It does not matter when you intend to retire, if you do not start planning for it early enough, there is a real danger that you could outlive your savings. In the not so distant future, it may not be unusual for people to spend nearly as long in retirement as they did in employment.
Despite an ever-changing pension landscape, including changes to the amounts one can contribute annually, pension planning and saving for your retirement is as vital as ever. Within permitted limits, pension contributions attract tax relief at your highest rate, assuming anything over the basic rate of tax is reclaimed via an individual’s tax return.
Home aside, many of our clients find that their largest single asset is their pension. Clients often have various pension pots dotted around. These may be in personal pension schemes, self-invested personal pensions (SIPP), small self-administered schemes (SSAS) or with various previous employers – often in defined benefit schemes, defined contribution schemes or a combination of both. Where clients are unclear on what their pension provision is, we help provide a sanity check guiding them to understand how their assets are invested, the risks being taken and whether they are on track to retire with the income they need in retirement.
Our goal is to help you to build a retirement plan that you feel comfortable with during your working life and that will meet your income expectations in retirement. Working closely with you, we will identify what you want from your pension and develop a structure that meets those needs.
The process we follow may involve building on existing plans you have or using other vehicles to consolidate and simplify what you have.
We can advise on your retirement planning, whether you are in the process of building your pension pot or getting ready to retire. We find most people have similar concerns and questions:
Your retirement may last longer than you expect. Therefore, your savings may need to stretch further. The traditional view of retirement as the final stage of your life is no longer the reality for most people. Indeed, individuals are going through several stages as they get older: very active, less active but healthy, less healthy but sufficiently able to care for oneself and perhaps the final stage of needing care. Ideally, your income should be flexible enough to meet your needs throughout your retirement.
KAL Capital Partners can help you evaluate all your options, consider the financial consequences of each and provide guidance on your decision making.
When it comes to turning your pension savings into an income for your retirement, you will be faced with a number of choices. Depending on the choice you make, it could be a once-and-for-all decision. You therefore need to be sure that the choice you make is the right one for your circumstances. Your choices for your pension pot may include;
Self-employed business owners are not able to benefit from Automatic Enrolment nor able to join occupational pension schemes. Whilst you may still benefit from the basic State Pension and the Flat Rate State Pension, it is vitally important to consider personally funding an individual arrangement, so that in retirement the income you receive is better suited to meet your personal needs.
If you are running a successful business, how can you use that to generate financial security in retirement?
We take our clients through a range of potential financial solutions that will provide both them and their employees, with tax-efficient retirement benefits.
These are some of the areas that we discuss:
