Employee Financial Well Being- Retirement Counselling

Since 2006, apart from a few special occupations, employers can no longer require employees to retire at a given age and each employee can decide when they want to cease work. This can raise questions of manpower and succession planning for employers who could find several key staff retiring all at once or conversely opportunities for the promotion of others blocked.

Increasingly individuals are facing less certainty around the retirement income they will have for their future lifestyle, as more retirement income depends upon investment returns, while the age at which state pension becomes payable is rising.

This uncertainty can mean that some older workers may be working longer than they would like to and are missing the opportunity to enjoy retirement while still fit and healthy. Knowing when it is the right time to give up work is not always straightforward, and research shows that many older workers would like help in making the decision.

Employer sponsored retirement counselling can help resolve this dilemma, so that employees can enter retirement with confidence.  For some people retirement can be planned as a gradual process, reducing hours and responsibilities, along a glide path into full retirement. This helps businesses achieve a smoother handover and is a valuable employee benefit.

Aspira Retirement Planning Services

Aspira offers a retirement planning service covering the financial needs of retiring employees.

Guidance and financial education

This can be provided as guidance to groups of employees who may wish to attend one of our retirement seminars. It considers lifestyle, healthcare, State pensions, workplace pensions, other investments, tax planning, inheritance, and care provision. Partners may be invited to attend so that their perspective on retirement plans can be considered too.

Personalised advice

For those employees who require more personalised planning we can provide this on an individual basis, as regulated advice.

This may be funded by the employer or employee, or a combination of both. Employers can fund access to personalised pensions advice for up to £500 per employee per year as a tax-free benefit.

Employees who wish to pay for advice may do so and if using salary exchange, will save between 33% and 47% of up to £500 of the cost, depending upon their personal tax band. This arises from the saving of income tax and national insurance when salary is exchanged in return for the employer funding the cost of advice.

To get more for your business and for your staff  contact your usual Aspira adviser, or email info@aspirafp.co.uk or call 0800 055 6585, and we will be pleased to discuss how these services could be made available to you. 

Kay Ingram                              
Public Policy Director                                           
May 2021

The information contained in this article is based on the opinion of Aspira Corporate Solutions and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to any retirement strategy, you should seek independent financial advice before embarking on any course of action.

A pension is a long term investment. The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Pension income could also be affected by interest rates at the time benefits are taken.

The tax treatment of pensions in general and tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on individual circumstances, tax legislation and regulation, which are subject to change in the future.

 

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