At its most basic a pension is a fund that you build up over your working life in order to support yourself in retirement.
As a rule the kind of pension plan you need depends on your employment position and your previous history. The details are very complex, but most people will fall into one of the following groups:-
• Self Employed • Employee • Company Owner
In order to assess your position and advise you correctly we will need to understand your previous history and any existing pension contracts you may have.
In short we conduct an audit of your present arrangements. We assess the level of pension that your present arrangements might expect to provide at retirement, and then, if there is a gap between what you want and what you might get, advise you as to how best to invest to provide the extra retirement income you need.
For most people taking benefits is a simple matter of either being given them by their employer when they leave, or cashing in their accumulated funds for a combination of tax free cash and pension.
When getting a pension by cashing in an accumulated fund, this is obtained by buying an annuity, which is an income for life. The amount you will get depends upon your fund size and the age and sex of you and your partner (if any). If you are in ill health (with a condition that medical experts will confirm means that you are unlikely to live for many years) then you may be able to get a higher income.
It is important to note that while you might build up your fund with one pension company, there is no reason to use that company for the annuity. Too many people lock themselves into low incomes for life because they make this mistake. We can search the market for the best annuity rate for you.
However for people with larger funds, who have the financial means to be more flexible, then the options of Income Drawdown (Pension Fund withdrawal) and/or Phased Retirement should be looked into. We can arrange specialist advice on these matters.
PFM Associates Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority