The retirement market has changed significantly in recent years. The number of businesses providing final salary pensions has steadily declined even as the
state pension age has been gradually rising.
Changes in life expectancy, too, mean that we can look forward to many years in retirement. This means it is more important than ever to take advantage of all the tax reliefs and allowances available to you as a saver.
When it comes to pension investments, there are several potential options available to you. Personal pensions (commonly managed by a life company, in conjunction with a workplace scheme) and self-invested personal pensions
(SIPPs) are tax-advantaged ‘wrappers’ that enable you to build a pot of money for your retirement. These are referred to as
defined contribution or money purchase schemes, where you pay money into the account and the value goes up or down depending on how the investments perform.
A small self-administered scheme (SSAS) is typically used by company directors, but benefits from many of the same advantages as a traditional, self-invested personal pension.
As people’s working lives have become more flexible, and as legislation has evolved to promote individual savings, more clients are choosing to take control of their own long term investments, whether via an
ISA, a personal pension or, for maximum flexibility, a combination of the two.
This freedom is a positive development for long-term savers. It provides you with the opportunity to oversee and engage in the process of saving for your retirement and, if you are self-managing your pension, to make sure the investments accord with your needs and goals.
You can invest in a wide range of assets in a SIPP, including shares,
unit trusts,
investment trusts and
exchange traded funds (ETFs). We offer our Advisory and Discretionary Managed services to both SIPP and SSAS investors.
