When is the right time to take your tax free cash sum?
The tax-free lump sum has always been a part of the pension landscape. I worried that its tax-free status was...
How much of your retirement savings can you afford to lose? (part two)
In last week’s post, I set out what factors influence your capacity for loss for retirement income: -how much money...
How much of your retirement savings can you afford to lose?
Investment risk and potential investment returns are closely linked to each other. The more risk you take, the higher the...
Four Years of Pension Freedoms
On 6th April 2015, George Osborne announced that “no one will have to buy an annuity” came into law, and...
Retirement income increase needs government intervention
Academic studies have identified that the ‘safe withdrawal rate’ for a retirement portfolio in the UK is approximately 3%. This...
Giving Notice of your Retirement
One of my clients was contemplating her retirement when we met last week. “When do I need to tell my...
State pension deferral – a good idea?
If you were born shortly after 6th January 1954, you would be entitled to your state pension from 6th May...
Tax Year End Retirement Income Planning
At this time of year, we are bombarded by reminders that the end of the tax year is coming. You...
What Does Retirement Actually Mean?
I’ve always been interested in the origin of words and phrases. “Going pear-shaped” was originally a description of a poorly...
Why we don’t (always) like annuities
“It’s not fair” is a phrase you will know all too well if you have children or grandchildren! But, whilst...