unbiased.co.uk, the UK’s most comprehensive professional adviser search, has launched 'Your retirement countdown checklist’ in partnership with Prudential. More than a fifth of people (22 per cent) say they have taken no steps to plan for their retirement*, an issue which the checklist should help to address. It covers the key steps every new pensioner needs to take in order to ensure they make the right choices for themselves under pension freedom, and in the decade leading up to retirement.
Just 18 per cent of adults claim to be confident in their retirement plans, and over a fifth (22 per cent) believe they will need alternative additional income. Meanwhile 38 per cent are resigned to the fact that they will have a lower income in retirement. With a lack of pension planning resulting in up to £2.9 billion of wasted tax relief**, the checklist comes at a much needed time.
Vince Smith-Hughes, Head of Business Development at Prudential, comments:
“The recent changes to pensions give more people more choice as to how they can access their retirement savings. At the same time they undoubtedly make the decision on what to do with these hard-earned funds more complex. Many people will need to seek the assistance of a professional adviser who can explain the various options available to help determine what’s right for them. An adviser will also be able to look not only at how much money is required to meet day-to-day living costs, but other factors such as the individual’s tax position and how best funds can provide for other members of the family if required.
“The checklist is designed to help people start to think about their own requirements and make sure that, along with their adviser, they are considering all the key issues as they approach retirement.”
Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments:
“A lack of planning puts people in real danger of making decisions that cost them a significant proportion of their retirement income.
“It has always been best to start preparing for retirement as early as possible – ideally as soon as you start work! – so people in later life may assume there is little more that they can do. But advice taken in the final few years has long been shown to make a dramatic difference, and when you add in the increased choices of pension freedom, advice becomes not just highly desirable but essential.
“Seeking the necessary guidance and advice needs to become ingrained in the planning process. There is a lot to think about, but our retirement checklist will help people break this down into manageable steps and prepare them for seeking tailored professional advice. Only then can they be confident of making the right decisions for what should be the best years of their lives.”
For a free and confidential search for a whole-of-market financial adviser, visit www.unbiased.co.uk
ENDS
Notes to editors
* Research conducted by an unbiased.co.uk webpoll from 14 - 29 April 2014, with 319 respondents
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Category: Pensions & Retirement Tagged: pensions, retirement
