Personal Pension

A Personal Pension plan or Private Pension helps you save money for retirement and is available to any United Kingdom resident who is between the ages of 16 and 75 (Children under 16 cannot start a plan in their own right but a Legal Guardian can start one on their behalf).

You can start a Personal Pension even if you have a workplace pension or if you’re self-employed and don’t have a workplace pension. You don’t have to be working to take out a Personal Pension Plan and you can also provide a Personal Pension Plan for your spouse/partner or your child/children.

The pension provider, usually an insurance company, invests all contributions paid (minus charges) into a Personal Pension plan to build up a pension pot over a number of years. For most people, a pension will be one of the best investments they can make as contributions normally attract tax relief e.g. a basic rate tax payer will have every net £100 invested automatically increased to £125.

It is very important that you review the benefits of your scheme and the status of your retirement planning, to establish if it is on track to give you the pension you want. If you are in an employer’s scheme you should be able to obtain a statement from your employer outlining the scheme benefits. Annual reviews are a key component of successful pension planning.

For a Personal Pension, the level of contributions you have been making to your scheme, investment performance and charges will determine the size of your pension. Investments should be based on your risk profile and reviewed regularly. The larger your fund, the more advice you may need on managing the fund for optimum performance, because every percentage point increase or decrease could potentially represent thousands of pounds.

We will be pleased to assess your benefits to establish whether they still have the potential to meet your objectives, and make appropriate recommendations to you. Working in conjunction with our Independent Financial Advisers, we can help you choose the right pension provider and make the necessary arrangements for paying the contributions to the plan. To contact us, click here.