Retire in late 50’s

Albermarle

Justso65 said:

JamesRobinson48 said:

You say you have accrued a 'relatively good DB pension' and you also have 'around £500k in a DC pension'.  In that case, how close is your total pension pot to the Lifetime Allowance (LTA)?   Bear in mind that once you exceed the LTA, you're likely to be taxed at a penal rate on the excess amount.  There seems no point in making additional DC contributions, gaining (say) 40% tax relief on the amounts contributed, and then later having to pay (say) 55% tax on funds withdrawn.

For my part I did run into a severe LTA problem and, mainly for that reason, retired in my mid 50s.  I did not hesitate to do so, have remained more than solvent during many subsequent years, and have absolutely no regrets (apart from wishing I'd gone a little sooner).

I hadn’t considered the LTA until recently.  I always thought the LTA was for for people further up the financial ladder than me.  However, I understand that the LTA is calculated as

1. The value of my DC pot when I start drawing it.  Currently around £500k
2. My DB pot is also valued when I take it at a rate of 20 x the yearly pension + TFLS value.  Is that accurate?

If so, valuing my DB pension forecast now makes it just over £400k.  Now if I go longer that DB will increase with yearly increments and my DC pension would, hopefully, increase with contributions and investments.  So at the moment I believe I need to consider, based on planned retirement dates and current info on values, that I have used around £900k of my LTA.  Is that correct?  If so I don’t have much more wriggle room to stay under the LTA.

JS.

You have got the general idea about LTA , but as mentioned by Pat38493, the DC element is calculated on when you crystallise the pension, only indirectly linked to when you withdraw from it. Once you understand the concept of crystallisation, it all should become a bit clearer.
One tactic to keep below LTA limits is to take the DB pension early, as the calculation is based on 20X the pension, regardless of when you take it.

I guess because this is the moneysavings forum, there is not much posted here about the psychological journey into retirement.

There are quite a few threads ( not all still active) which do discuss the journey to retirement. There is a famous one with thousands of replies, which has recently been coming to a close.
Although some focus around retiring on a bit more of a limited budget/assets than the OP/you, so quite a lot of detail on spending habits etc 

Moonwolf

Your plan is basically my plan, the numbers are similar but all mine are slightly lower. 

I have three DB pension schemes, two deferred that pay at 60, one NHS 1995 (£4,600) and one private, capped at 5% (£4,800) and my current which will pay at 65 and is worth about £8,500 at the moment. I will also get full new state pension at 67 ("You cannot improve your forecast any more”).  This gives me around £29K a year in guaranteed inflation proof (resistant?) pensions.  My DC pot has just reached £300,000.  Cash savings of £50K, £5k left on the mortgage.

I have two budgets, pessimistic, take home of £24K a year after tax and optimistic £30K a year after tax.  Both based on current spend. The optimistic has a lot more expensive holidays and more eating out.

I'm 57. The plan is to retire soon, certainly by 60 (it was 58 before the recent market wobble). Use the DC to bridge, reducing the drawdown as pensions kick in.

Pessimistic assumes I run out of DC by 67.  Optimistic assumes I have enough DC left at 67 to keep drawing down to reach the higher figure.  Realistic, barring a major crash, I should be able to start with optimistic, review every year but assume I will move towards pessimistic, that I won't need or want as many holidays at 85 as I do at 65.

I've ignored my partner in the above figures but the full plans have allowances, all the DB pensions have an element for them and they would get what is left in the DC pot.  They are 14 years older than me and already receiving 2 DB pensions and a pre 2016 state pension, in total, about £17,000 a year, but my budgets basically assume they put £500 a month into the joint account and keep the rest, which is what happens now. 

We don't have anyone we want to leave the DC pot after us, so aren't worried about spending it all.  With a partner 14 years older than me, it is reasonable to assume I will be on my own by 90, so if I need them, care costs would be met by the house.

Macgomez1

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

The only reason I plan on taking my DB pension at 67 is because pension delayed is pension increased.  I hopefully can fill the gap between now and 67 with my DC pot and take my guaranteed DB and state pensions together at 67.  It’s just a plan, not set in stone.

Regarding the state pension it is NI contributions accrued to date, 40 years.  Not projected accrual.  Fortunately as I was messing around as a student in the early 80’s I seemingly accrued NI credits.  I have then worked continually since 1986.  So the state pension is at its max as of now and I can’t increase any further with more NI contributions.

