Investments

Providing an income in retirement doesn’t just have to come from pensions. Have you given thought to putting plans in place for investments you have such as savings, shares, cash held on deposit or even property to provide you with an income?

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore you down as well as up. You may get back less than the amount invested.

Annuity

An annuity is any continuing regular payment with a guaranteed annual amount payable for the rest of your life and any death benefits for a partner, spouse or family usually have to be specified at the outset.

Annuity rates vary so there is no guarantee that when you purchase an annuity the rates will be favourable. This could result in your pension being less than you hoped for.

Income Drawdown

This is a way of taking variable amounts of income from the money you’ve built up in your pension fund whilst your pension pot remains invested.

If you withdraw money at a rate greater than the growth achieved by your remaining funds you may not be able to maintain the level of income you wish to draw. This should be reviewed regularly.

Lump Sum

This gives you the option to take your full pension as a lump sum where 25% is tax-free and the remainder is subject to income tax in the year drawn.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances.

We strongly advise you seek professional advice before taking your full pension as a lump sum due to the high amount of tax that will be incurred.

Pensions

Do you currently have enough in your pension pot to live the life you want to when you retire? Is there a need (& can you afford) to pay in the maximum contributions to you pension while you are still in employment? When you come to draw on your pension you can take up to 25% of your pension tax free as a pension commencement lump sum – but this doesn’t all need to be taken at the outset (depending on the type of pension you have. The remainder of your pension is subject to income tax and there are various ways you can access that money…discussing these with an expert in advance is highly recommended as it could impact your retirement planning strategy.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances.

IHT & Estate Planning

Planning for the inevitable makes financial sense…wouldn’t you rather your family benefit from your hard-earned money after you have gone rather than the HMRC? There are many ways to limit the amount of IHT your family pays on your death and it’s never too early to put these strategies in place or at the very least start giving them serious thought.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances.

Protection Planning

Are you fully protected against the expected and unexpected? A full protection review may be worthwhile to see if you have the right protection for your circumstances. It could be that you haven’t reviewed what you have in place for a while and you could be getting a better deal…freeing up some money to invest or pay into your retirement pot.

Later Life Planning

Dementia affects millions of people and is more common as people grow older. Perhaps you have had a family member suffer from this degenerative disease and know all too well the hardship it can bring to the individual and those caring for them. Factoring in long-term care expenses is something we highly recommend our clients do – living longer comes with many benefits, but is matched with soaring expenses that are hard to ignore.