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Archive for the ‘Pension Options’ Category
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
When it comes closer to retirement there are a number of pension options available to you, but many people simply opt for whatever is offered by their provider.
By shopping around and looking elsewhere, you could add thousands of pounds to your annual pension income.
 Am I obliged to take the annuity offered by my current provider?
No, no, no. This is a very common misconception by most pension holders.
In fact it is actually advised that you don’t accept the first annuity offered to you as it is more likely to have a poor rate of return. Instead, it is strongly recommended that you take advantage of what is known as your Open Market Option or OMO.
This basically means that by law you are allowed to shop around for the best annuity, and you do not have to take the annuity from your current provider.
This is exactly what we mean by considering all of your pension options – there are often choices available that you don’t even know about.
By seeking independent financial advice you can be fully aware of all the options available to you in terms of starting a pension, transferring one, or even purchasing an annuity.
Whatever stage of your life you are at, Pensionlite’s pension specialists can help you.
It is estimated that pensioners have lost £7 BILLION over the last decade?
In addition to just finding a better value product there are further consideration which could enhance your pension by as much as 40%.
Things like, what your main lifetime occupation has been, your post code, smoking habits even if you have given up, are you taking any prescriptive medication, have you had any operations or treatments, how much you drink, your height and weight, cholesterol and blood pressure.
What should I do if I am nearing retirement?
The first and most important thing to do is to seek independent financial advice as this will ensure that you are receiving impartial advice and guidance.
At Pensionlite, your adviser can inform you of all your pension options, and assess your current situation. Once your adviser has collated the necessary information, they will be able to discuss your options with you and provide recommendation as the best option for you.
In the current climate, annuity rates are quite poor across the board (some more than others), meaning that it could be worthwhile considering a different route such as pension drawdown, or a flexible annuity.
Pensionlite can help.Our Free, Independent, No Obligation Retirement Reviews are designed to put you in a position of knowledge before you make any decisions.It will not cost you a single 1p to accept a retirement review & recommendation report tailored to you, your circumstances and aspirations.
What have you got to lose?
Pensionlite carries the prestigious status of Chartered Financial Planners.Our Chartered status, granted by the Privy Council, is our industries gold standard for financial planners and is currently held by less than 300 firms across the country.
This status brings with it serious obligations to ensure the advice, service and ongoing support we provide for you is of the highest quality, based solely on your researched needs and provided by someone of appropriate competency.
We offer whole of market choice and have no links or ties to any single business or organisation.
Our aim is to provide our clients with tailored solutions, created by advisers with particular skills and specialist qualifications.
Our advice process is always to gather a full understanding of our client’s needs, circumstances and aspirations together with detailed analysis of any existing arrangements and make written recommendations before any decisions or actions are taken.
We provide free, independent, no obligation review, and if you want more information regarding your pension options, then contact pensionlite today on 01952 279 379.
Tags: Individual Pension Plans, Pension Options, pension plans, pension sharing, pensions
Posted in Pension Options 1 Comment »
Friday, March 18th, 2011
The choices you make before you retire will have a significant impact on the life you lead once you have finished work regarding pension options. You don’t want to regret any of the decisions you made because your standard of living is not what you expected.
There are numerous pension options available to you now, so you don’t have to stick to the traditional annuity if it isn’t the right thing for you.
 Pensions are far more flexible than they used to be, which can lead to complex decisions and complications. However, the right financial advice and guidance when making major decisions, could allow you to live the retirement you have always dreamed of.
Why should I consider alternative pension options?
If you have a pension and are moving closer to retirement, you are bound to have started to think about your pension. Traditionally, there wouldn’t be too much to think about with a lifetime annuity being once of few choices, but in today’s uncertain economic climate, many are avoiding this rigid option.
As well as being renowned for its inflexibility, annuity rates have taken a massive hit in the last 20 years.
Research has shown that a fund of £100,000 would have bought a 65 year old single male a pension of £15,640 per year (15.6%). In today’s climate, it would only give the man £6,270 per year (6.3%).
That’s a difference of over £9,000 per year! If the man lived on for another ten years, he will have lost nearly £100,000 due to the incredible drop in rates.
We don’t mean to scare you; we just want you to understand that the ‘safe’ option isn’t quite as secure as it once was.
So what pension options are available?
As we’ve mentioned, you could go for the traditional lifetime annuity, but even though the stability is there, you could end up losing out in the long run.
