Pensions
Pension advice issues fall into different categories – pre-retirement (when funds are accumulated), at retirement (when choices are made about how to take benefits), and post retirement.
FK Financial Limited provides advice on establishing new pension arrangements, and also reviews existing plans, seeking to optimise the combination of investment choice and performance, and cost effectiveness. Many of our clients have benefited from our pension review service, by saving charges and/or improving the investment strategy of their pension plans.
Pension benefits can be taken at any stage from age 55 onwards (and must be taken by age 75 at the latest). The options include:
- Taking the tax free cash sum (usually 25% of the fund) but leaving the rest of the benefits to accumulate further
- Purchasing an annuity, which provides a guaranteed income throughout life, and which can provide additional benefits such as indexation or escalation of pension payments, and widow/er’s pension. Under what is known as the Open Market Option (OMO), the annuity can be purchased from a company other than the one the benefits were accumulated with, and in most cases exercising this option will result in higher pension benefits. (See the ‘annuity service’ section for more details.)
- Pension drawdown, where the bulk of the pension fund remains invested, and where variable income can be taken prior to the ultimate purchase of an annuity.