Pensions

Pensions are an area that causes some of us to march in protest to protect our interests and others to completely ignore believing they are poor value for money and something that should be avoided at all costs. The truth of it is Pensions are a challenge as we are living in low inflationary times and living much longer even if we don’t think we are going to!!

Pensions certainly aren’t the only way to secure income in retirement with many people recently opting for buy to let properties to solve the dilemma.  However, they are purpose built to do the job and are certainly one of the most tax efficient ways of accruing a fund to provide income in retirement as well as estate planning opportunities.

Pensions come in many shapes and sizes and with the new flexibility that legislation introduced in 2006 accommodate many of the criticisms people have against them.

At Atkinson Smith we run many Employer Pension arrangements from Final Salary Schemes to Money Purchase Schemes including Director Arrangements, Group Personal Pensions and Stakeholder Plans. We also provide private pension arrangements for the self employed and those not offered an employer scheme.

Whatever arrangement people have, we strongly believe they should set retirement goals and review their Pension Provision regularly - preferably annually - to make sure it stays on course.

We find people acquire many different pensions often through jobs they have long ago left or taken out and forgotten. Atkinson Smith can provide a welcome review where the plans are valued and assessed to take away the confusion and highlight the final pension they can expect to receive from all sources.

Retirement options under pensions are now numerous and need carefully consideration on deciding how to draw the benefits. We pride ourselves in being specialists in this area and can guide you through the maze of options available to you.