A Defined benefit or final salary pension scheme is a scheme whereby the amount of pension you get is worked out on your salary at or near retirement, or when you left employment, and also on the length of your pensionable service with your employer.

A Money Purchase or Defined Contribution pension is a pension where your contributions are invested in, for example, the stockmarket. The size of your pension fund will depend upon on how much is invested and how well those investments do. At retirement, some or all of the fund may be used to buy an annuity.

These are money purchase schemes and especially useful if you are self-employed or your employer doesn't run a company scheme. Your contributions are invested in, for example, the stockmarket. The size of your pension fund will depend upon on how much is invested and how well those investments do. At retirement, some or all of the fund may be used to buy an annuity.

Whatever your current pension status, we can tailor make a strategy that can meet your present and future needs for retirement provision.

There have been some fundamental changes made to how pensions operate in the UK over the last few years, for those individuals in pre- retirement and accumulating funds for their long term future, for those individuals approaching retirement and needing to review their options, and finally for those who have provision through the workplace, whether this be through an employer sponsored scheme or mandatory provision.

The rules around funding and the amounts individuals and employers can contribute into a pension plan are extremely complex and you should in the first instance speak to us to review the options that are available to you.

In relation to employer sponsored schemes, the Government is planning to bring a new system for pension saving in 2012 called Personal Accounts which could have an impact on your existing approach to saving for your retirement. Although the final details of the Personal Accounts is not yet known, the shape of the scheme is becoming clearer and as an employee, unless your employer offers a scheme... (Read more...) (Go back...)