Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

Sidestepping the minimum wage constraint, if someone earning the personal allowance as an annual salary all of which is paid into their private pension in the following 2 ways, they would have different tax treatments: Salary sacrifice - gross £12,570 into pension and considered inclusive of tax relief Relief at source -…

I'm self-employed and get a relatively small pension from the Local Government scheme. I've just been through the process of completing my tax return online with HMRC and during the process, as usual, I could see that they already knew the amount of my pension. The difference is that this time the end result was a tax…

Hello all I am 71 and just retiring at last . I have DB pensions. I am about to claim a deferred state pension. YES I know possibly not a good decision. So my choices are with state pension amount higher or lower amount equates to approx 600 per annum lower and 13500 lump sum I do not need the money being in a reasonably…

My original strategy had been to start drawing my DB pension early next year alongside a 9 year IL Gilt ladder to State Pension age. Having recently received an updated DB forecast the Early Retirement factors had worsened slightly so I took another look at the figures using Guiide. The figures on the left are the original…

Hi I hope some of you lovely forumites can help. I’ve received an inheritance and want to use the money to max out my workplace pension this year. They don’t offer salary sacrifice so this will be a one off lump sum payment not through payroll. If my salary is £105K and I’ve already made contributions since April through…

I have a Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme at work, which is maturing early next year - into which I am paying the full £500 per month. Company share price is also performing extremely well, meaning that as it stands (current share price is about 4 times the option price), I am potentially going to make a significant gain…

Sense check if I may. I have IL gilts in a ladder, the last of which will mature in 2032. I intend to hold all until each matures. Given the current rising bond yields, do I need to be concerned?

Hi all, Not sure if this has been asked before, but trying to get an idea how back in the day when i was contracted out of SERPS by my company how does that affect my final salary pension & state pension. Also i think it was 2016 that everyone was contracted back into SERPS so at retirement age do i need to claim for the…

In January 2025, I received a letter from CSP regarding the 2015 remedy(McCloud). Attached were the pension options below. My ex wife seems to think that the forecast should be broken down for classic and classic plus. That first image only shows the classic plus part. I joined in 1997 and left in 2020, so I was part time…

Redundancy pay is going to take me into the 40% tax bracket for the first time. I plan to put the whole taxable portion into my pension. The pension company will claim the 20% tax relief and I will need to claim back the rest. How easy is this to do before the end of the financial year? I'd rather not wait to file a tax…

At the moment I claim benefits as I'm living with an autoimmune disease and have limited capability for work due to the damage the disease has caused to my body. I got sacked from my job in 2020 due to my health and have been on long term sick since. I really don't like being on benefits and can afford to take my civil…

I have been using Excel XIRR to monitor performance of my various funds (10 at present) within a SIPP and elsewhere. Clearly it is only a historical view and that in itself is fraught with caveats, but my admittedly simplistic thinking is to sell the worst performing fund over (say) a year and invest the proceeds in the…

I have just over 500k in my sipp. I'm 63 next April. No debts, kids, mortgage, don't go on holidays and don't really spend on anything apart from household bills.No plans for spending in the future. I have a ltd company with no other directors or employees. I stopped taking a wage last year. I already have 35 yrs NI…

Read the full story: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/09/state-pension-rise/

Has anyone used an AI tool to validate their projection numbers? I used chatgpt and found it very interesting and useful, especially how resilient my pot would be in a crash and adds another available tool for pension planning with the obvious caveats.

Hi I’m 57 retiring in Jan 27 and will start taking my local gov pension (£20,000 p/a) and I have rental income (£10,000 p/a) I’m currently employed earning £59,000 but paying £3000 p/m into AVC via salary sacrifice. I’m worried I’ll be over £50,000 threshold and have to pay 40% tax on my local gov pension. Do AVC/salary…

I am going to receive a redundancy payment in a couple of months and have now effectively retired a few months earlier than I originally intended. A couple of people have mentioned that I should consider putting some of the payout into my pension but they don't necessarily have all my details. I am minded not to do this…

I'd really like some advice regarding pensions and savings accounts for when I get to pension age. I'm 43 and I've always suffered from anxiety and depression from a young age and I've never been able to hold down a job. I went to see a therapist when I was younger and realised the only way my life was going to get better…

Hi all, Finding this site and the help/guidance/tips I have received has made it easier for me to navigate through the Pensions Minefield! I have just over 2 years till I take retirement at 60, this could be just over 1 year as there is talk of redundancies in March 26. I have SSAVC's which has been invested in…

My NHS ill health retirement application has recently been approved, and I’m now weighing up whether to take a larger lump sum with a smaller pension or the other way around. I’m unsure about any tax implications. My employer says the lump sum is tax-free, as the limit is £263,000, which I wouldn’t exceed. I’m thinking…