Thank you for yours and all the other responses.  “Pulling the trigger” seems an apt description.  It feels like I am doing exactly that if I retire now.  My plan has always been to retire in spring and take advantage of the spring and summer weather as I become work idle but leisure busy.  Engineering redundancy sounds just what I would like to do.  It may be possible but needs careful planning to get there.

JS. 

Just to be crystal clear on the state pension point, have you checked your state pension forecast on UK gov and made sure that it says that you cannot improve any further?  Usually there is a headline figure of 185.15, but then if you scroll down it might say something different like - you can get it to this value by contributing x more years.

If you were in a DB scheme for a long time you would have been contracted out so you would most likely need well over 35 years to get the full amount.

On the gov website it says I have 40 full years of contributions to date and one partial year.  It then says my pension forecast is £185.15 and it is “the most I can get” and “You cannot improve your forecast any more”. It also says “You’ve been in a contracted-out pension scheme” and a subsequent link says “Your COPE estimate is £49.01 per week” but that “this does not affect your pension forecast”.  So that £49.01 is part of what my DB will pay me.

Thanks again, JS.

In that case yes you are fine - the "you cannot improve your forecast anymore" is often the important bit.

Hi, I'm not in an unsimilar situation, got 5 pensions spread across various companies I work for, 1 a DB.
The idea of going to a financial advisor fills me with a bit of dread. Some of the sums their talking about.
Do you feel the initial free assessment was good?? What questions did you ask??
And more importantly did you act on his advice??

Thanks  Andy

Pat38493

Macgomez1 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

The only reason I plan on taking my DB pension at 67 is because pension delayed is pension increased.  I hopefully can fill the gap between now and 67 with my DC pot and take my guaranteed DB and state pensions together at 67.  It’s just a plan, not set in stone.

Regarding the state pension it is NI contributions accrued to date, 40 years.  Not projected accrual.  Fortunately as I was messing around as a student in the early 80’s I seemingly accrued NI credits.  I have then worked continually since 1986.  So the state pension is at its max as of now and I can’t increase any further with more NI contributions.

Thank you for yours and all the other responses.  “Pulling the trigger” seems an apt description.  It feels like I am doing exactly that if I retire now.  My plan has always been to retire in spring and take advantage of the spring and summer weather as I become work idle but leisure busy.  Engineering redundancy sounds just what I would like to do.  It may be possible but needs careful planning to get there.

JS. 

Just to be crystal clear on the state pension point, have you checked your state pension forecast on UK gov and made sure that it says that you cannot improve any further?  Usually there is a headline figure of 185.15, but then if you scroll down it might say something different like - you can get it to this value by contributing x more years.

If you were in a DB scheme for a long time you would have been contracted out so you would most likely need well over 35 years to get the full amount.

On the gov website it says I have 40 full years of contributions to date and one partial year.  It then says my pension forecast is £185.15 and it is “the most I can get” and “You cannot improve your forecast any more”. It also says “You’ve been in a contracted-out pension scheme” and a subsequent link says “Your COPE estimate is £49.01 per week” but that “this does not affect your pension forecast”.  So that £49.01 is part of what my DB will pay me.

Thanks again, JS.

In that case yes you are fine - the "you cannot improve your forecast anymore" is often the important bit.

Hi, I'm not in an unsimilar situation, got 5 pensions spread across various companies I work for, 1 a DB.
The idea of going to a financial advisor fills me with a bit of dread. Some of the sums their talking about.
Do you feel the initial free assessment was good?? What questions did you ask??
And more importantly did you act on his advice??

Thanks  Andy

The only IFA that we spoke to so far was one who was recommended by a colleague who took early retirement about a year ago.  He just talked through our situation verbally and got an idea of our assets and funds.  The discussion was framed as that I wanted to investigate whether I might be able to retire around 57.

He was the one that was pointing out that as a couple we have a lot of DB assets, especially my wife, and so potentially the pension DC funds that I have might only need to bridge the gap until DB and then SP kicks in.  Blindingly obvious really, but this kind of set me down the road of investigating further.  I am now even thinking I might be able to go some time next year - maybe at 55.5 or so.

I mentioned to him that I was concerned that our spending power in retirement would be a lot less than when we were both working as it would be less than 50% of what it had been.  We talked through a few reasons why this is not as serious as it sounds - mortgage costs disappearing, costs of childcare and Univsersity going away, that type of thing.  He also made the comment that he often finds that people just spend what they have, and probably we were spending a lot of money that we could avoid because there was no pressure on us to get the best deals and suchlike (basically true).

