Stronger together?

But when it comes to your retirement savings, every little really does help. So, if you have money in a few different schemes, it’s best not to forget about them.

Keeping tabs could even make a difference to your life in retirement.

Lost pensions

May 2021 research by Aegon estimates 6.4 million of us (aged between 22 and 65) have lost or misplaced some of our retirement savings.

And this is easily done.

Most of us save for retirement through a pension scheme at work. But not everyone stays with the same employer. We move to new companies – and pay into new pensions.

Think about all the different jobs you’ve had – and the many pensions you’ve saved into. Perhaps you have money sat in pension schemes you’ve completely forgotten about?

Even if some pension pots have little in them, it’s still certainly worth including them in your retirement savings.

Call Skipton Building Society today for a no-obligation consultation to see if Financial Advice might be right for you on 0345 266 0979 or request a call back

find out more here

Should I combine my pensions?

This is a really good question.

First, let’s look at why you might consider combining your pensions:

1. You might save money.
If you have lots of different pension pots, you’re probably paying charges for each one of them. Older pensions usually have higher costs than today. Bringing them together, and paying one fee, could be a worthwhile cost saving.

2. You might get better returns.
Your pension savings are invested on your behalf, with the aim of growing in value. You might find that some of your old pensions aren’t performing as you’d like, while others might be doing well. But combining your pensions could help you address pots of money under-performing.

3. It’s more convenient.
Keeping track of lots of different pension pots can be time consuming. Like many things in life, it’s handy to keep everything in one place for when you need it.

4. Easier to build a picture of your retirement plans.
It’s important to know if you’re saving enough money for retirement. And how much income you’re likely to be able to take from it. If you have different pots everywhere, working out where you stand is going to be harder.

Why combining your pensions might not be such a good idea?

Some of your pensions might have financial penalties for transferring. But, even if that’s the case, and if your money isn’t growing how you want it to, it might still be worth paying the charge.

Your older pensions could also offer valuable guarantees that would be a shame to miss out on. For example, if you have a defined benefit or final salary scheme (where the level of retirement income you receive is guaranteed).

There could be some good reasons to keep your pension pot where it is. But it might not be easy to tell. Especially if it’s an old pension, where you can have easily mislaid some of the paperwork.

Combining pensions sounds complicated…

It is. But consolidating your pensions could offer a significant boost to your retirement finances. And the great thing is, you don’t need to do it alone.

At Skipton Building Society, through our pension review service:

• We’ll do all the research (of each pension scheme) for you
• We’ll assess the performance of your pension pots, and check if there are any penalties or valuable guarantees
• All you need to do is provide us with details of your different pensions. And we’ll contact providers on your behalf.

That’s not all.

We could help you identify any gaps in your plans that might be worth looking at before you retire. And work with you to build a plan that could help you achieve a sufficient retirement income. This might include combining some or all of your pensions.

There’s no pressure to act on our personalised recommendations. Or an upfront fee to pay to hear them. You’ll only pay a charge if you take our advice – which will be made clear before you make your decision.

A pension is a long-term investment and your capital is at risk. Your fund value will fluctuate and can go down. You could get back less than you paid in. Your eventual income will depend upon the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates & tax legislation.

Call Skipton Building Society today for a no-obligation consultation to see if Financial Advice might be right for you on 0345 266 0979 or find out more here

There’s no pressure to act on Skipton’s advice – you’ll have the time you need to think about any recommendations made to you. It’s all part of their No Pressure Promise.

Radio Time’s financial advice service is provided by Skipton Building Society. Skipton is a member of the Building Societies Association, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 153706 to accept deposits, advise on and arrange mortgages and provide Restricted financial advice. Principal office: The Bailey, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1DN. If you take advice from Skipton Building Society, Radio Times will receive a fee for the introduction.