A relatively popular option on the market is a flexible pension annuity, this is where your fund is invested into a pension plan which allows the early release of up to 25% cash from the fund, and the remainder is then invested into a 5 year annuity.
This offers a lot more freedom than the conventional option, and is becoming a first choice for many people.
If you have a greater mortality risk from things such as smoking, drinking or existing medical problems, it is usually advised that you consider an enhanced rate pension. This pension option typically results in higher rates being paid out due to the increased risk of a shorter life.
 Whatever you decide to do, even if you have considered the options and would prefer to stick to the tried and tested method of a lifetime annuity, it is still imperative that you seek professional financial advice.
Pensionlite are an independent financial advisory firm who specialise in pensions and retirement. Our highly trained advisers are committed to providing clients with impartial advice which will benefit them for many years to come.
If you’re considering your pension options, contact Pensionlite today for a completely free review of your current situation.
Pension&Investor Lite carries the prestigious status of Chartered Financial Planners.
Our Chartered status, granted by the Privy Council, is our industries gold standard for financial planners and is currently held by less than 300 firms across the country.
This status brings with it serious obligations to ensure the advice, service and ongoing support we provide for you is of the highest quality, based solely on your researched needs and provided by someone of appropriate competency.
Pension & Investor Lite, is an Independent Financial Adviser firm, Directly Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority, specialising in Pensions & Investment.
We offer whole of market choice and have no links or ties to any single business or organisation.
Our aim is to provide our clients with tailored solutions, created by advisers with particular skills and specialist qualifications.
Our advice process is always to gather a full understand our clients needs, circumstances and aspirations together with detailed analysis of any existing arrangements and make written recommendations before any decisions or actions are taken.
We provide free, independent, no obligation review and recommendation reports covering all aspects of our specialist areas of work.
Knowledge is power and unless you know, how can you decide on a course of action.
We look forward to being of service.
To contact us telephone 01952 279 379, e mail enquiries@pensionlite.co.uk
or visit our web site www.pensiponlite.co.uk and send us a message that way you can choose your pension options
Tags: guaranteed minimum pension, pension advice, Pension Options, pension performance, pension service uk
Posted in Pension Options
Saturday, February 19th, 2011
Check your last annual pension statement now!
If you have a pension plan you might feel like you are fully prepared, and maybe even counting down the days until you can live out your dream lifestyle in retirement. As you’re well aware that many people are far less prepared than yourself and don’t even have a pension, other than that provided by the state, you might feel that you can simply cruise through retirement. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it is extremely important that you pay attention to your pension performance.
Every year you will receive a pension statement from your provider and it will say, somewhere on it word like:-
‘Assuming your pension grows at 5%, 7% or 9% (one or all of these may be used) you can expect to get £…..? at your selected retirement age’
Many people continue to think this is what they are actually going to get. It’s not.
Before you start patting yourself on the back for your forward thinking and financial common sense, you need to consider your pensions actual performance. Do you have any idea how your pension has been performing?
It is highly unlikely that the growth or bonuses you have been getting are anything like the ‘projected returns’ shown on your statement.
Many With Profits pension funds have had NIL or very small bonuses for many years and other direct investments may have also been extremely poor, some showing a negative return in the last 5 years.
A poor pension performance could have a serious negative impact on your standard of living during retirement, and the worst thing is, you might not have a clue until it’s too late.
Figures compiled for the Observer demonstrated that the pension with the best performance could provide clients with three times the annual pension than one with the worst performance. What’s even more shocking than these figures is the fact that having a poor pension is far more likely than having a good one. The majority of the UK’s pension fund is tied up by the big names, with each having funds of more than £2 billion, yet it is often these names that provide poor pension performance.
If you are worried about a poor pension performance, you can monitor it to a certain extent through the annual statement that you should be sent by your provider, but the jargon is often enough to put us off looking any further. Even if we do have the discipline to attempt to decipher these statements, few of us know enough about the industry to carry out a fair comparison with rival pension providers.
 Once you have come to a decision as to whether you are going to start shopping around for an alternative scheme with an enhanced pension performance, it is important that you are aware of the terms and conditions of your current plan. Many older plans have financial penalties for switching or making any changes.