He was not pushy at all - in fact the opposite - he just kind of said - keep putting as much into your fund as you can and if you still want an IFA, contact me in a couple of years when you are seriously thinking of pulling the trigger soon.  My DC assets at the time were probably "only" about £225K (now £350K) which is a lot but probably not a huge pot in IFA terms.

My thinking right now is that I will probably create a DIY strategy, but I may try to get a one off fee based advice from an IFA to validate my plan and point out weaknesses or gaps (e.g. consequences of one of us dying a lot sooner than expected for example), and also to check my investment strategy as I am by no means an expert investor - just in the process of reading a few books about it.  I hope to avoid paying several thousand every year for an IFA.

Albermarle

Macgomez1 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

The only reason I plan on taking my DB pension at 67 is because pension delayed is pension increased.  I hopefully can fill the gap between now and 67 with my DC pot and take my guaranteed DB and state pensions together at 67.  It’s just a plan, not set in stone.

Regarding the state pension it is NI contributions accrued to date, 40 years.  Not projected accrual.  Fortunately as I was messing around as a student in the early 80’s I seemingly accrued NI credits.  I have then worked continually since 1986.  So the state pension is at its max as of now and I can’t increase any further with more NI contributions.

Thank you for yours and all the other responses.  “Pulling the trigger” seems an apt description.  It feels like I am doing exactly that if I retire now.  My plan has always been to retire in spring and take advantage of the spring and summer weather as I become work idle but leisure busy.  Engineering redundancy sounds just what I would like to do.  It may be possible but needs careful planning to get there.

JS. 

Just to be crystal clear on the state pension point, have you checked your state pension forecast on UK gov and made sure that it says that you cannot improve any further?  Usually there is a headline figure of 185.15, but then if you scroll down it might say something different like - you can get it to this value by contributing x more years.

If you were in a DB scheme for a long time you would have been contracted out so you would most likely need well over 35 years to get the full amount.

On the gov website it says I have 40 full years of contributions to date and one partial year.  It then says my pension forecast is £185.15 and it is “the most I can get” and “You cannot improve your forecast any more”. It also says “You’ve been in a contracted-out pension scheme” and a subsequent link says “Your COPE estimate is £49.01 per week” but that “this does not affect your pension forecast”.  So that £49.01 is part of what my DB will pay me.

Thanks again, JS.

In that case yes you are fine - the "you cannot improve your forecast anymore" is often the important bit.

Hi, I'm not in an unsimilar situation, got 5 pensions spread across various companies I work for, 1 a DB.
The idea of going to a financial advisor fills me with a bit of dread. Maybe you would feel more confident if you knew more about personal finance issues your self ? ( apologies if you already do !) It is like when you talk to a mechanic at the garage, you get more out of it if you understand cars a bit yourself .Some of the sums their talking about. Do you want to elaborate, there is a wide range of charge levels and plenty of scope for misunderstanding them
Do you feel the initial free assessment was good?? What questions did you ask??
And more importantly did you act on his  their advice?? Not all advisors are men   

Thanks  Andy

Welcome to the forum. Some comments in bold above.

Notepad_Phil

Justso65 said:

JamesRobinson48 said:

You say you have accrued a 'relatively good DB pension' and you also have 'around £500k in a DC pension'.  In that case, how close is your total pension pot to the Lifetime Allowance (LTA)?   Bear in mind that once you exceed the LTA, you're likely to be taxed at a penal rate on the excess amount.  There seems no point in making additional DC contributions, gaining (say) 40% tax relief on the amounts contributed, and then later having to pay (say) 55% tax on funds withdrawn.

For my part I did run into a severe LTA problem and, mainly for that reason, retired in my mid 50s.  I did not hesitate to do so, have remained more than solvent during many subsequent years, and have absolutely no regrets (apart from wishing I'd gone a little sooner).

I hadn’t considered the LTA until recently.  I always thought the LTA was for for people further up the financial ladder than me.  However, I understand that the LTA is calculated as

1. The value of my DC pot when I start drawing it.  Currently around £500k
2. My DB pot is also valued when I take it at a rate of 20 x the yearly pension + TFLS value.  Is that accurate?

...

