Retirement Advice
Retirement Planning and Advice
Planning for retirement can be daunting, which is why it is important to get help to ensure that you get the most out of your pension to maximise your retirement income when you need it. The quality of your retirement planning is what will ultimately decide if you have adequate funds to live the lifestyle you want when you reach state pension retirement age.
Unfortunately, financial security doesn’t just happen. It takes a great deal of preparation, planning and commitment. Being retirement ready will undoubtedly pay off in the long run, and starting those preparations as early as possible is always the best advice for retirement planning. It's not just a question of how much money you need to retire; you must plan for every possible factor that could have an impact on your retirement income. As a result, some crucial decisions will need to be made.
Holding both CII Chartered status and the Pension Transfer Gold Standard, we are one of the top independent financial advisory firms by qualification in the UK, and ideally equipped to give you the independent, objective and well-informed retirement advice you will need to live the life you want.
Our advisers deliver a wealth of experience helping to turn our clients’ dreams into reality. To start your retirement planning journey with True Bearing, please contact us today and arrange a face-to-face or virtual appointment at no expense to you.
Telephone us on 01257 260011, or fill out our contact form to request a call back at your convenience.
Our Services
The retirement and pensions specialists at True Bearing offer highly qualified advice tailored to your specific needs and circumstances to ensure your retirement plays out the way you want it to.
We can advise you on the following:
- How to check your State Pension
- How to retire early with financial security
- Using your pension pot to provide an income for the rest of your life
- Tracing old pensions
- Dealing with your debts
- Boosting your retirement income
We have experience working with clients from a wide range of financial backgrounds and with varied retirement goals. No matter what your circumstances may be, we can work with you to get the very most out of your retirement.
The Three Stages of Retirement
The majority of us will have a potential three-decade retirement journey and when it comes to retirement, you need to have a plan that can go the distance. The UK state pension retirement age is 66, but many people will retire early, and live well beyond their 60s. In these cases, you want your money to outlive you and not for you to outlive your money. As a result of our experience over the years, three clear stages of retirement have been revealed and each needs a different plan.
- Active retirement - good physical and mental health and the pension income/money to do the things you want to do in life. This is the stage of retirement where you want to really be ticking off as much of your ‘to-do list’ as possible.
- Passive retirement - this is where the energy and desire to travel, play sports, indulge in hobbies or pastimes is still there but it is not quite as strong as it once was. The irony of passive retirement is there is still the pension income and money to do these things but the physical or mental desire is slowly diminishing.
- Supported retirement - not all of us reach this stage of retirement but, in the future, more of us will. Supported retirement is where you may need to employ the services of a cleaner or gardener. You may look to have your meals delivered or need assistance in the morning and evening in terms of getting in and out of bed. For some, it may no longer be possible to live independently and you may look to move into a retirement village. For others, it may be necessary to move into a care home where structured support can be readily provided.
Each of our journeys will be different but having an awareness and understanding of the three stages of retirement is a very good starting point when it comes to retirement planning.
What are my Retirement Options?
With more flexibility and freedom than ever in how we manage our retirement income, getting the correct plan in place is crucial. If you are unsure about the best approach to taking your pension benefits, then retirement advice is an absolute must.
Everyone’s circumstances are different, but your retirement plans must reflect your needs and True Bearing’s retirement advisers can help create a retirement plan that is suitable for you.
We are experts at independent pension advice, proven by our history of running retirement workshops for many major north-west employers. These include universities, local authorities, teachers, police forces, oil and chemical companies, luxury car manufacturers, as well as companies in the private sector.
Options for taking pension funds include:
- Annuities and enhanced annuities - an annuity is a guaranteed income for life, which is still a very valuable certainty to have. Enhanced annuities give higher incomes if your health is not too good or you smoke. You should always check this option.
- Drawdown - drawdown has now become more common since George Osborne introduced greater pension freedoms. Varying amounts of capital can be taken from your pension pot, depending on your wishes.
- Phased retirement - this occurs where you phase in portions of your pension fund over several years. This may be useful where your full retirement is staggered.
- Whole pension - it is possible, though rarely recommended, to take your pension all in one go, with the first 25% of your pension being withdrawn completely tax free. The rest of your pot can be withdrawn at a marginal rate.
In order to successfully plan for your retirement, you need to ensure that you have significant income to live the life you want. There are many factors that can influence this and a discussion with one of our advisers will help you to understand the best options for your future.
If you are about to retire, we can help with the next steps you need to take to ensure you are in the best position for your life in retirement. We can also regularly review your arrangements to make sure they’re meeting your needs.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about Retirement Planning
The dictionary definition of retirement is ‘to leave one’s job and to cease work, typically on reaching the normal age of leaving service’.
However, the word retirement could be better framed as ‘financial independence’, i.e. reaching a point in life where you no longer need to exchange either physical labour or mental intellect in exchange for a salary. Many people have reached this point but have still chosen to carry on working because they enjoy what they do or it gives them purpose or meaning.
Retirement should not be viewed as being the end of the journey, but the start of a new one! This new journey could involve working part time or doing voluntary work, amongst everything else you want to tick off in life.
When you feel that you want to make the transition from working to retirement you must ask yourself the following questions:
- Have you had enough (of work)?
- Do you have enough (pension income and savings)?
If the answer to question one is YES, but question two is NO, or NOT SURE, now is the time to sit down with an Independent Financial Planner and discuss retirement planning.
Planning for retirement can be daunting, mainly because of how the pensions industry has changed over the last couple of years. Fewer people are enjoying the guaranteed income that comes with a final salary pension and annuities. Also, more people are waiting longer to qualify for their state pensions. The state pension age is currently 66 years old for both men and women.
So, you must ensure that you make a success of your retirement planning! The quality of your retirement planning is what will ultimately decide if you have adequate funds to live the lifestyle you want post-retirement.
There are many reasons why retirement planning for future life is so important. These include inflation, increases in lifestyle expenses and rising health issues, just to name a few.
We all know that the earlier you start your retirement planning, the better! Contributions will be more manageable, and you will allow yourself more time for your investment/savings to grow and increase in value.
Contact Us
An Independent Financial Adviser can help you understand your retirement options. To find out more, get in touch with us today to arrange a one-to-one introductory session. This meeting will be at our expense, and will give you an opportunity to work out what kind of pension plan will suit you best, based on your goals and circumstances.
Give us a call on 01257 260011 to get started, or fill out our contact form on the side of the page to request a call back at your convenience.
