes have the same default investment option.

Depending on the scheme you are in, this will be a fund or lifestyle profile, and it is where your retirement savings will be automatically invested if you don’t make a different choice.

Although it’s considered a suitable choice for most scheme members, the default investment option doesn’t take into account your own personal circumstances or your future plans. You don’t have to remain in the default and, instead, you can choose to self-select your own investments from the options available to you (which may vary from one scheme to another).

And, although this may not necessarily be important to you at this stage in your pension journey, it is worth being aware that some of the choices available may also allow you to invest in a way that suits your plans in retirement. It’s important, therefore, to also be aware of where your savings are currently invested and to regularly check that this reflects your current plans for retirement.

If you’re thinking of making your own investment decisions, you can find details of all the investment options that are available to you on your scheme website and/or by visiting your online account in Manage Your Account, where you will also be able to make any changes. It’s also important to check whether the fund or lifestyle profile you’re considering matches your own attitude to investment risk and your plans in retirement and that you are comfortable with the charges.

Please be aware that the value of an investment and any income taken from it is not guaranteed and can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Different funds have different associated risks. Please read the relevant fund documentation before making any investment decisions.

And, as we mentioned on a previous slide, you may want to take financial advice before making any changes to your investments. You can find a local financial adviser at www.unbiased.co.uk, which you can access by scanning the QR code on the slide. Financial advisers usually charge for their service.

Slide 14. Taking money from your pension

As a member of a workplace pension, you have the flexibility to choose how you take your money at retirement.

We recommend that members over the age of 50 should always consider taking the free guidance that’s available from Pension Wise to ensure that you understand the available options and the tax implications. 

You may also wish to consider taking financial advice as you approach retirement. You can find an adviser in your local area by going to unbiased.co.uk. Please note that advisers normally charge for their services.

Slide 15.  How can you take your money?

The earliest you can currently access your retirement savings in this scheme is from the age of 55.

You may be able to access your savings earlier than this, if you have an illness that means you’re unable to work again in the future or if you have a protected retirement age.  A protected retirement age was available for certain pension scheme members who, prior to 6 April 2006, had the right to take their pension benefits before age 55.

It’s also worth noting that the government has implemented legislation that will increase the age of access to age 57 from April 2028. So this means most people born after 1972 may have to wait longer to access their pension savings.

So, how can you take your money?

You can take your money in different ways and can choose the option – or combination of options – that suits your circumstances.

You can use income drawdown to provide a flexible income. The first 25% can usually be taken as a tax-free cash lump sum and the remaining 75% you can take as needed.  This is often referred to as flexi access drawdown. You can vary, stop or suspend the amount you are taking at any time. What remains in your pot is still invested and the value of investments may go down as well as up. If you take out too much of your investment or the funds do not perform as well as you would expect you could run out of money before you die.

You can use your pension pot to buy a guaranteed income through the purchase of an annuity. An annuity gives you a guaranteed amount of money payable for either a fixed term or for the rest of your life. There are different types available which will typically be bought through an insurance company. It’s important to shop around to find a provider and a deal that suits you. It’s important to be aware that once an annuity has been set up it can’t be changed. If you have certain medical or lifestyle factors such as smoking or high blood pressure, you might get a higher income.

The first 25% of your pension pot can be taken as a tax-free cash lump sum. The remaining 75%, however you choose to take it, will be taxed as earned income. The amount of tax you actually pay will depend on your income in retirement. The money you take from your pension may affect any income-related state benefits you receive.

You can take your pension pot as cash all in one go. Think carefully before you do this. It could result in a larger amount of tax being deducted before we pay you.

You can take cash from your pot in smaller sums. The first 25% of each cash withdrawal is tax-free, the rest is taxed as income. This may allow you to access your money more tax efficiently. What remains in your pot is still invested and the value of investments may go down as well as up.

You don’t just have to choose one option or one provider. You can choose different options for each pension pot you have. You can transfer all or some of your pension pot to another provider and have your benefits paid by them. However, you may lose your entitlement to any benefits that were protected, such as the ability to combine your defined benefit and defined contributions pots, the ability to access your pot before 55 or a tax-free cash sum greater than 25% of your pot. Please check this before transferring. 

Slide 16. Getting your pensions into one place

It’s not uncommon for people to have more than one pension.

If you have other pensions, you may be thinking about transferring them to your employer’s pension scheme with Legal & General.

Slide 17. Finding lost pensions

There are billions of pounds worth of unclaimed retirement savings because people moved house and didn’t inform their previous provider! Could some of that be yours to claim?

So, if you do nothing else, it’s a good idea to let any previous pension providers know if you have – or are about to – change address. Doing this will enable them to continue communicating with you and will provide you with the advantage of knowing where those pension savings are when you’re ready to retire or want to transfer them.

If you don’t know where your pensions are, you can find lost pensions through the government’s pension tracing service at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details. You can also use your mobile phone to scan the QR code and that will also take you to the same webpage.

You can find contact details for your own workplace or personal pension scheme or someone else’s scheme if you have their permission.

Please note that the government service won’t tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is.

You also need the name of an employer or a pension provider to use the service.

Slide 18. Consolidating your pensions

There are lots of reasons why you might want to transfer an old pension to a different provider. You may want to make it easier to manage your retirement savings (by having them all in one place) but it could also be about reducing your charges or improving your investment choices or the options that are available when you want to take your money.  

When it comes to deciding whether transferring your retirement savings is right for you, there’s a lot to think about. You might want to start by comparing the charges and available options, to see whether a transfer would be beneficial. You should also check if there are any penalties for transferring out or whether you would lose any guarantees or special features.  

It's important to be aware of pension scams. You can find out how to spot, avoid and report pension scams at the MoneyHelper website.

You should also find out if you’re required to seek financial advice, as some schemes (depending on the value of your pot) may require you get a recommendation from a financial adviser. And, even if you aren’t required to do so, you may still want to seek financial advice. 

To find an adviser in your local area go to unbiased.co.uk, which you can access by scanning the QR code on the slide. Advisers normally charge for their services.

Please note, as we outlined at the outset, we’re only providing information in our presentation today. We aren’t able to provide financial advice and, as such, we aren’t recommending that a transfer is the right thing for you.  

Slide 19. My Future Now

My Future Now is a pension transfer service that you can access, if it’s available to your scheme, through your online account in Manage Your Account. It’s a simple way to combine all your pension pots in one place.

Here’s our step-by-step guide to transferring other pensions to Legal & General using My Future Now:

1. Read our guide to pension transfers, to consider whether it’s right for you, before making a decision to transfer.

You might want to make it easier to manage your retirement savings (by having them all in one place), reduce your charges or improve your investment choices and the options that are available when you want to take your money.  But it’s also important to ensure that there aren’t any penalties for transferring out or that you wouldn’t lose any guarantees or special features.

2. Check that we can accept your transfer.

You’ll need to check the type of pension that you want to transfer, as there are some types of pensions that we can’t accept and others where you’ll be required to take financial advice.

3. Go to Manage Your Account, register for My Future Now and submit your request.

You’ll need your National Insurance number, the name of the pension provider and the policy number, if you have it.

Assuming we can accept the transfer, we’ll provide you with a summary checklist and ask you to sign a declaration that authorises Legal & General to make the transfer on your behalf.

4. If you provide the name of your pension provider and policy number.

My Future Now will proceed with your transfer request.

5. If you only provide the name of your pension provider.

My Future Now will trace your pension.  Once it’s been found, you’ll be notified and will then have 5 working days to opt out before it’s transferred automatically.

Follow the 'Transfer in a pension' link in Manage Your Account, to access My Future Now, where you’ll find more information about this free service, including the guide to pension transfers.

Slide 20. Resources that can help

We want to help you take control of your money and give you the confidence to plan for the future.

To help you with this, we provide a range of useful tools and resources.

Slide 21. Managing your pension

You can manage your retirement savings with Legal & General using your online account at Manage Your Account.

It’s a bit like ‘internet banking’ for your pension. In the same way most of us manage our bank accounts online these days, Manage Your Account gives you online access to manage your pension savings.

You can access Manage your Account at legalandgeneral.com/mya.

Some of you may also be able to access it from your company’s intranet site or workplace benefits platform - without needing to enter a password, if your employer operates a Single sign on process.

You can also login to - or register to access - Manage Your Account by scanning the QR code on the slide.

Once logged in to your account, you’ll be able to:

• see the current value of your pension pot and contributions received from you and your employer.
• use our planning tools to regularly check what your pension pot might be worth at retirement and to work out if you might want to increase your contributions or change your retirement date.
• provide details of who you’d like your pension benefits to go to in the event of your death (nomination of beneficiary).
• manage how your savings are invested, including viewing your current fund performance and other investment choices available to you and changing the way your savings are invested if needed.
• view your benefit statements and other important documents.
• change your selected retirement date if it no longer reflects your plans.

Slide 22. Our retirement planning tool

The retirement planning tool in Manage Your Account can help you to see if your pension savings are on track to provide you with the lifestyle you’d like to have in retirement.

And, if it doesn’t look like your savings will provide you with the money you need to support the lifestyle you want to have, you can use the tool to experiment and look at the impact that increasing your contributions or working for longer might have on the value of your savings at retirement.

As we mentioned earlier, over the course of your working life, even a relatively small increase in the amount you contribute each month, can really make a significant difference to the value of your pension pot when you’re ready to start using it.

Even if you’re just starting out on your pension journey, it’s a good idea to use the tool on a regular basis - at least once a year - to monitor if your savings are on track to meet your needs.

