Retirement Planning Services Many people are not saving adequately for retirement or simply not saving at all. And for those that are saving, many have no idea if they are saving enough.
www.prismaticwealth.co.uk
Retirement Planning Services Thinking Ahead With other financial pressures to deal with in our twenties and thirties, many of us give little thought to retirement planning until we reach middle age. Building a sufficient retirement fund could enable you to enjoy the kind of retirement you dreamed of and one that is not fraught with financial pressures. You may want to travel the world, take up new hobbies or pay off your mortgage. Whilst the earlier you start your pension planning the better, it is vitally important, whatever your age, that you review the progress of your plans and ensure they are on course to meet your estimated needs in retirement.
48%
say planning their retirement is the greatest pressure of all*
The Changing Pension World
More Choices When You Retire
State Pension Age (SPA)
Pension flexibility has opened up wider options as to how and when you can start taking benefits from your pensions. The main features are:
The increase in life expectancies meant an end to the standard SPA of 65 for men and 60 for women. By 2020 both men and women’s SPA will be 66, increasing to 67 between 2026 and 2028. You can find your SPA by using the government’s online calculator at Gov.UK. If you reached state pension age on or after 6 April 2016, you will receive the new flat-rate state pension of £155.65 per week. Qualifying Years To receive the new flat-rate pensions, you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits. To get an estimate of your entitlement visit Gov. UK. Auto Enrolment In order to place more responsibility on employers, the Government rolled out its auto enrolment scheme, which effectively forces employers to place employees into a pension scheme and make a contribution.
www.prismaticwealth.co.uk
• Flexible access to pensions from age 55 • 25% tax free cash may be spread over time • Death benefits paid to beneficiaries on death before age 75 paid tax free Flexible access allows you to decide when and how much income you need, taking income or tax free cash as and when you need it and making use of your personal allowances.
The Tax Benefits Pensions offer valuable tax advantages. For every £80 a basic rate taxpayer puts into a pension, the taxman adds £20 tax relief. Higher rate taxpayers can claim even more. When a pension becomes payable, HMRC rules usually allow you to draw 25% of your fund ‘tax free’.
Retirement Planning Services
The Pension Arena We pride ourselves on being pension experts and with over 30 years’ experience, we advise on all areas of retirement planning.
Pension Consolidation And Transfers It’s quite common for people to build up a number of different pension pots from different employments. For some, it becomes quite difficult to keep track of those pensions and get an overall understanding of their benefits and what they can expect to receive in retirement. Pension consolidation enables you to merge your pensions together, which can ease the administration and provide you with a clearer view of your retirement provision. We can review your existing schemes, along with the investment strategy and determine if there is any merit in transferring those plans.
40%
say seeing their state pension estimate and forecast private pension in one place would help them achieve their desired retirement income*
Final Salary And Defined Contribution Schemes The introduction of pension freedom has seen many members considering the alternatives to drawing a pension via their employers’ scheme. Our Defined Benefit Analysis Service offers an inhouse, fixed fee advice process, which is not linked to the value of your fund. We produce our own Transfer Value Analysis Reports (TVAS), which are a regulatory requirement, and provide an in-depth analysis of the benefits on offer from your employers’ scheme and
www.prismaticwealth.co.uk
the annual growth or return needed from the new scheme to match those benefits. We will spend time understanding you and your objectives, before advising you on what to do next.
Pension Drawdown And Annuities Whilst pension freedom has increased the number of options when drawing your pensions, in many ways it has increased the complexity. We can help you determine how much income you will need in retirement and the best methods of accessing that income, taking into account any other income and savings, along with tax allowances. Getting the right advice when you retire is vital.
Pension And Divorce After the family home, pensions can be the largest asset when couples are divorcing. If you are granted a pension sharing order, we have the specialism to deal with a transfer out to another arrangement, if that is required.
The Self Managed Alternatives Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS) are bespoke schemes which offer the freedom and flexibility to help you achieve personal and business objectives. SIPPs can normally invest in a wide range of funds as well as commercial property. Commercial property purchase via a SIPP is a popular investment choice and we have acted for many clients in this area. A SSAS is usually set up on a multi-member basis and invest in the same range of assets as a SIPP and can also borrow within limits, whether from a commercial lender or a connected person on commercial terms.
Retirement Planning Services Reaching Retirement The prospect of retiring and drawing benefits can be daunting, but with good planning it should make the transition smooth and stress free.
If you’re looking to take a once in a lifetime holiday or make a big purchase like a new car, we can plot that into your personalised chart to determine what impact that will have on your overall financial objectives.
You may have plans which include valuable guarantees, or various pension arrangements built up over the years. Our Retirement Planning Service will analyse all of your plans to ensure you are fully informed of the benefits they provide and how best to draw them.
Ongoing Review Service
You may wish to access your full tax free cash entitlement or maybe you are continuing to work part-time and only wish to draw a proportion. Perhaps you are more comfortable with a fixed income stream. Alternatively, you may prefer to have full flexibility with your pension, drawing money as and when you need it and leaving the remaining pot invested for growth. The death benefits provided by your plans could be a priority for you and we can discuss how best to address this.
• We will meet at least annually to review how your plans are working for you, the investment strategy, your likely income needs for the next year and any other changes in your circumstances.
We will guide you through the retirement process, helping you plan how much money you need to live off, utilising your personal allowances and plan how to draw your benefits most tax efficiently.
• Behind the scenes, our Investment Committee meet quarterly to review your funds and meet with fund managers.
Cash Flow Analysis Our Cash Flow Analysis software is a straightforward and visual tool which will plot your income needs and expenditure.
In retirement, it is equally important to ensure your investments continue to provide you with the income you require. With our Ongoing Review Service:
• You will have access to your adviser whenever you need them. • You will receive our tailored client communications, including our quarterly magazine and monthly Economic Review.
All statements concerning the tax treatment of products and their benefits are based upon our understanding of current tax law and HMRC practices both of which are subject to change in the future. Levels and bases of reliefs from taxation are also subject to change, and are dependent on your individual circumstances. *Scottish Widows Retirement Report 2016
Prismatic Wealth Limited enquiries@prismaticwealth.co.uk
Prismatic Wealth Limited is an Appointed Representative of PrisWM Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
www.prismaticwealth.co.uk