Where to get free, independent pension advice in my 40's

CurlySue2017

My question is as per the title really, I am in my mid 40's and my pension is starting to creep into my thoughts more and more, however I don't know where to go for advice?
I found Pension Wise online, but it seems that their service is for the over 50's only and I can't seem to find anything else.
Is it a case of either waiting until I'm 50 to get advice for free, or paying for a financial advisor now?

Marcon

CurlySue2017 said:

My question is as per the title really, I am in my mid 40's and my pension is starting to creep into my thoughts more and more, however I don't know where to go for advice?
I found Pension Wise online, but it seems that their service is for the over 50's only and I can't seem to find anything else.
Is it a case of either waiting until I'm 50 to get advice for free, or paying for a financial advisor now?

PensionWise gives basic information and guidance, not advice.

Are you sure you actually need 'advice' rather than adequate information which would make you (more) confident in taking your own decisions? If yes then you need to pay an adviser - and make sure they are an independent adviser, with access to the whole of the market, rather than one tied to a particular company so they can only recommend that company's products.

If it's information, MoneyHelper's website is no bad starting place for basic info: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement

Also worth reading any literature provided by your employer and/or pension provider.

El_Torro

Do you have an employer and are you part of their pension scheme? The pension provider might be willing to talk to you about the options and what to look out for. Although their "advice" might just amount to telling you to contribute more to your pension. 

Moonwolf

Read the forum here, ask your questions here.  Generally the knowledgeable people here help and the good advice is not drowned out by the bad.

I have learned a lot and think that my pension is in order, due in no small part to direct and indirect advice from people on here.

Linton

You cannot get free advice from anyone, at least not advice that is guaranteed to be appropriate for your circumstances.  For that you need to pay an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA).  "Independent" is important as otherwise you are likely to get  focussed on what the advisor can sell to you.  All you can get for free is information on what you could do, not on what you should do - that includes Pensionwise.

Perhaps if you say something about your circumstances people here who would like to help you can give suggestions.  But like all "advice" on the internet it is up to you to judge whether it is trustworthy.

kempiejon

CurlySue2017 said:

My question is as per the title really, I am in my mid 40's and my pension is starting to creep into my thoughts more and more, however I don't know where to go for advice?
I found Pension Wise online, but it seems that their service is for the over 50's only and I can't seem to find anything else.
Is it a case of either waiting until I'm 50 to get advice for free, or paying for a financial advisor now?

I've had a Pension Wise meeting. They didn't tell me anything I hadn't already worked out for myself years ago but it was good to confirm what I knew was right. I took control of my own finances years ago, places like this board are handy. I suggest anyone else interested does the same.
There is so much more to post work, retirement income planning than a pension. Certainly in my model of financial independence it is not just my pension.

CurlySue2017

El_Torro said:

Do you have an employer and are you part of their pension scheme? The pension provider might be willing to talk to you about the options and what to look out for. Although their "advice" might just amount to telling you to contribute more to your pension. 

I am in the workplace pension yes, but this is what I was afraid of.

Linton said:

You cannot get free advice from anyone, at least not advice that is guaranteed to be appropriate for your circumstances.  For that you need to pay an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA).  "Independent" is important as otherwise you are likely to get  focussed on what the advisor can sell to you.  All you can get for free is information on what you could do, not on what you should do - that includes Pensionwise.

Perhaps if you say something about your circumstances people here who would like to help you can give suggestions.  But like all "advice" on the internet it is up to you to judge whether it is trustworthy.

I worded my original post incorrectly in that case, as this is what I am looking for......just basic guidance really, not necessarily tailored advise as such, it just seems like such a minefield and I had no idea where to start - but this board seems to be the place!

What sort of information would I need to post here please?

El_Torro

CurlySue2017 said:

What sort of information would I need to post here please?

You could start by telling us what you want to know. If that doesn't work (we don't know what we don't know, if that makes sense) then you could tell us what you're trying to achieve and how, we can then comment on how feasible we think your plan is. 

A lot of first time posters give too little information, which means that the suggestions given are more generic and probably a lot less useful than they could be. It's prudent to not over share of course, so don't give away information that could easily identify you. 

Things like current income, how much you are putting into your pension and elsewhere, when you plan to retire and how much income you want to have in retirement are good to know.

leosayer

There are some great youtube channels done by UK financial advisors that I find really useful for my own personal finances, for example Meaningful Money and James Shack. 

CurlySue2017

OK my salary is £36k and at the moment and I pay the minimum required contribution into my workplace pension which is also topped up by my employer.  I get a yearly statement and that's about it. 
I have no idea when I plan to retire, as I said I have only just started to think about it all.

My biggest worry is that I currently rent and there is no possibility of me buying a property, so I will be renting into retirement. 

I do live with my OH but our finances are totally separate and for our own reasons, we plan to keep it that way.

I understand that this is very basic information but as I said, I know literally nothing about pensions / investments and I am only just now starting to get a little concerned at my lack of planning at my age!

El_Torro

How much is going in to your pension every month?
What is your pension currently worth? Or what was it worth in the last statement you received?
How old are you?

Once you tell us the above we can at least say what you would expect to have when you reach state pension age. Then you can decide if this is enough, or if you are able to retire earlier than state pension age. 

Renting in retirement isn't great, partly because of the lack of security (the landlord can kick you out more or less when they want). A lot of your pension will also be used to make rent payments. There are of course many other people who are also renters in retirement though.