Don’t hesitate to check your pension performance as it could be the fine line between the standard of living you have always dreamed of in retirement and struggling to make ends meet. Everyone deserves to enjoy life once they have finished work, so why not contact Pensionlite who can offer you a completely free pension review at no obligation?
Pensionlite carries the prestigious status of Chartered Financial Planners.
Our Chartered status, granted by the Privy Council, is our industries gold standard for financial planners and is currently held by less than 300 firms across the country.
This status brings with it serious obligations to ensure the advice, service and ongoing support we provide for you is of the highest quality, based solely on your researched needs and provided by someone of appropriate competency.
Pension & Investor Lite, is an Independent Financial Adviser firm, Directly Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority, specialising in Pensions & Investment.
We offer whole of market choice and have no links or ties to any single business or organisation.
Our aim is to provide our clients with tailored solutions, created by advisers with particular skills and specialist qualifications.
Our advice process is always to gather a full understand our clients needs, circumstances and aspirations together with detailed analysis of any existing arrangements and make written recommendations before any decisions or actions are taken.
We provide free, independent, no obligation review and recommendation reports covering all aspects of our specialist areas of work.
Knowledge is power and unless you know, how can you decide on a course of action.
We look forward to being of service.
To contact us telephone 01952 279 379
E mail enquiries@pensionlite.co.uk
Visit our web site www.pensionlite.co.uk now to see how well your pension performance is!
Posted in Pension Options, Pension Performance
Friday, February 18th, 2011
An annuity is a type of contract with an insurance company who ensure that you receive a guaranteed minimum payment for the rest of your life in exchange for your pension fund. Sounds simple, but unfortunately there are a wide range of pension annuities available on the market and all have different benefits.
By seeking professional pensions advice from a financial advisor, you can discuss the appropriate course of action in accordance with your individual circumstances.
 Many people do not shop around for a suitable annuity and simply opt for the one from their pension provider. It has been suggested by the UK’s Pension Regulator that our pensioners could be receiving annuity rates up to 33% less than if they simply shopped around.
Although your annuity does provide you with a stable income through a guaranteed minimum payment – it’s important to realise that this payment can fluctuate massively between different providers.
There is whole industry springing up to make claims for poor annuity advice so if you cannot be bothered to get it right at outset, now, you may well be looking for these services in a few year time.
Why not save yourself the trouble and check these things now to avoid being mis-sold :-
- Mis-sold 1. Check Impaired / enhanced rates
- Mis-sold 2. Have you been offered the Open Market Option (OMO)
- Mis-sold 3, Have you received appropriate information to help you decide whether to choose a single or joint life pension annuity?
- Mis-sold 4. Have you been offered the opportunity to protect the value of your pension annuity upon your death?
- Mis-sold 5. Been pushed into With Profit pension annuities
- Mis-sold 6. Been pushed Unit Linked pension annuities
Although in the UK we have an Open Market Option (OMO), it is thought that the majority of consumers do not know that they are entitled to look around for the best option.
This could explain the large number of pensioners settling for the poor rates offered by their current pension providers. The Pension Regulator has found that many people also choose their current provider because shopping around on the market is time consuming and complicated. At Pensionlite, our team of experts is committed to providing easy to understand advice without all the jargon in an attempt to find the best annuity rates and guaranteed minimum payment for all our clients.
Not only to annuities have different rates, there are also different types, and if you’re not confident with the terminology in the financial market, it is important you establish what is right for you before committing.
Types of Annuity
Traditionally, when entering retirement you would purchase a lifetime annuity which provides you with a guaranteed minimum payment for the rest of your life, allowing you to enjoy retirement.
The downside to this is that they are incredibly inflexible and set the interest for the whole period of annuity based on the rate at the time of purchase. Many companies will try and sell this to you as a benefit as it does protect you from any serious drops in the interest rate, but more importantly, it prevents you from experiencing the increases.
By discussing your options with a pensions specialist, you will begin to understand which is annuity is right for you. Don’t forget that although you might be enticed by a guaranteed minimum payment – all annuities offer this, just at different rates.
Pensionlite carries the prestigious status of Chartered Financial Planners.
Our Chartered status, granted by the Privy Council, is our industries gold standard for financial planners and is currently held by less than 300 firms across the country.
 This status brings with it serious obligations to ensure the advice, service and ongoing support we provide for you is of the highest quality, based solely on your researched needs and provided by someone of appropriate competency.
