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Retirement income advice

It is possible to access your retirement pension plans after age 50 although the minimum age is rising to age 55 from April 2010. For most people however age 60 or 65 is a more realistic age from which to start drawing on your retirement savings.

Retirement is so much more that stopping work on your 60th or 65th birthday. Many people will enjoy active and healthy lifestyles into their 70s and beyond, many continue to work past 60 or 65, and use retirement savings to supplement income until some future date when they wish to give up work entirely.

When you have spent many years saving for retirement it is vitally important to make sure that you chose the most suitable way in which to obtain income for the years ahead.

People in final salary (also called defined benefit schemes) do not need to worry about purchasing their pension income (or annuity as it is more commonly known). Final salary schemes provide a regular income and usually include spouse’s pensions and inflation protection automatically.

Expert Financial Solutions Ltd highly qualified and experienced advisers can give you advice on whether to take the tax-free cash sum (also called pension commencement lump sum) and if so how best to invest it to provide for the future.

For those people with personal pensions and other forms of money purchase scheme (where there is a fund of money available for you to decide how you wish to take retirement income) you may need help and advice with the various options for taking tax-free cash sums and annuity income.

Older pension plans can include features such as guaranteed annuity options which may require analysis and advice to ensure that the most suitable option is taken.

Expert Financial Solutions Ltd Chartered Financial Planners and independent financial advisers advise many high earners and high net worth clients on their pension and retirement savings. Our highly qualified and professional financial planners are pension experts and have the highest level of pension qualifications including G60 advanced financial planning certificate pensions, and AF3 advanced diploma in financial planning pensions.

Expert Financial Solutions Ltd offers advice on retirement income options including advice on annuities, advice on pension fund withdrawal, advice on income drawdown, advice on unsecured pension, advice on third way annuities, advice on enhanced annuities, advice on impaired life annuities and advice on phased retirement.

We use open market comparison software to identify the most suitable option and best annuity provider for your circumstances.

Many people still take their annuity from the pension company that they have been saving with up to retirement. However all pension plans now include an ‘open market option’ which allows you to take your retirement pot to the best and most suitable provider for your needs.

Using the open market option can significantly increase your retirement income.

Our analysis and advice service will help you to decide which option is most suited to you from the range of options including: -

• Conventional annuities.
• Investment linked annuities.
• Enhanced or impaired life annuities (click here for a list of relevant conditions).
• Phased retirement plans.
• Pension fund withdrawal (also known as income drawdown or unsecured pension).
• Alternatively secured pension from age 75.

Where you have pension funds of significant value or a number of different types of pension plans from several companies we can prepare a detailed report analysing your retirement options and identifying whether the most suitable strategy for your circumstances, investment risk profile and objectives.
 
September 2009