Unless you’re lucky enough to have a final salary pension, you will have to buy your own retirement income; and the amount you would get is down 10% on a year ago.

Many people have had to take a pay freeze or pay cut during the recession, but how would you feel if your pay was cut for the rest of your life? That’s effectively what’s happening to anyone who doesn’t have a final salary pension and who is retiring this year. Women already lose out because they get less than men, on average (because we live longer), but new research shows women retiring now will get over 10% less, than they would have done a year ago.

More »

If you understand a little about the choices you have at retirement, you can squeeze the maximum out of your pension

Unless you have a final salary pension, you have to convert your pension fund into a monthly income. And you can't generally do that simply by dipping into it every month. Instead, you have to buy what's called an annuity. You can use your pension fund to buy an income that will rise in line with inflation, one that will pay money to your husband or partner after you die or one that takes into account illnesses or health problems you may have.

More »

Unless you’re lucky enough to have a final salary pension, you’ll have to shop around to make sure you get the best payout when you retire.

We’re used to the idea of shopping around for financial products, but many of us don’t do it when it could make the biggest difference; and that’s when we retire. Many people don’t realise what happens when they retire if they have a personal pension or a defined contribution pension, where you build up a pot of money during your working life. When you retire, you can’t just dip into it and spend money as you need it; you have to turn it into a regular income payment.

More »