Pension Planning

There are some brilliant tax incentives available for defined contribution pensions. If you have a workplace pension, your employer will pay into it too through employer matching.

Beyond that, it might also help to set up another pension to boost your plans.

• When you invest into a pension, you automatically receive an extra 20% in your pot through tax relief. If you’re a higher or additional rate taxpayer and claim for it, you can get tax relief of 40% or 45%.
• You can usually pay in up to £40,000 each tax year (or, if you earn less than £40,000 a year, 100% of your net relevant earnings) and benefit from tax relief.
• If you’ve not made full use of your last three annual pension allowances you can usually carry them forward and make the most of tax relief.
• You can build up to £1,073,100 over your lifetime and still enjoy the full tax benefits.
• When it’s inside a pension wrapper, there’s no tax to pay on any growth you achieve.
• You can’t normally access your pension until you’re 55 (or 57 from 2026).

• 25% of the pot is tax-free to withdraw. You pay tax on the rest in line with income tax bands.
• No restrictions on how you use your pension when you withdraw from it.
• When you retire you could keep your pension invested, using it to draw an income or take lump sums. This gives your pension the chance to continue to grow further, although your capital is at risk.
• If you want more security, you could use your pension to arrange a guaranteed income through an annuity.

We’re here to offer as much or as little support as you need.

For example, we could help you to set up a new pension to invest your money in, which you can manage yourself. We’ll research and present options suited to your personal circumstances.

If you’re looking for more help and are happy to pay an ongoing charge, we offer a range of ongoing service options that can help you prepare for retirement and even help you keep on top of your plans after you take the plunge.

We offer financial advice to anyone with £20,000 or more to invest, or to people who are able to make monthly contributions of £500 or more. Where you require advice on existing investments/pensions the minimum value required, including the investments/pensions under review, is £50,000.

The great thing about our pension review service is we will do all the hard work for you.

Your pension providers will supply us with detailed information. This allows our in-house experts to analyse the strength of your plans.

Depending on your situation, this research might take a few months to complete – that’s so we can get a really accurate picture for you.

But at the end, we promise you'll be in a position to make informed decisions about your future.