Pensions are commonly misunderstood and often feared by savers!

 

It is true that the UK pensions regime is fairly complicated and in a seemingly constant state of flux. There are many different types of pension scheme, from employer sponsored schemes where the member has no say in the investment choice or how benefits are paid, to personal arrangements where the member has full control.

 

The State Pension offers relatively poor provision and faces an uncertain future.

 

The main reason a personal pension might be considered as a savings vehicle is quite simply the very generous tax incentives offered by the Government in a bid to get us all to save for retirement. There are four key tax breaks afforded to personal pensions:

 

Tax Relief

 

Contributions attract tax relief at the individual’s highest marginal rate*. For example, a higher rate tax payer earning £60,000 per annum can invest £15,000 into a pension and receive £6,000 (40%) back in income tax relief. This means that the £15,000 invested in the pension has cost this individual just £9,000!

 

Tax Free Growth

 

Investments held directly by an individual typically attract income tax and capital gains tax. Investments held in a pension however grow tax free. Benefiting from this ‘gross roll up’ means the funds can grow freely, not constantly hampered by ongoing taxation.

 

Tax Free Cash

 

From age 55, an individual can take up to 25% of the total accumulated funds* as a tax free ‘Pension Commencement Lump Sum’ or ‘PCLS’. The remaining 75% must be used to provide an income of some sort and is taxed at the investor’s highest marginal rate.

 

National Insurance Relief

 

With a little planning, member contributions to a pension can be routed via a willing employer’s payroll to enhance the total monthly investment amount through reduced National Insurance contributions.*within certain limits

 

Advice and Investing

 

Thanks to recent innovations in pensions, certain personal pensions now available in the UK can now effectively be used  to hold many different types of investments while benefitting from all the tax breaks outlined above. Many of our clients have exactly the same portfolio of funds in their pension as they do in their ISA.

 

A personal pension is also owned by the investor to serve as a savings plan to accumulate enough capital to spend during retirement – simple!

 

If you would like to arrange an initial meeting with us at your convenience and at our cost to discuss how we may be able to help please contact us.