Pension & Investor Lite, is an Independent Financial Adviser firm, Directly Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority, specialising in Pensions & Investment.
We offer whole of market choice and have no links or ties to any single business or organisation.
Our aim is to provide our clients with tailored solutions, created by advisers with particular skills and specialist qualifications.
Our advice process is always to gather a full understand our clients needs, circumstances and aspirations together with detailed analysis of any existing arrangements and make written recommendations before any decisions or actions are taken.
The Next Question On Your Mind Is Bound To Be Around Cost?
Don’t worry, Pensionlite does not charge to investigate your current pension plan or provide you with pension release advice. When you decide if you are going to proceed, your adviser will fully inform you of any fees involved.
Knowledge is power and unless you know, how can you decide on a course of action.
We look forward to being of service.
To contact Pensionlite:-
Telephone 01952 279 379
E mail enquiries@pensionlite.co.uk
Tags: pension plan advice
Posted in Pension Options, Pension Plan Advice
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
Many people are unaware of the wide variety of pension options available when they retire and often choose the conventional pension annuity.
There are many choices available, and sometimes it can seem that there are too many options and complex arrangements which is why it is hugely important that you understand all the information. If you are unsure about your decision, and would like to discuss it further, contact a retirement specialist at Pensionlite today.
Choosing the route to take is a huge financial decision which can have a significant impact on your quality of life in retirement. It is not a decision to be taken lightly. After all, you have worked all of your life to receive your pension, so ensure that you are fully briefed about your pension options.
 Like many people, I’m sure that you feel like you are entitled to a comfortable, happy and financially sound retirement, so why not contact an expert at Pensionlite to ensure that your retirement is not a stressful time.
Our independent financial advisers are experts in retirement and pensions, so take advantage of their unrivalled expertise and access to the market and receive advice tailored to your situation.
It is expected that alongside your state pension you have at least one other pension plan, whether that be a personal plan or an occupational pension. It’s also possible that you have multiple plans.
It is easy to pay your contribution each month and not understand or forget all about it, but it is extremely advisable that when you approach retirement, you pay attention to your arrangements. Pensionlite offer a completely free no obligation pension review, so why not take advantage of our specialist knowledge today and prepare for your retirement.
It is far from unusual to have one company pension these days, as more and more of us change employment throughout our life, building up multiple pension schemes.
It is a good idea to explore consolidating these schemes in order to make your money work for you, and ensure that you are still on target to meet the objective of your pension.
There are a variety of options available at retirement, and the period leading up to it. You could explore pension release, so if you are over the age of 55 and feel that you will have a comfortable retirement, why not release some capital from your pension? If that option isn’t for you, you still have many pension choices: conventional pension annuities, pension drawdown, enhanced rate annuities, flexible annuities, phased retirement plan, unsecured pension plan, to name a few.
The prospect of your pension choices, and the huge decision you need to make can be extremely daunting, but don’t suffer alone, talk to one of our qualified experts today and take a weight off your mind. This big decision can’t be made lightly, but it can be made in confidence if you are fully briefed on your options. Discussing your financial situation with a member of the Pensionlite team will ease your mind, and in addition, we are able to offer you a full report detailing all of your pension options.
Tags: annuites, drawdown, investor, lite, npi, options, pension, reivews, release, transfers
Posted in Pension Options
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Everyone approaching retirement age has a lot on their mind and pension options are undoubtedly one of the chief concerns. The decision you make is of vital importance to your retirement life and it is always advisable to seek information and guidance when considering the available pension options.
The conventional practice is to purchase an annuity, which provides a guaranteed set income for life, independent of investment or mortality risks. However, conventional annuities are inflexible and once agreeing to the terms offered at the outset the arrangement is set for life and cannot be adjusted or amended in any way. Many hesitate when met with this inflexibility, wishing to keep their pension options open.
Naturally, if you are certain that your annuity will provide all you require in your retirement this is not an issue, however those in two minds should be aware of the alternative pension options.
 People who have worked hard all their life desire and deserve peace of mind and comfort in their retirement age. Having knowledge of the available pension options means you have the opportunity to choose a retirement plan entirely suited to your wishes and requirements.
There are alternative pension options to conventional annuities. These include enhanced rate annuities, which are often offered to those entering retirement age with medical conditions or smoking habits which may affect life expectancy.
