Straightforward Guide To Personal Pensions And The Pension Industry , livre ebook

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96 pages

English

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A propos
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Extrait

Description

This Revised edition of A Straightforward Guide to Personal Pensions and The Pension Industry has been rewritten extensively and updates essential information and including relevant changes to law and practice to 2022. The book is a practical and informative guide for those who want to know more about their pension options, both state and private pensions, and also taxation. With the aid of this invaluable guide, the whole of the pensions maze should be rendered that much clearer.

Sujets

Personal finance

Informations

Publié par	Straightforward Publishing
Date de parution	25 août 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781802361827
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A Straightforward Guide To Pensions and the Pensions Industry
Patrick Grant
Editor: Roger Sproston
Straightforward Publishing www.straightforwardco.co.uk
Straightforward Guides
Straightforward Co Ltd 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders.
ISBN: 978-1-80236-094-3 ePUB ISBN: 978-1-80236-182-7 Kindle ISBN: 978-1-80236-175-9
Printed by 4edge www.4edge.co.uk
Cover design by Straightforward Graphics
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained within this book is correct at the time of going to press, the author and publisher can take no responsibility for the errors or omissions contained within.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Pensions-Planning for the Future
Sources of pension and other retirement income
Average income of pensioners
Sources of pensioner incomes
Pensioners income according to position-bottom-fifth of pensioners and top fifth
Income needed in retirement-planning ahead
What period to save over
Inflation
Chapter 2
Sources of Pensions-A Summary
The state pension
How many qualifying years do you need to get the full State Pension?
Using someone else s contribution record
Pension credits
The Guarantee credit
The Savings credit
National Insurance Credits
The State Pension age
Additional state pension
Contracting out
Increasing your state pension
Filling gaps in your record
Deferring your state pension
Women and Pensions
Issues for women
Effects of changes to the state pension from on women
Retirement changes biased, argue women
Have you told the government you are a carer?
The over pension
Occupational pensions
Stakeholder schemes
How much can be invested in a stakeholder pension?
Other ways to save for retirement
Chapter 3
Private Pension Savings-General
The lifetime allowance
Protecting the Lifetime Allowance
The annual allowance
Limits to benefits and contributions
Taking a pension
Chapter 4
Choosing a Personal Pension Plan
Investments
Self-invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs)
How it works
What you can and can t invest in
Small Self-Administered Schemes (Ssas)
Releasing funds to finance business
Fees and other charges
Other benefits from a personal pension
Retirement due to ill-health
The Pension Protection Fund
The Financial Assistance Scheme
In the case of fraud or theft
The Pension Tracing Service
Chapter 5
Job Related (Occupational) Pensions
Limits on your pension savings
Tax advantages of occupational schemes
Qualifying to join an occupational scheme
Automatic enrolment
About workplace pensions
Final salary schemes
Money purchase schemes
The cash balance scheme
Tax
Contributions into occupational schemes
Contracting Out Through Occupational Schemes
Rule changes for contracting out-defined benefit pension scheme
Chapter 6
Group Personal Pension Schemes
What is a group personal pension?
How your pension grows while you are working
What you need to think about
Changing jobs
Chapter 7
Stakeholder Pension Schemes
Stakeholder pensions defined
Who should take out a stakeholder pension?
How much can be invested in a stakeholder pension?
Trust schemes and non-trust schemes
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Financial advice on stakeholder pensions
Tax and national insurance
Tax relief
Regular information for members
Existing employer stakeholder schemes
Automatic enrolment and stakeholder pensions
Contributions to stakeholder pension employer schemes
Monitoring by scheme managers or trustees
Chapter 8
Leaving an Occupational Scheme
Obtaining a refund of contributions
Chapter 9
Transferring Pension Rights
Transferring your pension
UK transfers
Transferring to another UK pension scheme
Unfunded defined benefit pension scheme
What happens when your pension has been transferred?
Overseas transfers
Transfer incentives and pension increase exchange
Transfer incentives
Pension increase exchange (PIE) exercises
Things to think about
Transferring from a defined benefits pension scheme
Moving abroad
Do you qualify for tax relief?
Enjoying UK pension benefits abroad
Building up a UK State Pension from abroad
Receiving a UK State Pension abroad
Chapter 10
Pensions for the Self-Employed
The State Pension
How best to save for retirement
Make the most of your pension pot
Self-employed: what kind of pension should I use?
