22 Feb 5 Ways to Maximise Your Pension Pot
Taking the time to plan and prepare is important in ensuring that you have a comfortable life when you retire. Starting early is key to making sure that you are well prepared for your retirement.
Here are 5 ways to make the most out of your pension.
The value of pensions and the income they produce can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.
Tax treatment varies according to individual circumstances and is subject to change.
Top Up Your Pension:
In the years before retirement, making additional contributions to your pension whether by adding to an existing scheme or creating an additional one is vital in ensuring your retirement is well planned for. Maximising your pension contributions also enables you to benefit from tax relief, which is particularly profitable for higher-rate taxpayers. Note that there is a limit on the contributions you can pay into your pensions each year to be able to qualify for tax relief.
Leading Up to Retirement:
In the last few years leading towards your retirement, it’s important to make final preparations to get the most out of your retirement. Consider moving your money out of risky equities and invest it into safer alternatives. Think about using a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) to exercise greater control over the way in which the money you’ve accumulated in your pension is invested. Using a SIPP will allow you to invest in stocks and shares, collective investments, and trusts to name a few.
Annuity:
You can use the equity in your pension to purchase annuity, which is effectively an insurance policy giving you guaranteed income for the rest of your life. There are lots of different options available to people interested in investing in annuity; including short term, fixed term, guaranteed period, single/joint life, investment linked, etc. As with all investments, it’s important to shop around and seek advice to ensure that you find the most suitable option for your circumstances.
Delay Your Retirement
In putting off your retirement as long as possible, you have more time to contribute to your pension pot and for your pension to grow interest. As you get older, annuity rates increase – so if you are interested in using your pension to purchase an annuity, delaying your retirement may mean that you could see a financial benefit.
Seek Financial Advice
There’s nothing worse than trusting your pension plan will pay off to have it underperform when the time comes. That’s why you should regularly monitor your pension to ensure that your investments are meeting your expectations. Hiring a Financial Advisor is an effective way to ensure that you are getting what’s expected for your retirement.
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