The newly motivated pension planners

• Working from home and reduced commuting costs may mean the client is making additional savings.
• With their retirement plans now front-of-mind, the client may be more encouraged to invest any excess cash flow into their pension, boosting their retirement income.

Your advice opportunity:

Making the client aware of the amount they’re saving and the impact of inflation on cash savings can showcase the pension as a preferential savings vehicle and demonstrate the value of your advice.

• Behavioural risk means the client may not have saved enough towards retirement.
• Their pension fund may not be appropriately invested (asset allocation risk).
• If the client passes away, there is a risk their pension wealth may not cascade to their beneficiaries in the most efficient way.

Your advice opportunity:

By conducting a pension review, you can help the client to identify any pension shortfall and ensure their funds are invested for growth. Recommending a modern pension arrangement with full death benefit flexibility can ensure their savings are passed on to loved ones.

Resources to support you:

• Death benefit planning

• The client may not have bothered to review their fund choice recently – or ever – so there’s a strong need for a review.

Your advice opportunity:

Whilst the client is feeling motivated to look at their pension it’s an ideal time to put an investment strategy in place with regular reviews.

Resources to support you:

• Investing through volatile times

• The client may have lost track of their pension arrangements and some may be old, inflexible plans and/or offer poor value for money.
• The client may not understand how much they can contribute to, and eventually withdraw from, their retirement savings.

Your advice opportunity:

Your guidance to help the client find lost pensions, shop around for the best deal and ensure their expression of wishes are up to date can get their retirement plans on track. Navigating the complicated Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance shows the value of your advice.

Resources to support you:

• Managing the Annual Allowance
• Managing the Lifetime Allowance

• Older pension arrangements may not offer full withdrawal, investment, and death benefit flexibility.
• Consolidating the client’s pensions into a modern plan may offer better value for money.

Your advice opportunity:

Recommending a modern pension arrangement, such as the Collective Retirement Account, can help your client to benefit fully from the pension freedoms and avoid PAYE and tax issues when withdrawing money.

Resources to support you:

• Collective Retirement Account - Flexible withdrawals