Could you survive on £79.60 a week?

This is the amount of Basic State Pension for a single person. To get the full state pension you must have paid National Insurance premiums for 44 years (men) and 39 years (women).

Source: DSS, figures for 2003/2004

What exactly is a pension?

Essentially, any pension plan is a wrapper in which you save money for you to release when you reach retirement. The government is very keen to encourage people to save for retirement and so they offer ‘tax relief’ on contributions made and this is automatically added to your pension fund.

People paying basic rate (22%) tax will therefore contribute £78 but have £100 added in total to their pension pot. Higher rate tax payers (40%) will receive even more relief as they pay more tax. This could mean tax relief of up to 40%!

Furthermore, pension funds are not taxed as much as other investments and therefore the return of a pension fund should be higher in the long term than, say, an ISA.

Have you made adequate plans for your retirement?

If you are now 35 and intend retiring at 60 you only have 300 more pay packets to come (if you are paid monthly). The clock is ticking and only you can decide whether you have sufficient savings to ensure your retirement will be comfortable.

Types of pensions:

A seemingly endless list! Which is why the government propose to simplify all pension legislation from April 2006. This will effect the amount you can pay into a pension, how much you can get out, the amount of tax free cash available and many other aspects of retirement.

Retirement Planning Service

We will look at your existing retirement plans and give you a comprehensive summary of what you can expect to receive when you retire. This will then allow you to decide whether retirement will be something to look forward to or something to dread.

Contact us to find out more.

Note: HCR Independent Financial Advisers Limited do not offer advice on the transfer of Occupational Pension Schemes.

Site design by Dan Hunt 2005