Where to get impartial pension guidance

Planning early for your retirement is an important part of making sure you can enjoy the transition from work to retired life, but for many it can also be a confusing and sometimes daunting task. Luckily, if you're aged 50 or over and have a defined contribution pension, you can get free and impartial guidance from Pension Wise. Convenient, eh?

What is Pension Wise?

Pension Wise is the Government's free and impartial guidance service, which offers you the opportunity to talk about your pension(s) and help you to understand what your options are and what you can do next.

Every Pension Wise appointment is with a guidance specialist, either face to face or over the phone and that specialist is trained to understand your situation and guide you on what your options and next steps are. Since they're impartial, they won't recommend any products or tell you what to do with your money, but your free appointment can help you to understand:

• What options are available to you before accessing your hard-earned pension savings
• What taxes, fees and charges might apply when taking your pension
• What to be cautious of when making any important financial decisions that can affect your future
• Tips on how to avoid pension scams

Keep your pension safe

Be wary of cold calls and unsolicited texts or emails. If someone says they are from the government or Pension Wise, just hang up, don't give out any personal details. These organisations would never phone or text to offer a pension review. Before you make any decisions, make sure your adviser is on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approved register and check the FCA list of known scams to see if the deal you're being offered is a known scam. If you're worried, contact the Pensions Advisory Service on 0300 123 1047. If you think you've been scammed, contact your pension provider and Action Fraud immediately on 0300 123 2040. For more information on scams, or if you think you've been targeted, visit www.pension-scams.com

How to book a Pension Wise appointment

Just call them on 0800 138 3944 to book a telephone or face to face appointment or visit www.pensionwise.gov.uk.

Before your appointment

To make the most of a Pension Wise appointment it would be helpful to have:

• The value of your pension pot(s) and whether there are any guarantees or special features that apply to your pot. Check your pension statement or ask your scheme or provider for an up-to- date valuation. If you have more than one pension pot remember to gather information on all of your pots together.
• If you have lost track of any pensions, contact The Pension Tracing Service which is a free government-backed service.
• An estimate of how much State Pension you may get. To find this information, get a State Pension statement from GOV.UK or call 0845 3000 168.

So, while you could be entering retirement without any pressures, you may also be paying off debts or supporting your children financially, which you should consider when making your plans for retirement. You may also have other income to consider, like benefits. Think about any immediate financial needs, and any future needs you anticipate, like care costs, sources of income like salary, benefits, savings, investments debts and repayments you might have and whether you just need small sums or would prefer a regular income.

You can find out more about Pension Wise here, or to book a free appointment,you can give them a call on this number: 0800 138 3944.

Other things you might like:

       

Everything you need to know about pensions

           

Planning your retirement income

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