Providers will sometimes take this medical information into account when setting their rates and often enhanced rate annuities offer substantially higher levels of income than conventional annuities. Enhanced rate annuities are certainly one of the pension options to consider.
Another of the pension options growing in popularity are flexible annuities, which are being offered by a small number of providers. The plans enable the balance of pension funds to remain invested while a guaranteed taxable income is paid over a limited period.
The process entails a personal plan being set up with the tax free cash entitlement being invested in a 5-year annuity which can be repeated every five years, giving a greater level of flexibility than other pension options.
If the annuities available within the range of pension options do not suit your needs you may wish to opt for an unsecured pension plan or phased retirement plan.
Popular among alternative pension options, unsecured pensions enable you to take an income and tax free cash immediately while delaying your need to decide on a lifetime annuity. Approximately 120% of the non increasing income can be drawn.
There are a number of options for your spouse or partner to continue with the income drawdown in the event of your death meaning your pension options will extend to your loved one.
Phased retirement provides a range of ongoing pension options by allowing the plan to be split into segments, allowing annuities or unsecured pensions to be bought at different times, with all segments needing to be used before reaching the age of 75 to secure the provision of a retirement income.
The full range of pension options should be considered before you make any decision regarding your retirement plans. Pension options are there to enable you to tailor your pension plan to meet your individual retirement needs.
Tags: Investor Lite, lite, options, Pension Lite, pension sharing, reviews
Posted in Pension Options
Monday, August 30th, 2010
We all like to have choices. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems that there is so much to choose from that it is becoming impossible to make the right decision. When that decision involves something as important as your pension options, understanding all the available information is hugely important.
Having worked hard all your life you are entitled to look forward to a comfortable retirement. Unfortunately, one bad decision in the planning of your pension can ruin your plans and be a constant source of worry and stress at a time when you most deserve to relax.
Navigating through the array of pension choices available is much, much easier if you seek the advice of independent experts like Pensionlite. Using their unrivalled expertise, and utilising their unique access to the whole of the pension market, they can provide advice tailored to suit your circumstances, financial situation and personal requirements.
A free pension review from Pensionlite removes the stress from choosing a pension plan and lets you get on with enjoying your life.
Along with your basic state pension you might also have a number of occupational pension plans and personal pension plans.
Understanding the best way to make that money work for you as you approach and enter retirement is not straightforward, especially at a time when the economy is continuing to stutter.
Paying money into a scheme and forgetting about it is all too easy and, in our busy lives, all too understandable. But it really is worthwhile, especially as you approach retirement age, to keep an eye on your pension arrangements.
Perhaps the pension options offered by another provider could improve on your current arrangement, investigating the market and exploring the possibility of transferring your scheme could deliver real benefits when you retire.
If you have more than one pension scheme and feel that you are going to be comfortable in retirement then you might like to explore ‘pension release’, a simple way for the over 55s to receive up to 25% of a pension fund as a tax free lump sum.
Not many of us stay with the same company for life these days so it is far from unusual to have more than one occupational pension as well as one or more personal pension. Exploring ways to consolidate those schemes to make all your money work for you can offer some welcome peace of mind.
Maybe the prospect of choosing a pension annuity is beginning to worry you as retirement approaches. Such a big decision can’t be made lightly but you could be receiving conflicting information about conventional annuities, unsecured pensions, enhanced annuities and flexible rate annuities.
This information overload can come from many places, from well meaning friends to your existing providers and it might seem that everyone wants to offer an opinion.
None of this advice is likely to offer the same peace of mind that you can get from a Pensionlite personal review.
By discussing your requirements and financial situation Pensionlite’s team of experts are able to provide a tailored report with detailed recommendations that offer the very best pension options to suit you.
It’s funny that despite such a huge amount of information about pensions being so readily available it is all too easy to feel alone when it comes to making the big decision. Pensionlite’s expertise and experience of pensions, retirement and investment can remove the hard work and uncertainty from making these choices.
That leaves you free to enjoy your retirement safe in the knowledge that, faced with an array of options, you have made the right pension choices.
Tags: annuities, lite, options, pension, Pension Options, pension plans, pensions, retirement, transferring
Posted in Pension Options
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Pension & Investor Lite, Pensionlite, Investorlite and ISAlite are the trading styles of Advicelite Ltd, which is Authorised and Regulated by The Financial Services Authority.
Registered office Summit House, Wanstead, London E11 2AA. Registration number 05217472
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