Retirement Planning Services

Pensions, in their simplest form, are investment vehicles with tax advantages designed to give all of us a means of accumulating capital for retirement.

On April 6th 2006, a date known as ‘A-Day’, the government introduced new pensions legislation in an attempt to bring clarity and a greater ease of understanding to the pension’s world. In the period since ‘A-Day’, pensions have started a journey of unquestionably becoming more simple, though there remain a number of pension vehicles available and this part of the site will give some clarity to the options.

In the March 2014 budget, George Osborne introduced further sweeping changes to pensions legislation which, has brought much greater flexibility for all. Legislation coming out of George Osborne’s budget, has become generally referred to as the ‘Pensions Freedom’ legislation, and we have published four Key Guides around the retirement planning piece. Three of these guides are aimed at individual planning, and the fourth one entitled ‘Workplace Pensions and Auto Enrolment’ covers the new legislation that employers in the U.K. have to adhere to.

Introduction to SIPPs

SIPPs (Self Invested Personal Pensions) are one of the most tax efficient methods of making provision for income in retirement. SIPPs have a range and flexibility of investment that makes them particularly attractive to those who wish to actively manage their pension investments.

Personal Pensions

Personal Pensions began life in 1988 and took over from their predecessor; Retirement Annuity Contracts (RACs). Personal Pensions (PPs) are, as they sound, a personal scheme to which investors may contribute either directly or in conjunction with their employer.

Stakeholder Pensions

Stakeholder Pensions were introduced in April 2001 and share the same tax advantages as Personal Pensions but contain some specific rules laid down by the Government to ensure that they offer good value particularly for the lower paid.

State Pension

Working people usually pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs). This means that they are building up the right to get a basic State Pension when they reach the State Pension age. If you reached state pension age before the 6th April 2016 you will be receiving the state pension under the old rules.

Key Guides

Topical guides to financial planning issues, all available to download.

All the four Key Guides are available to download here.