Your pension - your future  

Retirement planning is a topic we are all reading more about in the press. And we all know that we should be saving for retirement.

A Personal Pension is a great way to save for retirement. Not only is the growth within a pension fund tax efficient, but your contributions receive tax relief. This means that for every £100 invested, the true cost after tax relief is only £78 for a basic rate tax payer, and only £60 for a higher rate taxpayer.

Pensions have changed considerably over the last few years. The introduction of Stakeholder Pensions has brought down charges. The maximum charge for a Stakeholder Pension is 1.5% p.a. of the fund value. So if you have a pension fund value of £1000, the insurance company will at the most take about £15 per year in charges.  Many would charge even less.

Stakeholder Pensions do have their limitations. Typically the fund choice is quite limited. A Personal Pension would be a better solution for someone who required access to more investment funds. For even greater flexibility there is the Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).

SIPPs

More and more providers are offering SIPPs. These offer the widest possible investment options. Not only would you have access to the insurers own funds and external fund links, but you could invest in individual company shares, unit trusts or oeics, and you could even buy commercial property.

So if you are concerned about you retirement planning and want to know more about the options available to you, then contact us to discuss your circumstances. Or if you have an existing pension and want to know more then click here to read about Pension Transfers.