There are several risk warnings and assumptions and it’s important that you read and understand them. It’s also important to be aware that, using the tool does not replace the need for you to seek guidance and financial advice.

Slide 23. Guidance and advice

It’s important to get the support you need to help you make decisions about your retirement plans.

Slide 24.  The importance of seeking guidance and advice

MoneyHelper is the name for the government body that brings together Pension Wise, The Money Advice Service and the Pensions Advisory Service.

The MoneyHelper website has information about the costs and what you should expect if you decide to pay for financial advice. It’s a good place to start.

Pension Wise is a free and impartial service that can help you to understand the ways you can take your retirement savings and the potential tax implications of each one. Their website offers lots of information and, if you’re aged 50 or over, you can book a free 60-minute appointment with a specialist who’ll provide you with guidance either face to face or over the phone.

The government also has a mid-life MOT website that provides guidance to help people carry out a financial stock-take some years before their retirement.

If you need personalised financial advice, visit unbiased.co.uk to find financial adviser in your local area. Please note that advisers normally charge for their services.

You can access these websites by scanning the QR codes on the screen.

Slide 25. Important considerations

There are a number of other things that you might also want to start thinking about, including some that aren’t directly related to your pension, which we’ll take a look at now.

Slide 26. Dealing with everyday challenges

As well as trying to make sure you’re funding the lifestyle you want to enjoy when you retire, given the current impact of inflation and the rising cost of everything, it’s likely that many members of our audience today will be dealing with a variety of different financial and wellbeing challenges on a daily basis.

It’s important to identify what these challenges might be and take steps to deal with them. In most cases, there’s likely to be more support available than you might realise and, simply by identifying a potential problem, you’re already taking action to deal with it.

Let’s start with one of the most important, taking care of your own physical and mental wellbeing.

Getting into and maintaining good lifestyle habits, such as walking regularly, having a good diet and getting plenty of sleep are crucial to how we feel and our general health. Our busy working lives don’t always make doing these things easy but they can deliver real benefits to your physical and mental wellbeing.

Coping with uncertainty is crucial to maintaining good mental health. It’s a mindset that we’ve all had to learn over the last few years. Financial markets don’t like uncertainty any more than we do, and it’s all too easy to get unsettled by the short-term impact this can have on our finances. It’s important, therefore, to take a long-term view about your investments and pension. You can find out more by visiting our ‘Uncertain times’ hub, which you can access via the QR code on the slide.

Managing your everyday finances represents a challenge that most of us face on a daily basis, particularly given the impact that rising prices have had on the goods and services we use the most.

Managing debts, as well as ensuring that you are able to pay the rent or make your mortgage repayments can be stressful at the best of times. If you haven’t already done so, setting up a household budget can help you to manage your money. Trying to clear - or at least reduce – any outstanding debts can also help to relieve your money worries. It’s also important not to carry this burden alone, so don’t be afraid to speak with family and friends about your finances. Just talking about it can help and they may be able to offer support. Alternatively, why not seek the help of a debt-management professional. To find out more, go to the ‘Manage your debt’ section of our Go&Live website, which you can access via the QR code on the slide.

If you’re needing to find care for a family member or partner, you may be able to use our Care Concierge service at no cost. If it’s available to your scheme, you’ll have access to a team of dedicated care experts, who are committed to helping you navigate the often challenging and difficult later life care journey.

Finding, and paying for, care is a deeply personal experience - everyone's needs are different.

The friendly and helpful Care Concierge team aim to understand your specific situation and requirements and will help you work out what your options are.

If this is something that might be of interest, please check your scheme website for more information.

You may have children and want to help them with further education and accommodation costs.

We realise that not all parents can afford to help with these costs. However, even if parents aren’t paying the tuition or accommodation bills, they may still face difficult tasks to support their children such as:

• navigating the student loans system and making applications.
• helping their children get settled into new accommodation by providing emotional support or helping them to find work while they are studying.

You may also want to support your adult children with getting their first home.

To put this into context, last year, 19% of all home purchases were funded wholly or partly by parents and 56% first-time buyers aged under 35 will get help from parents to buy a property this year. Given the ever-rising property costs of both renting and buying a property, supporting an adult child is quite a difficult ask of any parent!

You’ll find more information in the ‘supporting your family’ section of out Go&Live financial wellbeing hub, which you can access by scanning the QR code.

Slide 27. Frequently asked questions

Although we aren’t able to answer your individual questions today, we’ve created a webpage that provides answers to some of the questions you may have about your workplace pension and includes links to the websites and tools that we’ve looked at today, which you’ll find at legalandgeneral.com/pensionquestions.

We’re going to look at a couple of typical questions that members often ask.

If we don’t cover something that you want to find out a bit more about, please check out our ‘pension questions’ webpage.

