Don’t mention the “P” word! It’s a family wealth planning tool
In April 2015, our traditional view of pension arrangements was turned on its head when the Government allowed free and full access to pension funds for over 55s. Forget the headlines of “Lamborghini man” written by a media who believe the British public cannot be trusted with their own money.
These changes have brought freedom and flexibility and opened up new family wealth planning opportunities, providing:
- Income tax relief on contributions
- Tax free investment growth
- Free and full access to the assets from age 55
- Flexible lifetime income
- Any remaining fund passed to spouse/partner and then to children on death
We advise our clients to consider
- Fully using their pension contribution allowance before ISA
- Planning to live longer than they anticipate
- Recognising that we spend more when we stop working and less when we are older
- Spending non pension savings before taking money out of pension funds
- Leaving 1% of their pension fund on death to each of their children
- Regarding their pension fund as a retirement bank account
"The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income?"