Looking for a good pension calculator

PenActuary

Hi - The couple planning is built and ready to be deployed. The delay is due to us signing a couple of licensed versions which need to be deployed first. When these have gone live which is very soon, we can release that update. I am dependent on their sign off for timing, but it will be very soon. The couples bit will be in Dashboard where you can add your partners finances and combine them (and switch up the income if needed from a single to a couple)

jeelz

Hi Kevin. When are you going to include an option for taxation in Scotland? I spoke with you a couple of years ago and it was suggested that it may be on the cards.

PenActuary

Hi Jeelz yes we will. Sorry its one that we never got sorted but definitely want to as we are based in Scotland ourselves. With our new linked product launch there will be more need to get the tax calcs exactly right for everyone so once that is live it will force us to get this done. Sometimes you need something like this to say "must get this done now". Apologies as know we have put this off for ages, but we have recently taken on more development resource also which will help.

Xenon

Shame about the HL calculator - was a handy little general guide...should have just left it alone.

af1963

Notepad_Phil said:

squirrelpie said:

snarffie said:

I quite like this one, although it doesn’t have the exact features you want.
Not sure how accurate it is either.

https://www.aviva.co.uk/retirement/tools/my-retirement-planner/

i agree that the HL one has gone down the pan.

It doesn't seem to be terribly accurate, in fact it seems to be unusable. It claims my state pension is "State Pension £16,123" although I've told it nothing about my situation.

I think it's deferring your pension for umpteen years as it's decided you can't retire until after 67.

If I put a date of birth of 01/01/1950 then it somehow reckons that I'm not going to retire or take the state pension until I'm 75, so it uses the new deferral rules and ups the state pension to £18,890. If I put 01/01/1960 then it reckons I'll retire at 66 and so uses the right state pension value as it reckons I won't defer it.

Why it reckons I'd not want to retire until I'm 75 if born in 1950 is quite beyond me as I can't see anything obvious in the questions that would indicate such a retirement date.

Because it's 2025 ? And if you were born in 1950, you're *already* at least 74.

michaels

Have now looked at guiide. I always like to model in current price terms because it is much easier to relate to what the spending power is but I now realise that I am ignoring the impact of frozen tax thresholds at my peril as they can actually have a material impact.. And that is even just with a benign 2.5% annual inflation rate assumption.

Thinking out loud, does this suggest maximising basic rate withdrawals now and putting the spare cash into ISAs?  Has anyone modelled this?

ali_bear

Have to assume that tax thresholds will more or less increase with inflation over the years, although this will depend on the political direction the country takes. 

With regard to using ISA's post retirement. You can figure on building up an ISA investment in early retirement and drawing on it later. Kind of like a sidecar fund. But this money is outside of taxation so the modelling is not difficult. 

michaels

ali_bear said:

Have to assume that tax thresholds will more or less increase with inflation over the years, although this will depend on the political direction the country takes. 

With regard to using ISA's post retirement. You can figure on building up an ISA investment in early retirement and drawing on it later. Kind of like a sidecar fund. But this money is outside of taxation so the modelling is not difficult. 

Exactly, draw to higher rate threshold now even if not all needed and put the spare into ISA so that there is less left in pension when your current money 40k becomes an inflated 60k and subject to higher rate tax

PenActuary

michaels said:

Have now looked at guiide. I always like to model in current price terms because it is much easier to relate to what the spending power is but I now realise that I am ignoring the impact of frozen tax thresholds at my peril as they can actually have a material impact.. And that is even just with a benign 2.5% annual inflation rate assumption.

Thinking out loud, does this suggest maximising basic rate withdrawals now and putting the spare cash into ISAs?  Has anyone modelled this?

In the Wants page chart click show in todays money and it will show you the income wanted in todays money. For inputs etc we also use actual (not todays) money as asking people to input say incomes/lump sums payable in future in todays money is really difficult for many to understand. At some point we will add something to show all the results in todays money, i.e. all the withdrawals etc.

kempiejon

michaels said:

ali_bear said:

Have to assume that tax thresholds will more or less increase with inflation over the years, although this will depend on the political direction the country takes. 

With regard to using ISA's post retirement. You can figure on building up an ISA investment in early retirement and drawing on it later. Kind of like a sidecar fund. But this money is outside of taxation so the modelling is not difficult. 

Exactly, draw to higher rate threshold now even if not all needed and put the spare into ISA so that there is less left in pension when your current money 40k becomes an inflated 60k and subject to higher rate tax

Would the max 25% be taken out at commencement with this plan. I guess it depends on pot size and other income but if I read this right one is chosing to pay the 20% tax on income now to get the capital into a tax free wrapper.
My ISA is bigger a bit bigger than my SIPP  I'll use both before state pension age intending to withdraw up to the personal allowance using annual UFPLS (£16k) for zero income tax and keep 25% tax free for the rest of SIPP. The ISA is spent in preference to paying income tax before SPage. Come SP depending on ISA residue I could take the max up to the next tax threshold for indulgencies and philanthropy from the SIPP but that's a way off and is more income than the plan requires so liable for adjustment.