What is the annual allowance?
Rules for Doctors and Dentists-NHS Pension Scheme
Chapter 11
Pensions and Benefits for Dependants
State pensions
Death after retirement
Occupational and personal schemes
Dependant s pensions from occupational salary-related schemes
Lump sum death benefits
Chapter 12
Protecting Pensions
Protection of personal pensions
State pensions
Occupational schemes
Chapter 13
Pensions-Options for Retirement and Tax Implications for Private Pensions
Options for using your pension pot
Keep your pension savings where they are
Use your pension pot to get a guaranteed income for life
Basic lifetime annuities
Investment-linked annuities
Your pension pot to provide a flexible retirement income
Take your pension pot as several lump sums
Take your pension pot in one go
Mixing your options
Tax-free lump sums when mixing options
Chapter 14
Reaching Retirement Age
General
Abandoned pensions
How to claim state pension
How the pension is paid
Leaving the country
Pensions from an occupational scheme
A pension from a personal plan
Advice schemes for pensions
Pension scams
The Pensions Dashboard
Inheriting pensions on death
Useful Addresses
Appendix 1. The Pensions Act 2021 Summary
Index
Introduction
The subject of pensions and the provision of pensions has been a hotly debated topic over the last decade. Essentially, the issue of catering for future needs has been a problem that has vexed government, employers, and individuals.
This book looks at the issues surrounding pensions and discusses the different areas of provision, from the state pension to personal pensions and the tax and benefits implications. We also look at accessing pension funds to boost business, which is not widely known or understood.
One thing is for sure, if a person does not, either through an occupational scheme or through some other type of personal pension plan, ensure that they are saving regularly to provide a decent level of pension for their retirement, then they will find themselves, as millions have, in a poverty trap, relying on the state pension alone.
Pensions and Covid
The coronavirus pandemic has shattered lives and left many to pick up the pieces of their broken financial future. A YouGov poll with Smart Pension found more than one million 55- to 64-year-olds are now set to delay their retirement due to the pandemic. From mass unemployment, furloughs, reduced income and volatile global markets, a wave of economic hardship has left many with shrinking incomes and pension pots. However, the last year has also strengthened financial resilience across demographics, as people begin to prepare for an uncertain future, not just a rainy day. Once valued as the safest way to ensure a smooth retirement, attitudes towards pensions had their ups and downs long before the pandemic.
While many baby boomers traditionally enjoy lucrative pension plans, a survey by PensionBee of 1,000 people aged between 55 and 70 found 40 per cent of working respondents would want access to their money if they became unemployed, with 22 per cent saying they are more likely to make a withdrawal due to the pandemic. And these findings seem to be borne out as a record number of over-55s have dipped into their pension pots due to the current uncertain climate.
According to the latest HM Revenue Customs figures, 360,000 people withdrew 2.4 billion in flexible payments from their pensions in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 10 per cent increase on Q4 2019. Former business consultant, While the spotlight on job security has largely focused on Generation Z, according TO THE Learning and Work Institute over 50s are more likely to be long-term unemployed and, as Covid-19 continues to add pressure, patterns of unemployment are forecast in the job market, putting pension planning in a precarious position for many. And baby boomers aren t alone as, according to a survey by Invesco, millennials have a worrying lack of awareness around the purpose behind pension savings. Some 54 per cent of 24- to 34-year-olds surveyed thought a pension was deposited in a savings account to accumulate interest, rather than viewing it as an investment tool. Historically, the financial sector has filtered access to its more mature products through coded language and poor communication, and the pensions industry is no different. However, it seems successive lockdowns have contributed to the rise in younger generations becoming more informed and opting into pensions financial options in relation to their pensions.
We are yet to fully understand COVID S long-term effect on unemployment, but pensions have long been an established financial tool, aiding governments, businesses, and society by transferring the working population into the next phase of life and this is unlikely to change. With technology helping to democratise financial access, savers are likely to have a more invested relationship with their providers.
All too often, people wake up to the need to build up a pension fund when it is too late. When a person is young, the last thing they want to be thinking about is saving for their old age.
The whole thrust of this book is to help individuals understand the pensions system in the United Kingdom, to open eyes to the implicatio