If you have a question about your individual plan, please contact our Helpline on 0345 070 8686.

What will happen to my pension in the event of my death?

Should you die before taking any benefits, the value of your pension pot will be paid to your beneficiaries. Please note that this is separate from any death in service cover that your employer may provide.

The decision as to who will receive any money, will be at the discretion of Legal and General or your scheme’s trustees, depending on the type of scheme you are in.

You should let us know who you would want your beneficiaries to be, and you can do this by completing the Nominate a beneficiary section in Manage Your Account. This isn’t something that will be done on your behalf, so it’s your responsibility to ensure you complete the form.

It’s also important to keep this information up to date if your personal circumstances change.

What will happen if I die after I have started taking my savings?

If you die after you’ve started taking your savings, what your beneficiaries might receive will depend on the way you chose to take your money.

Although it’s a subject that most of us might prefer not to think about, it’s important to understand how the way in which you choose to take your savings might impact your beneficiaries in the event of your death.

This is something you ought to consider, particularly as you start to get closer to making decisions about your own retirement plans.

What will happen if I move abroad?

Should you decide to live outside the UK, you can choose to transfer your savings to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

You can find out more about this type of scheme and the things you need to consider at gov.uk.

If you’re thinking of drawing a pension from the UK while living abroad, it’s important to be aware of the tax implications. You can find out more on the MoneyHelper website.

What will happen if I leave my employer?

Even if you no longer work for your current employer, you can leave your retirement savings in this scheme invested with Legal & General and, depending on the type of scheme you are in, may also be able to continue to paying in. Charges for administering your plan and managing your investments will still apply.

Alternatively, you can transfer your savings to your new employer’s pension scheme or to another scheme of your choice.

Once your employer has paid the final pension contribution into your plan, we’ll send you a pack that explains your options in more detail.

Slide 28. Summary

Let’s reflect on what we’ve looked at and think about the steps you could take to firm up your plans for retirement.

Should you need further assistance, you can contact our Helpline on 0345 070 8686.

Most of our audience today will be at different stages of their pension journey.

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this webinar and, hopefully, it’s helped you to get a better understanding of how pension saving works and provided some useful suggestions in terms of the things you can start doing now to improve your prospects of achieving the lifestyle you want in retirement.

You may have already identified some of the things that you need to do following this presentation but, if you’re wondering where to start, we’d suggest you focus on the following 3 things:

1. Having access to Manage Your Account is a bit like having internet banking for your workplace pension. So, if you haven’t already, make sure you register for your online account and make sure you keep on top of your pension admin, including reviewing your contributions, where your savings are invested and completing or updating your nomination of beneficiary details.
2. Try to save as much as you can for as long as you can and try to get into the habit of reviewing your pension savings on a regular basis. Manage Your Account makes it easy to do this. As well as being able to check whether you’re on track to achieve your retirement goals, you can also experiment with the retirement planning tools to look at different scenarios.

Remember, although pension saving can sometimes seem like a very long road the more you can save during your working life, the more chance you have of achieving your goals in retirement. So, it’s important, if you spot any potential gaps in your retirement plans, to take action as early as you can. Regular reviews will help with this.

3. Keep in touch with any of your previous pensions and make sure your previous pension providers have your current address. Where it’s appropriate to do so, you might want to review these pensions and consider whether transferring them to your Legal & General account might be beneficial for you.

Slide 29. Thank you.

Thank you for attending today’s presentation. We hope you found it useful.

If there’s anything you wanted to know about that we didn’t cover today, please take a look at our ‘pension questions’ website, where you’ll find answers to some of the questions we get asked most often in presentations such as this one.

Go to 'legalandgeneral.com/pensionquestions' or scan the QR code on the slide.

If you have a specific query about your individual workplace savings plan, you can contact our Helpline on 0345 070 8686 between the hours of 8.30am and 7pm Monday to Friday.

Please note that call charges will vary. We may record and monitor calls.

You will also find more information about your workplace pension by visiting your scheme website or by going to Manage Your Account, which you can also access by scanning the QR code.

We’d be keen to get your feedback on today’s presentation, so that we can continue to improve these sessions going forward.  If you’re happy to provide us with some comments, there’s a feedback form on the BrightTalk platform that is quick and easy to complete.

We hope to see you at one of our events in the future.

Bye for now.

<Ends>

Legal & General (Portfolio Management Services) Limited.
Registered in England and Wales No. 2457525. Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA.

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Legal & General Assurance Society Limited

Registered in England and Wales No.166055. Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA.

We are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Trust-Based Occupational Pension Schemes are regulated by The Pensions Regulator.

Administrator: Legal & General Assurance Society Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 00166055. Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA.

Legal & General Assurance Society are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. However, the administration of occupational pension schemes is not regulated by the FCA or PRA.