Pension Videos
Learn about Pension Matters through our short informative videos.
Pension Investing
It’s a strange quirk but many pension investors don’t always consider their pension pot as an investment. In the sense that it is like any other form of investment and needs managing to get the best return possible for the risk taken. And this matters because the difference over time in a little extra return each year can make a big difference to the eventual amount an individual has for their own retirement.
This is a video that explains more, about how much this difference can be and how anyone with a pension can take active steps to – at the very least – strive to improve their eventual pot size.
Income Drawdown
Income Drawdown describes the process of using a pension beyond the age of 55 to provide an income. This may look straightforward but is not. The options are many and the risks can be high.
Income Drawdown is incredibly flexible and allows investors to keep their pensions intact whilst receiving an income. However, pension investors need to consider carefully a number of factors, including where to invest their pension, what level of income to draw, and how to structure everything to try and ensure the pension does not suffer large losses or even worse run out of money altogether.
The video explains the subject fully.
Pension Freedom
Pension Freedom describes the flexibility allowed to those age 55+ who have private-style pensions, to take the value of their pension funds in any way they like.
This means you can have all of your value in one go from this age.
Whilst this flexibility and freedom is generally beneficial it does come with drawbacks and potential dangers.
Learning how this works is crucial for those who are in this position, and this video explains all about how this works, the risks, and how best to go about sorting what is most suitable for you.
Pension Consolidation
Millions of people have more than one pension plan, and in many cases have multiple plans. These will have been accrued over time from past jobs, pensions started at different life stages, maybe through a recommendation by banks or advisers, or from contracting out of the government’s second state pension scheme. This can lead to a mixed bag of pensions – with different costs and charges, different retirement dates, different investment holdings, and maybe even different types of pension.
This can produce a confusing and inefficient position, which doesn’t help with the effective management of a retirement strategy.
Pension consolidation describes the process of bringing two or more of these plans together into a more efficient structure, normally into one plan.
This doesn’t always make sense, as the video explains. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.
The video explores how you should approach this, how to work out what to do for the best and when pension consolidation can improve your future retirement prospects.
Planning your Retirement Income
Organizing how to take income in retirement, from savings, investments, and pensions can be a complex decision. Many different factors have to weigh up against each other. The level of income you need, the tax position, both the investments and funds which you draw income from, as well as your own tax position, and the risk of pursuing certain options against others.
It involves calculations and choices and requires skilled judgments.
What may appear simple, is often anything but.
This is a video that takes you through the complexities involved, and outlines how you can form a plan which works, is efficient, and effective.
Defined Benefit Pensions Transfers - The Key Considerations
If you have what is known as a defined benefit pension, such as a final salary company scheme, then you may have the option to transfer it into a personal-type scheme.
This is a thorny subject as it is generally considered to be a bad idea or bad move to do so.
However, it is not a 100% game, it is not always a bad idea, and in certain cases could be very favorable to the pension investor.
As with any significant asset (and a company pension can be exactly that), it is wise to make sure it is invested or structured exactly how you want it and in line with your long-term financial plan.
It makes sense then to get a review of any defined benefit scheme, from time to time, not just to explore whether a transfer is available, viable, or sensible, but also to see how it fits within your entire financial plan.
Dealing with such a pension requires great care and a very cautious approach and a transfer is normally not sensible. However, as the video explains anyone with such a pension should look into how it is set up and what the possibilities are for it going forward. And to use a suitably qualified and regulated adviser to do so.