Managing your savings pot
The goal of having a pension is being able to fund the lifestyle you want when you come to take your money. It’s all about whether you’re saving enough and whether you’re invested in a way that reflects your current plans.
By keeping on top of these things now, you can make sure you’re doing everything you can to stay on track. You can check how your pension savings are doing using our online service, Manage Your Account.
Life’s changes may mean that over time, your retirement goals or circumstances could change too. As life moves on, it’s important that you review the choices you’ve made about your pension savings as well. If you are uncertain about what to do, we recommend you speak to a financial adviser. To find an adviser in your local area, visit unbiased.co.uk. Advisers usually charge for their services.
✔ Are you paying enough?
Even if you can only afford to pay a little bit more at the moment, any extra contributions to your savings pot will help you build up your savings and give you the best chance of meeting your retirement goals. To change your contributions, contact M&S.
✔ Are your savings invested in the right place?
How your pension is invested can make a big difference. So, it’s important to make sure you’re invested in a way that reflects your circumstances and goals.
We offer a variety of pension funds with varying levels of responsible investing approaches incorporated. You can find out more detail on responsible investing and the types of funds available on our ESG Hub.
✔ Look after your loved ones
If you want to nominate or change who your pension savings should be paid to in the event of your death, you can do that by simply logging in to Manage Your Account and click on Nominate Beneficiaries. This will make it clear who you'd like your savings to go to if you still have money left in your pension pot at that time. The Legal & General Trustees have discretion as to who receives the money but they will take your wishes into account.
✔ Think about your retirement age
The Trustee(s) of the Your M&S Pension Saving Plan initially set your retirement age to 65, but you can change it to a different age. The earliest you can choose is normally your the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA). The NMPA is currently age 55 but this is increasing to age 57 from 2028. You can change it at any time. The easiest and quickest way to change your retirement age is to log into Manage Your Account. Remember when thinking about your retirement age, you don’t need to take all your benefits at that time.
