The questions people ask us, answered plainly.
Short, educational pieces on retirement, pensions and tax — each one written to answer a real question, in the words people actually ask it.
‘Time is money’ – Benjamin Franklin
Let me explain why I believe that time is such a key element of pension planning.
Read the answerWhat should you check five years before you retire?
Five years out is the point where planning still changes the outcome. Six checks cover most of it: know what your retirement will cost and what it will pay; find every pension and look at how it is invested; decide how you will draw the money; clear expensive debt and put your Will, power of attorney and pension nominations in order; sketch a year-by-year timeline; and get the right support. None of it needs to happen at once. All of it is easier at 58 than at 63.
Read the answerWhy do smart people make poor money decisions?
Your brain runs on shortcuts. They are fast and usually good enough, but with money they turn into predictable errors called behavioural biases. None of them make you unintelligent. They make you human. The trouble is that they rarely feel like mistakes at the time, which is why sensible people keep making them. Below, a year in the life of Mr Pickles shows ten of them at work.
Read the answerHow does pension tax-free cash work — and what’s the £17,400 mistake?
You can normally take 25% of a pension tax-free from age 55 (57 from 2028). The other 75% is taxed as income when you draw it. You don’t have to take it all at once — and taking it in slices, matched to your personal allowance, is usually what keeps the tax bill down.
Read the answer
Articles are educational and general in nature — they aren’t advice, and nothing here is a recommendation for your circumstances. Figures are reviewed at least annually.