Think about your retirement lifestyle
It’s never too early to do a bit of retirement planning. Here are some big questions to think about:
- What do I want my retirement to look like?
- How much income will I need?
- How long will it need to last?
Your pension statements will be a good way to help you work out whether you’ll have enough money in retirement. You can use our Pension Calculator to see if you're on track, and get a head start on your journey to retirement.
Consolidate your pensions
If you’ve got more than one pension, think about whether to move them all into one place. It’s not right for everyone, so grab all your pension paperwork and look through details like special features, guarantees, fees and exit charges. If you can’t find them all, we can help you. Our Find & Combine service tracks down your old pensions and lets you know about any special benefits or exit charges.
You should also look at the pension you’re thinking of consolidating the others into. What are the charges, investment options and retirement choices? If you're not sure, speak to a professional. You may need to take advice when transferring some pensions, and you may have to pay for this advice.
Find out more about transferring.
Think about when and how to start taking your money
From age 55 (57 from 6 April 2028 unless you have a protected pension age), you can start accessing your pension. There are lots of options to consider, and you can even mix and match. You could take a cash lump sum, withdraw money from your pension when you need it, buy a guaranteed income for life, or do a combination of these things. You can find out more about your options on our using your pension money page.
Not sure yet? PensionWise from MoneyHelper is a free, impartial, government-backed service. If you're 50 or over and want to understand your retirement options better, you can visit MoneyHelper or call 0800 138 3944 for help.
Before you make any decisions, it makes sense to talk to your financial adviser. If you don’t have an adviser, we can help put you in touch with one.