You may be aware, but just not put it in your post, but there are also LTA tests at age 75. e.g. if you crystallise a pot of £100k and take out the 25% pcls then you'll need to ensure that the pot is valued at £75k or less when you get to the age of 75 so that it doesn't add to your LTA used.

af1963

Unless I missed it, I didn't see any mention of dependents or inheritance.  Another factor that *might* be relevant is that the remaining value of any DC pensions can be inherited without being part of your estate for inheritance tax.  Only affects you if you're likely as a couple to leave assets that add up to more than the two IHT allowances for you and your wife - but if it does, it makes it more attractive to spend less from the DC pot, possibly by taking income earlier from the DB.  (tax rules can change, of course.)

Macgomez1

Albermarle said:

Macgomez1 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

The only reason I plan on taking my DB pension at 67 is because pension delayed is pension increased.  I hopefully can fill the gap between now and 67 with my DC pot and take my guaranteed DB and state pensions together at 67.  It’s just a plan, not set in stone.

Regarding the state pension it is NI contributions accrued to date, 40 years.  Not projected accrual.  Fortunately as I was messing around as a student in the early 80’s I seemingly accrued NI credits.  I have then worked continually since 1986.  So the state pension is at its max as of now and I can’t increase any further with more NI contributions.

Thank you for yours and all the other responses.  “Pulling the trigger” seems an apt description.  It feels like I am doing exactly that if I retire now.  My plan has always been to retire in spring and take advantage of the spring and summer weather as I become work idle but leisure busy.  Engineering redundancy sounds just what I would like to do.  It may be possible but needs careful planning to get there.

JS. 

Just to be crystal clear on the state pension point, have you checked your state pension forecast on UK gov and made sure that it says that you cannot improve any further?  Usually there is a headline figure of 185.15, but then if you scroll down it might say something different like - you can get it to this value by contributing x more years.

If you were in a DB scheme for a long time you would have been contracted out so you would most likely need well over 35 years to get the full amount.

On the gov website it says I have 40 full years of contributions to date and one partial year.  It then says my pension forecast is £185.15 and it is “the most I can get” and “You cannot improve your forecast any more”. It also says “You’ve been in a contracted-out pension scheme” and a subsequent link says “Your COPE estimate is £49.01 per week” but that “this does not affect your pension forecast”.  So that £49.01 is part of what my DB will pay me.

Thanks again, JS.

In that case yes you are fine - the "you cannot improve your forecast anymore" is often the important bit.

Hi, I'm not in an unsimilar situation, got 5 pensions spread across various companies I work for, 1 a DB.
The idea of going to a financial advisor fills me with a bit of dread. Maybe you would feel more confident if you knew more about personal finance issues your self ? ( apologies if you already do !) It is like when you talk to a mechanic at the garage, you get more out of it if you understand cars a bit yourself .Some of the sums their talking about. Do you want to elaborate, there is a wide range of charge levels and plenty of scope for misunderstanding them
Do you feel the initial free assessment was good?? What questions did you ask??
And more importantly did you act on his  their advice?? Not all advisors are men   

Thanks  Andy

Welcome to the forum. Some comments in bold above.

Hi, Thanks for the reply... Yip, sorry their advice 👍.
Not overly savy about pensions, but have a basic grasp....
Sitting at almost 58 years of age, got 5 pensions from previous employment, 58k, 33k, 81k and 25k. An DB at 82k. Currently still paying into the 25k. Money in the bank 60k.
I understand the sums are not eye-watering, but I feel getting an advisor involved would erode some of the money??? Or is this false economy. 

Andy

older_and_no_wiser

Pat38493 said:

 ^^ This.

I started looking into this a year or two back and I had always assumed I needed to work into my 60s before I could retire.  After I started investigating further and just a quick free introductory conversation with an IFA, I started to investigate the option of retiring at 55 or at least within a couple of years after.  At this point, I cannot possibly imagine working on into my 60s, at least not in the type of job I'm in now.

I had the same experience. My annual pension statements seem to indicate I would only get a few grand a year pension funding. Then I found out about annuities and drawdown options. I collated all my finances and realised I was a lot better off than I thought I was! The IFA suggested (after the initial free conversations) I could consider a much earlier retirement. Since that point, I've started to plan my retirement and hive off as much as possible taking advantage of salary sacrifice, ISA allowance etc.

