Being able to sit back and enjoy your retirement without worrying about money is something that all of us would like to be able to do. Organising your finances in such a way to enable this is entirely possible, but knowing where to start and how to go about making it happen can be tricky. This is why getting professional financial advice for your retirement is so valuable, and there are many benefits to getting this kind of advice.
What advice can professional financial advisers give?
Understanding what kind of advice you will be able to get is the first step. Setting up your pension funds to give you a regular income as well as leaving you with some money in the bank is something that may need to be done in stages and over various types of investment.
Professional financial advisers can give advice on a wide range of things. They can:
- help you choose a personal or stakeholder pensions, which are for self-employed people or those without a workplace pension scheme
- advise on planning your savings so that you have enough for to cover a one-off luxury holiday or any unexpected expenses
- help you decide how to receive retirement income, be that as a lump sum, monthly payment or some combination of the two
- assist with delaying or deferring state pension income if you don’t need it right away and are in a position to be able to make it more valuable in the future when it could be more needed
Why get professional financial advice?
Deciding what to do with your pension pot
Most people pay into pension schemes that will pay out a lump sum once you retire, rather than schemes that pays out a pension based on your salary. If you are one of these people, this means that you’ll have a pot of money to decide what to do with once you retire, and there are many options available of what to do with it, some of them pretty straightforward, while others are quite complex. For this reason, it will likely make sense to get professional advice on what to do with it to ensure that you can get the most out of it.
There have been new rules in effect since April 2015
In the past, once you had accessed your tax-free cash from your pension, you were required to use the remaining amount to buy an annuity that would provide you with a guaranteed amount of income for the rest of your life. However since April 2015, once you turn 55 (or if you were already 55 by that time), you have been able to access your pension pot and use the money in any way you’d like. With so many more options now available, getting professional financial advice is the best way to make sure that you don’t make the wrong decision and maximise the potential of your retirement pot.
Advisers can give assurances and many more options
If you take professional financial advice, decide to follow that advice and then something goes wrong with your investment, you will be able to make an official complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, meaning that you have an added level of security by using an adviser’s services. Advisers also have access to a wider range of options that you could realistically inform yourself about, meaning you’ll have many more possible kinds of investment presented to you by seeking advice. Once you give your situation to an adviser and explain what you’d like advice on, they must tell you what this advice will cost before giving it to you.
The benefits are many
In the end, we all want to make sure that our retirement money works as best it can to serve us and allow for a stress-free and enjoyable life after work. By taking professional financial advice for your retirement, you will be making a worthwhile investment in your future and saving yourself the hassle of researching and dealing with every piece of the retirement puzzle on your own, meaning that you can sit back and relax into your well earned retirement.
Trust Local have a number of accountants and financial advisers in your area, be sure to get in touch if you think that you may be affected by the issues raised in this article.
Retirement Planning
Financial Adviser
wealth management
pensions
