Tips for a smooth retirement

Whether 2021 is the year you’ve earmarked for your retirement or, due to the pandemic, you’ve decided to retire earlier than intended, it’s not too late to get your plans in place.

Organisation is key to ensuring your retirement goes smoothly, even if it still seems a long way off, and we’re here to help you get your finances on track. After all, retirement should be a time to look forward to and not overshadowed by financial concerns.

The following steps should help you get started:

• Get a State Pension forecast

  This will show you how much State Pension you’ll get and when you’ll receive it, visit www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

• Value all pensions

  Check your annual statements to find out how much your workplace or private pensions are worth

• Locate any lost pensions

  If you’re unable to find important information related to previous pensions, the government’s free Pension Tracing Service can help you locate the necessary details

• Quantify savings, investments and debts

  Establish exactly how much you have in savings and investments, such as ISAs or property, to boost your retirement income. Prioritise paying down debts so that you start your retirement debt-free

• Consider how much you need in retirement

  We can help quantify your expected income to ensure you can afford day-to-day living costs, as well as some luxuries such as holidays. We’ll also take into account that your income requirements could change over time

• Be scam savvy

  Pension scams are on the rise, so watch out for schemes encouraging you to transfer money from your pension to another investment or access your pension early

• Seek advice

  Financial advice can be particularly valuable at a time of uncertainty. We can help make the big decisions at retirement easier by showing you all of your options and giving you the confidence that you’re making the right choices for your future.