Earlier this week I mentioned the alignment of state pension ages for both men and women, however, there is more.

The State Pension age for both men and women is set to increase from 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046, with each change phased in over two consecutive years in each decade.

• The first increase, from 65 to 66, will be phased in between April 2024 and 2026;
• the second, from 66 to 67, will be phased in between April 2034 and 2036;
• and the third, from 67 to 68, between April 2044 and 2046.

There is a State Pension Calculator on the Pension Service website if you want to calculate the exact date for you.

If you want to discuss this or any other matter, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Shane Beardsley
Managing Director / Independent Financial Adviser

From 6th April 2020, the State Pension age for women will be the same as it is for men, 65.

Women’s State Pension age will start to change gradually from 2010, but this will not affect women born on or before the 5th April 1950, who can still claim their State Pension at 60. Women born on or after 6 April 1955 will have a State Pension age of 65!

There is a State Pension Calculator on the Pension Service website if you want to calculate the exact date for you.

If you want to discuss this or any other matter, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Shane Beardsley
Managing Director / Independent Financial Adviser

Not many people seem to know, but the government will increase the minimum retirement age from 50 to 55 for certain types of pension scheme including Personal and Stakeholder Pensions with effect from 6th April 2010.

As it stands now, should you have any qualifying pension schemes then you are able to access your tax free lump sum and / or pension income from aged 50, but from the 5th April 2010 you will have to be aged 55.

What impact will this have? Well, for example Mr Smith has just turned 50 and could in theory access his pension, but if he doesn’t do this before 5th April 2010 he will have to wait until he is 55, a potential delay of around 4 years.

Clearly there is a small window between now and the 5th April 2010 for people aged between just under 50 and 55 to take action, so if you would like a review of this or any other matter then please contact us.

As I have just explained in my last post, the 5th April 2009 will spend the end of tax year, and therefore if you are wanting to maximise your pension contributions for the year, you may want to get in touch VERY soon.

If you have a lump sum that you are willing to invest, you are actually able to benefit from the very generous levels of tax relief afforded to pension contributions.  For higher rate tax payers in particular it can make a VERY attractive investment opportunity with tax relief of up to 40%.

In most cases the level of basic rate tax relief is reclaimed on your behalf by the pension provider, so in order to invest a single premium of £10000, you need only write a cheque for £8000, and if applicable the difference between basic rate and higher rate tax, is claimed via your tax return.

Obviously the tax relief can equate to quite a substantial amount of money, and while investment returns, and rates of interest on deposit savings have been poor of late it can appear an attractive proposition, subject to personal circumstances and attitude to risk of course!

For more information we are available to discuss your personal situation in more depth.  Please contact us on 01482 658989 or fill in or contact form and we will be in contact shortly:

http://www.kirkellainvestments.co.uk/contact.asp

Shane Beardsley
Managing Director / Independent Financial Adviser
Kirk Ella Investments Ltd

According to a survey carried out by MGM Advantage, Pensioners that receive independent advice on their retirement fare considerably better than those who do not.

The study found that just 14% seek specific financial advice for their retirement despite finding clear benefits for those that do, and that pensioners that do not visit an IFA are 4 times more likely to be forced back into work, and twice as likely to be forced to downsize their property to fund retirement.

Therefore if you are one of those people that  once retired, want to stay retired, or If you want to discuss this or any other matter please do not hesitate to contact us for a financial review.

Shane.

Last November, much to my surprise, I received a phone call from the BBC, asking if I would be prepared to come into the studio for Fridays breakfast show and pass comment on a recent report regarding “Occupation Pensions” and “education in the workplace”

It meant I was privy to the findings of the report, and it definitely raised some very interesting points:

71% of workers say their company teaches them nothing about pensions
53% of people do not expect their current employer’s pension alone will pay them sufficient income in retirement.�
58% of people in defined contribution pensions do not understand that they could get a better pension if they shop around.
85% of people do not realised they could get a better pension if they are a smoker or are in ill health.

So, in short, if you are an employer, or  even an employee concerned about your retirement, please do not hesitate to contact us for a financial review.

Shane

It is more important than ever to ensure that you are saving for retirement.

Unfortunately rocketing petrol and food prices are no excuse, as if you think it is hard to pay your bills now, wait until you are old and retired with nothing but state pension and relevant minimum income guarantees…. If the trend of reduced saving for retirement continues then we are just storing up even more problems for the future.

Research has shown that 23% of adult Britons have not even started to save for their retirement.

If you want to discuss this or any other matter please do not hesitate to contact us for a financial review.

Shane

If you are CLOSE to or AT retirement, changes to pensions legislation have meant that the number of options and flexibility available to those approaching retirement has increased significantly, and therefore so has the requirement for independent financial advice.

For example, it is now possible to draw the Tax Free Lump sum available within certain pension schemes WITHOUT the requirement to buy an annuity or even draw an income with the remaining fund… which may be useful for those that require a lump sum but are not ready to draw their pensions; for example if they are still earning.

If you want to discuss this or any other matters please do not hesitate to contact us for a review of your retirement plans.

Shane

Recent market research has identified that millions of people are reviewing their pension plans as house prices fall….here are a few “interesting” facts:

• 7.5 million people in Britain are now planning on using property to fund all or part of their retirement, down from 13.2 million last year.
• 878,000 Britons now anticipate using property as the sole way of funding their retirement contrasting with 3.2 million in April last year.

However, despite this good news, still

• 35% of the non-retired, working age population are making no provision for their retirement.
• 38% of 25-34 year olds have no pension plan in place.
• A fifth of 55 year olds have no pension in place for their imminent retirement.

In short, it’s crucial that we plan for our old age….. unless we are fortunate enough to win the lottery, or stumble across a suitcase of cash under the floorboards, it is an almost certainty that our standard of living will suffer come retirement, just when we least want it to.

If you want to discuss this or any other matter please do not hesitate to contact us for a review of your retirement plans.

Shane