Over the next few months, the team at Parker Kelly Financial Services are providing guidance on financial topics to West Kirby Today readers. They are a family owed business that provides Independent Financial Advice. With locally based advisers who have access to a diverse array of market offerings, they can tailor their services to meet clients’ specific needs and goals.
Andy Griffin who is one of the financial advisers at Parker Kelly and heads up the West Kirby office has written the following article on pensions and retirement.
If you want to set up a meeting with Andy or one of his colleagues, please call the office on 0151 236 7838 or email: enquiries@parkerkelly.co.uk.
Retirement Planning – Keep track of your retirement.
Taking control of your retirement savings is crucial. With so many changing priorities in our busy lives, whether that’s children to support, a new home, changing jobs or even setting up your own business, our retirement savings end up taking a back seat.
A YouGov Survey found that:
- Just under half (48 per cent) said they don’t know how long their retirement savings will need to last them, including 45 per cent of those aged 55 and above.
- Nearly three in ten (28 per cent) of everyone surveyed, say they have no idea what to do with the savings they have built up for their retirement.
Parker Kelly Financial Services provide a free initial meeting to discuss your circumstance objectives and what services we can provide to help you.
A good starting point is to ask yourself the following questions:
Do you know the value of your current pension and what provider they are with?
Do you read pension statements when they arrive in the post, or do you still receive them? You may have moved address. We recommend making a list of all the potential pension you may have and getting the value.
If you have multiple pensions, it may be worth consolidating your pension savings into one pot. This can make it easier to keep track of you pensions and simplify how you take your retirement income. We recommend seeking advice if you are taking this course of action as some pensions provide guarantees and bonuses.
Parker Kelly Financial Services can assist with this as part of our Pension Advice and Retirement Planning service.
Have you or are you saving enough?
Parker Kelly Financial Services can provide guidance and calculations on what you need to save to ensure you have sufficient savings to provide you with a retirement income. We can help you understand how much you’ll need to enjoy a retirement that meets your expectations, including what’s a potentially sustainable withdrawal rate at retirement.
Are you making the most of pension tax relief?
Tax relief on pension contributions is a valuable benefit. Your personal contributions to a pension receive ‘relief at source’ tax from the Government, with the potential for more for higher-rate taxpayers via Self-Assessment.
For example, a net contribution of £80.00 would result in a gross contribution of £100.00 once relief at source has been applied to the contribution.
Parker Kelly Financial Services can provide advice on using the tax relief available for employed, self-employed and business owners. This includes making use of your pension allowances.
Do you know where your pension is invested?
The investments a pension is held in can have a significant impact on the value of a pension. Investment volatility could have increased your investment risk and reduced the value of investments significantly.
Diversifying your investment and taking advice on an investment strategy can help your pension grow and reduce the investment risk.
Managing the risk in retirement is also key, is it best to purchase an annuity or fixed term annuity? Are you needs better suited to retirement drawdown or a combination of both.
Important Information: The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. You cannot normally access money in a pension until age 55.
This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment.
Parker Kelly Financial Services are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (692552) Registered Office: 3rd Floor, 1 Temple Square, 24 Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 5RL Tel: 0151 236 7838. West Kirby Office: The Old Bakery, 72 Sandy Lane, West Kirby, Wirral, CH48 3JA.
Source:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,116 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 12th – 15th February 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
