Planning your retirement

If you haven’t started yet...

You really need to do something now. Unfortunately, every year you wait to start paying into a pension will make a difference to the amount you’ll receive in retirement. And the Government gives tax relief on everything you put in – so why not start taking advantage now?

Put simply, every £100 you add to your pension will only cost you £80 in terms of cash potentially less if you’re a higher rate tax payer. The longer you make your payments
for, hopefully the more it will build, although the value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back what you originally invested.

So how much more could you have in retirement, by starting a pension, say five or ten years earlier? In the grand scheme of things, five or ten years doesn’t seem like much – but in terms of pension
provision, that relatively short time can make a huge difference.

Please note that a pension could be a medium to long-term investment because benefits are available from age 55. Currently, 25% of the fund value will be available as a tax-free lump sum, and the remainder will be used to provide you with an income for life.

To make it easier, we’ve put the figures in the table below. Take a look at the row that’s nearest to your current age and see how much more you could have when you retire.

This table shows the level of income that a 60-year-old man might receive if he bought a level annuity. This assumes a 5% p.a. investment return on the premiums. These figures are illustrative and not guaranteed. They are not minimum or maximum amounts, what you get back depends on how your investment performs. You could get back more or less than the figures shown. You may not get back what you put in. Inflation will erode the buying power of the pension shown.

Our Financial Consultants will provide a personal quotation and Key Features document when
they advise you. Obviously tax treatment depends on personal circumstances and can change
in the future.

So, by starting to plan for your retirement now with just small amounts each month (that’s all it takes) you could:

	Allow the amount to build up gradually - with a cumulative effect that will be greater than simply ploughing in huge amounts later on
	Help build up enough money to live on when you could stop working, without state benefits
	Help to avoid having to carry on working past retirement age