Pension and retirement planning advice please

dunstonh

Leosayer, OrizB my IFA says he cannot advise on the Teacher’s Pension.  Hence I’m trying to decide myself whether to use it more or to go down the SIPP route.

All IFAs can advise on the Teachers' pension in respect of planning; it's only transfers out that IFAs may not do. Are you sure this person is an IFA and not an FA?

Sarahspangles

Summerbulbs said:

• At age 67 my state pension forecast says £12k, as I have already worked the necessary 35 years

The 35 year qualifying period applies to those who joined the workforce after the introduction of New State Pension ie from 2016. For those older, a few will achieve full NSP after 35 years, but not for the same reason. The possible range is something like 26 to 49 years. So you need to read your forecast carefully and check you’re seeing the magic words

You cannot improve your forecast any more.

Or if you’re not quite there, that the years you plan to work will fill the gaps.

Albermarle

When my partner started his business, his accountant advised buying his premises through a SIPP, so an IFA at the time arranged our pensions to do this

Not sure if this makes much of a difference to your plans, but are you aware that having SIPPs with commercial property in them, is more of a specialised area.
So when you see people refer to SIPPs on this forum, they are normally talking about the mainstream providers, whilst presumably you are with a smaller more niche provider ( and probably more expensive).

Regarding the Teachers Pension, it does seem strange that they can not at least offer some general advice.

Summerbulbs

QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS PENSION PEOPLE

Hi

I have 2 questions, as I am planning for early retirement 62.  (I now 54.)

If I use my personal calculator from the pensions website, it says that I can receive £21,332 per annum if I retire at 62.  My first question is whether I should read that literally that I can access this amount at age 62, or whether this amount is only accessible at NPA and subject to further actuarial adjustment if taken early.  I’d like to be sure what I can access at 62.

It looks like I can also buy an “additional pension” of £6k, by contributing £1238.40 per month for 7 years (until just before 1 am 62).  I assume the £6K is accessible at NPA?  What amount would I get if I also accessed this at age 62?  Is there an adjusted made for early access?

Many thanks for your help,.

stuart746

Hi, sorry I’m unable to answer your questions directly but if you would like to learn more about the TPS, the details of the scheme, and how to make sense of the statements I suggest consulting David Fountain’s YT channel and blog - he covers all areas of TPS including additional pension and what to consider vs other options. He is also extremely helpful if you have a question, although obviously cannot give advice. Specific advice about TPS can be provided by Wesleyan Financial Services, which is free for initial consultation but can be expensive afterwards (and potentially unnecessary unless the circumstances of your pension are very complex). There are pros and cons for additional pension, etc, as well as AVCs (which I use as salary sacrifice), but without understanding all aspects of your retirement plan and life situation any suggestions will have their limitations.

Summerbulbs

Thank you all, I’m on a bit of a journey with this and your questions have really helped.  Thank you @stuart746, that’s a really useful source that I will dig into.

Here’s the latest on what I’ve discovered:

• State pension: My forecast says I can get £225.54 a week based on my record at 5 April 2025.  I can get £230.25 if I contribute another year, which I “cannot improve any further unless I choose to put off claiming”. So, I’m using £230.25 in my calculations as I will be there by April 2026. (£12k pa.)
• Teacher’s Pension:  I spoke to the Teachers Pension people, who confirmed £21,332 is what I will get if I retire at 62.  Any reductions for early retirement are already applied to this, so I won’t have to wait until Normal Pension Age (NPA) to access this amount.
• I will get an additional pension of £5,202 at 62, if I pay an additional £1238.50 per month for 7 years.  (An actuarial adjustment of 86.7% to the £6k that it would buy at NPA).

So I’m confident that the above approach could give me £26.5k from age 62, increasing to £38.5k from State Pension age (67).

• IFA:  I don’t think he’s an IFA.  Whilst we started with an IFA, the company has been bought by what could be a wealth management company.  His job title is “Financial Planner”.  This would explain why he says he’s “not allowed” to comment on Teachers Pension.

I would really like at least £36k pa. net of taxes, so my next step is to see how my ISA and additional SIPPS would give me the extra income needed. If I stick with this advisor, I may need to decide myself between putting additional contributions into SIPP or Teachers Pension, or I may need to switch to an IFA who can provide the advice I need.  I’m digging further into my options here.

Thank you all so much.  I am much more knowledgeable since I started this.