Approaching Retirement

‘Pension freedom’ has opened up a whole range of options to people approaching retirement. If you’re over 55 you can now access your pension pot more flexibly than ever before. But this brings with it some potential pitfalls, and the tax implications of different options can be huge.

Those over 50 can obtain free guidance from Pension Wise, a Government backed initiative funded by the financial services industry. This may be a good starting point to learn more about your options before taking regulated advice.  Aspira offers regulated advice for which we charge a fee but we also offer a no obligation, free initial consultation, so that you can decide whether you need regulated advice to plan your retirement income. A simple way to understand the difference between guidance and advice is that guidance sets out what you could do, advice tells you what you should do. Regulated advice also provides additional consumer protection.

Our expert advisers can talk to you about your circumstances and needs and help make sure you don’t get any nasty surprises from the taxman. Visit our Aspira Inform pages to see the latest on retirement income and to sign up for the newsletter. And if you'd like to speak to one of the team to discuss your retirement plans please get in touch.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice.

Accessing pension benefits early may impact on levels of retirement income and your entitlement to certain means tested benefits.

Accessing pension benefits is not suitable for everyone. You should seek advice to understand your options at retirement.