Pensions are for life, not just retirement

One of the aims of Pension Week is to highlight the importance of staying on top of your pensions. Whether you are decades from retirement or have already stopped working, at Tilney we believe it is essential to review your pensions regularly. Read on to find out why.

There are thousands of unloved pensions

The sad truth is that there are thousands of unloved pensions in the UK that have been neglected or simply forgotten about. And without any attention or nurturing, many of them are suffering from:

• Bad investment performance
• High fees
• A lack of options when it comes to taking an income at retirement

How has this happened?

And why are there so many unloved pensions? According to our recent research*, the most common reasons for losing track of pensions are a lack of interest (27%), losing the paperwork (26%) or moving home and forgetting to notify the pension provider (26%).

The average person has changed jobs five* times by the age of 55

Many people have also lost track of a pension after changing jobs. Our research showed that the average person will have changed jobs five times by the age of 55 – this could mean they have a lot of old pensions held with many different providers. And the number is likely to increase in the future, as even small employers are now required to auto-enrol staff in workplace pensions.

Why is this such a big problem?

Neglecting or losing track of your pensions can have big consequences for your retirement. For a start, you may not know exactly how much money you’ve saved for retirement (and therefore how much you can spend after you stop working). We found that this was the case for 69% of people.

Your hard-earned savings may be stagnating – or even shrinking – in poorly performing investments.

On top of this, your money may not be working as hard for you as it could be. Your hard-earned savings may be stagnating – or even shrinking – in poorly performing investments. You could also be paying through the nose in pension provider fees – especially with older pensions that tend to have higher charges.

A simple way to make your pensions easier to manage

If you have several pensions with different companies, it may be a good idea to bring them together with one provider**. This will make your pensions much easier to look after, and you’ll also benefit from:

• A clear view of your overall retirement savings in one place
• It will be easier to control investment risk and to review your investment strategy
• You can give your ad hoc pension savings a single strategic purpose – such as retiring by a certain age

Our pension experts are here to help

Our pension experts can help you to rescue your lost or neglected pensions and restore them back to their full potential. They could help you with:

• Reuniting you with your lost pensions
• Checking your investment performance and the amount of fees you are paying
• Bringing your pensions together with one provider
• Checking how much money you have saved and how much you could have to enjoy when you retire

Book your telephone pension consultation

If you need some help with your pensions, the first step is to book a telephone pension consultation with our pension experts. The consultation doesn’t need to take long and there will be no charge for the first call – it’s simply an opportunity to find out how we can help you. Just complete this short form or call us on 020 7189 2400 to book yours.

If you have any questions about your pensions, or for more information about Pension Week please get in touch. Just call us on 020 7189 2400, email contact@tilney.co.ukor request a call back.