06 Mar Wealth Management Tips for 2018 – 7 Simple Tips to Get You Thinking
We’ve provided seven pension tips for you to consider to keep your retirement plans on track at the start of the New Year.
- Consider consolidating your pension pots– whilst it might be hard to keep track of pensions with job changes, the Government offers a free Pension Tracing Service. Bringing your pension pots together may help you manage them, but seek professional financial advice to see if it’s suitable for you.
- Make use of your tax reliefs on pension contributions– when you are able to do this, particularly at higher rates, this can be beneficial. The Government may well revisit pension tax relief post-Brexit to help ‘balance the books’.
- Maximise your workplace pension contributions– if your employer pays a contribution that is linked to your contribution, see if it’s affordable for you to pay the maximum in order to receive your employer’s maximum.
- Invest for the long term– there have been various moments of uncertainty in the markets – think back to the ‘crash’ of 1987, which now looks like a blip. Keep an open mind, and don’t panic or make knee-jerk reactions. You must remember that when investing in the stock markets, it is inevitable that there will be times of volatility when you need to weather the storm.
- Review your State Pension entitlement– given so many changes, it is worth keeping your finger on the pulse and looking at what you may need to do to top up to the maximum entitlement available.
- Review your expected expenditure in retirement– it’s key that you clearly establish ‘essential’ and ‘discretionary’ spending, so in poor market conditions you can always look to reduce income from pension funds if necessary to cut back on discretionary expenditure that can wait for another day.
- Ensure your income in retirement is set up as tax-efficiently as possible–making full use of all available tax allowances/exemptions is crucial. Don’t forget to look at how different tax wrappers can work for you.
What does retirement mean to you?
From stopping work altogether to a slow and gradual reduction of commitments, retirement means different things to different people. Making sure you can sustain the level of income you need as you move away from full-time employment or your business interests is key to a long and happy retirement. To discuss your requirements, please contact us.
Source data:
[1] Investor Pulse Survey – BlackRock’s Global Investor Pulse Survey examines investing attitudes and behaviours across the world. The 2017 survey included 28,000 respondents in 18 countries. The UK sample included 4,000 respondents between the ages of 25 and 74. Survey conducted in Q1 2017.
A PENSION IS A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT. THE FUND VALUE MAY FLUCTUATE AND CAN GO DOWN, WHICH WOULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE LEVEL OF PENSION BENEFITS AVAILABLE.
PENSIONS ARE NOT NORMALLY ACCESSIBLE UNTIL AGE 55. YOUR PENSION INCOME COULD ALSO BE AFFECTED BY INTEREST RATES AT THE TIME YOU TAKE YOUR BENEFITS. THE TAX IMPLICATIONS OF PENSION WITHDRAWALS WILL BE BASED ON YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES, TAX LEGISLATION AND REGULATION, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
THE VALUE OF INVESTMENTS AND INCOME FROM THEM MAY GO DOWN. YOU MAY NOT GET BACK THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT INVESTED.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT A RELIABLE INDICATOR OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE.
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