Once you reach 55, a whole host of opportunities will open themselves up to you. One such opportunity is the fact that you can at last access that hard-saved pension fund. Up to 25% of your savings can be taken tax-free, with the remaining 75% being subject to income tax.

The idea of retiring in your 50s or even your 40s sounds like a pipe-dream to most, what with increases in living costs and low or non-existent wage growth slowly eating away at your income. This hasn’t stopped the rise of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement, though, a…

As Defined Contribution (DC) pensions overtake Defined Benefit (DB) pensions (in terms of money paid into schemes) for the first time ever, increasingly people are taking an interest in how the two differ and the relationship between them. The Office of National Statistics has reported that in 2018, employee contributions…

Planning for retirement can be complex, as anyone nearing the end of their working life will tell you. Yet, navigating the myriad of choices, both socially and financially, doesn’t have to be such a mystery. Here are a few tips to help you avoid common mistakes that retirees often make:…

Imagine the scene; you’ve spent your entire working life living frugally, saving efficiently and investing wisely. You begin your well-deserved retirement financially secure and excited for the years ahead. The future could develop in one of two ways; the first could lead to sustained security and the financial freedom to enjoy…

Retirement planning means taking into consideration a whole range of factors. You have to navigate difficult questions like: How should I invest my retirement pot? What will the impact of inflation be? How much income/capital should I withdraw and when? On top of these, there is another question that must…

Running a profitable business is hard work, so it’s understandable if you’re more focussed on the day to day running of your business than planning for your retirement. But with tax year end fast approaching, it’s an ideal time for you to take a step back from the day job…

There’s no reason why being a parent, and especially being a non-earning parent with responsibilities to their children, should put you in danger of reducing your state pension entitlement. At this time, however, there are possibly hundreds of thousands of people in this precise situation—although fortunately, there are actions to…

Whether you’re approaching the beginning of your retirement or you’ve still got a number of years of work in front of you, it’s possible that you’ve already begun arranging this next major stage in your life. But no matter how much you read, how many numbers you crunch and how…

It’s easy to push saving for your golden years to the back of your mind. Future events often feel very distant—until they arrive! It can be a hard thing to keep track of too; with no one checking up on your…