At retirement: the runners and riders

With the much-lauded pension freedoms, we now have a range of options when deciding how to fund our retirement.

Whilst many newspaper headlines warned that new retirees would blow their entire pensions savings on Lamborghinis, it appears that most have taken a more measured approach. Data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows that in the first year following their introduction 57% of new retirees took less than 1% of their pot and fewer than 4% of retirees took out more than 10%. The majority of these were in the first few months following the changes.

But not everyone is affected by the new freedoms.

Those who are, or have been, members of a final salary/defined benefit scheme won’t be affected by the new regulations. These schemes provide a pension based on your years of service and your salary when you left the scheme, or, if it is no longer operating, the point at which it closed.

Those with a defined contribution scheme – or who have made additional contributions into a free-standing pension plan – will benefit from the new freedoms. You can buy an annuity, draw income from your savings, or withdraw lump sums as you need them.

Annuities

Buying an annuity is the traditional means of converting your savings to a guaranteed income stream. This could include an income for your spouse on your death and/or inflation proofing. However, annuities have had a bad press in recent years as the returns on bonds – the investments that underpin the income stream – have collapsed. This has made them seem poor value for money.

Flexi-Access Drawdown

You can elect to remain invested and withdraw income from your pension savings. However, the income from investments is variable and the value of the underlying investments may vary over time.

Uncrystallised Pension Fund Lump Sums

This rather inelegant term describe a newly-introduced freedom. If you have more than one defined contribution scheme and one that you have not touched (ie. elected to buy an annuity or elected to withdraw income), you can use it to ‘top-up’ your retirement by taking occasional lump sums.

Horses for courses

With options comes choice, and choices can be hard to make – particularly in an area as important as your pension.

The likelihood is that those retiring today will have a combination of income sources at their fingertips: the State Pension, an element of defined benefit and an element of defined contribution. Some may elect to continue working in a part-time or advisory capacity or on a consultancy basis.

The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the amount originally invested.

HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes

This will be one of the most important decisions of your life as it determines the kind of retirement you can afford. Further, managing your tax liabilities when you have more than one source of income open to you can be complicated. The right solution for you will depend on many variables, so please do get in touch before making any decisions.