Pension Pot

DRS1

Defined benefit schemes these days are almost exclusively in the public sector. They were being killed off in the private sector in the 90s. I suggest you dig out the paperwork and only do some more research if it actually turns out to be a DB scheme.

Moneyhelper has some useful articles including one explaining DB schemes

Pensions explained | MoneyHelper

MallyGirl

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82178596#Comment_82178596

Gathering info on all your pensions - type, value of pot for DC and how it is invested, fees, contact details, nominated beneficiaries etc - is a great thing to do now. Once you have that info for both of you then you can evaluate whether it is worth combining some or all of them into 1 each (either an existing or a new one). We see people coming on here with really old style pensions and then being surprised that they can't access them in the way they would like to. Transfers can take time so you don't want to leave that till you actually want to access them. Combining also has the advantage of less admin when you move house or change circumstances - it is important that they all have your up to date address to send annual statements to.

af1963

It's also worth keeping a bit of flexibility in case you decide later that you want to stop working a bit earlier. Health, lifestyle, fed up of the work …

You say you expect to work to about 65, but if you find you want to retire sooner for whatever reason, you'll need to have a bit of cash where you don't need to wait till you hit the age limit for taking money from the pension. (For you, this is likely to be 58, or maybe older if the pension age rises further. I know people who would have said at age 40 that they enjoyed their work, but were very happy to give it up by the time they were mid-50s).

Planning for that would usually involve building up ISAs as well as the pensions.

DRS1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82178636#Comment_82178636

Well that adds another detail to the list you want to check for each pension. Does it have a protected pension age. Some may have such an age of 50 or 55. Maybe not something you are bothered with if planning to work till 65 but some people are very attached to this feature of their pensions. It is not clear to me whether a protected pension age can survive a transfer out of the pension which had it. So it is a factor in considering consolidation.

LHW99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82178725#Comment_82178725

And if there's any other benefits such as a guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) attached

Veloflyer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82178484#Comment_82178484

Yes indeed - apologies. My poor terminology. Using unused allowances….

barnstar2077

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6687833/pension-pot

For your age your pensions are looking very healthy, but I will echo af1963 and say that although at the moment you plan on retiring at 65, by the time you get to 55 you may feel very differently!

Assuming you do not work for yourself, you never know what kind of boss you will have in ten years time. You also don't know what you or your wife's health will be like, or if you will lose a loved one and decide it is time to reassess your priorities etc.

In your situation I would work closely with my wife to come up with a plan that in theory allows for a great deal of flexibility.

As you are married I would be aiming to both retire together, maybe when you reach 60 (for example.) I'm not saying that you have to retire at a set age, just that a plan well executed will give you the freedom to do whatever you want when the time comes (taking advantage of redundancy, reducing hours, stopping completely etc, the world is your oyster.)

If you haven't already done so, then you could both open a stocks and shares ISA and contribute monthly into a cheap globally diversified index fund that you can fire and forget for years (I use Vanguard's FTSE Global All Cap accumulation index fund on Vanguard's own platform, but many other platforms and funds are available.) This would allow you to stop work etc before you can access your pensions. Basically it adds flexibility.

Also look into your old pensions, the costs and how they are invested.

A few conversations and a small amount of work now can make a massive difference, your future selves will be very grateful for it!

I started to take things a bit more seriously ten years ago and have built up enough of a buffer that upcoming redundancies do not fill me with dread, but glee, at the thought of of all of the possibilities! (that is what financial independence can do.)