Taking advice
At a glance
Deciding how to take your pension benefits from the Plan is a big decision that can involve significant sums of money.
Talking to an independent financial adviser will help you think through the retirement you want and how the pension benefits you have in the Plan can help you achieve that. Advice isn’t just for the wealthy. It’s more about understanding what you want from your retirement and how to get you there.
We understand that it can be difficult to choose an adviser, so we’ve partnered with Origen, one of the UK’s leading financial advisers. Origen advisers have an excellent understanding of the Plan, and the Trustees have negotiated competitive charges which you can find in the ‘Help at hand’ information sheet.
If you wish to use Origen as your financial adviser, you need to provide consent in writing to the Plan Administrator to enable them to send your personal information to Origen.
You don’t have to use Origen – you can choose a different adviser if you wish. You can find a list of advisers at vouchedfor.co.uk. Make sure you check that your adviser is registered with the Financial Conduct authority though – you can check the register here. Please be aware that if you’re thinking of transferring, an adviser who takes a percentage of your transfer value may be significantly more expensive that Origen.
Guidance
There is also guidance available for free – the is not advice tailored to your circumstances, but just information that might help you make up your own mind about your options.
If you have benefits in the DB section, you could start with PensionWise, the Government’s free advisory service which can give you guidance, has lots of information about the different ways you can use your retirement savings and information about tax and the State pension.
MoneyHelper has lots of information as well as some interactive tools that can help you understand your options.