Albermarle

Macgomez1 said:

Albermarle said:

Macgomez1 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Pat38493 said:

Justso65 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have a relatively good DB pension built up over around 20 years and I left that scheme about 17 years ago. I frequently get benefits quotations based on different retirement dates and my plan for the DB scheme is to take it at 67 and add my state pension to that. 

If you left 17 years it seems unusual/unlikely that the NPA would be 67.  Why exactly do you plan on taking this pension at 67?

My DB pension contracted out of SERPS and although that aspect confuses me when I check on the gov website I have a full NI history and I am informed I will get max state pension of, at today’s rates, about just under £10k.  

Is the just under £10k what you have actually accrued at 5 April 2022 or what you will accrue if you contribute to add NI year(s)?

The only reason I plan on taking my DB pension at 67 is because pension delayed is pension increased.  I hopefully can fill the gap between now and 67 with my DC pot and take my guaranteed DB and state pensions together at 67.  It’s just a plan, not set in stone.

Regarding the state pension it is NI contributions accrued to date, 40 years.  Not projected accrual.  Fortunately as I was messing around as a student in the early 80’s I seemingly accrued NI credits.  I have then worked continually since 1986.  So the state pension is at its max as of now and I can’t increase any further with more NI contributions.

Thank you for yours and all the other responses.  “Pulling the trigger” seems an apt description.  It feels like I am doing exactly that if I retire now.  My plan has always been to retire in spring and take advantage of the spring and summer weather as I become work idle but leisure busy.  Engineering redundancy sounds just what I would like to do.  It may be possible but needs careful planning to get there.

JS. 

Just to be crystal clear on the state pension point, have you checked your state pension forecast on UK gov and made sure that it says that you cannot improve any further?  Usually there is a headline figure of 185.15, but then if you scroll down it might say something different like - you can get it to this value by contributing x more years.

If you were in a DB scheme for a long time you would have been contracted out so you would most likely need well over 35 years to get the full amount.

On the gov website it says I have 40 full years of contributions to date and one partial year.  It then says my pension forecast is £185.15 and it is “the most I can get” and “You cannot improve your forecast any more”. It also says “You’ve been in a contracted-out pension scheme” and a subsequent link says “Your COPE estimate is £49.01 per week” but that “this does not affect your pension forecast”.  So that £49.01 is part of what my DB will pay me.

Thanks again, JS.

In that case yes you are fine - the "you cannot improve your forecast anymore" is often the important bit.

Hi, I'm not in an unsimilar situation, got 5 pensions spread across various companies I work for, 1 a DB.
The idea of going to a financial advisor fills me with a bit of dread. Maybe you would feel more confident if you knew more about personal finance issues your self ? ( apologies if you already do !) It is like when you talk to a mechanic at the garage, you get more out of it if you understand cars a bit yourself .Some of the sums their talking about. Do you want to elaborate, there is a wide range of charge levels and plenty of scope for misunderstanding them
Do you feel the initial free assessment was good?? What questions did you ask??
And more importantly did you act on his  their advice?? Not all advisors are men   

Thanks  Andy

Welcome to the forum. Some comments in bold above.

Hi, Thanks for the reply... Yip, sorry their advice 👍.
Not overly savy about pensions, but have a basic grasp....
Sitting at almost 58 years of age, got 5 pensions from previous employment, 58k, 33k, 81k and 25k. An DB at 82k. Currently still paying into the 25k. Money in the bank 60k.
I understand the sums are not eye-watering, but I feel getting an advisor involved would erode some of the money??? Or is this false economy. 

Andy

Firstly your DB pension does not have an exact value, or a pot of money that is yours. It is a promise of a guaranteed annual  pension income. I presume the £82K is a quote for a transfer value, but you can pretty much ignore that ( transferring out of a DB is usually a bad decision, and administratively very difficult and expensive,  you would see some whopping compulsory adviser fees and probably with no result at the end ) . So you can effectively see the DB pension as separate.
So that leaves you with about £200K in DC pensions.
There have been many debates on this forum about the value of IFA's. It boils down to whether you think you can manage your pensions/investments/tax efficiencies reasonably effectively or not . It is not rocket science if you are basically numerate, but you do need to spend some time reading, watching youtube videos etc., and browsing this forum can be helpful.
If you can not be bothered with all that, then the cost of an IFA may well be worth it. If only to avoid any howlers.
Similar thread running here DIY or IFA — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Ignore some of the complexities mentioned, just get the general drift.