One of the most respected financial planning businesses in the South West, PKF Francis Clark Financial Planning is encouraging clients and contacts to ‘talk money’ this November as part of Financial Capability Week.
Financial Capability Week (FinCap Week) is an annual event organised as part of the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK. It takes place this week, 12-16 November and celebrates, showcases and amplifies the work underway to improve financial capability and to ultimately, improve financial well-being. Essentially, the week aims to get more people talking about money.
Retirement planning raises a very particular set of financial capability issues that affect both working age people and older people in retirement.
This is an area that has undergone significant change, with the introduction of workplace pensions automatic enrolment and new freedoms around how people can use their pension savings. This trend looks set to continue with changes in areas of guidance and financial advice, pensions tax relief, pension transfers and charges all likely to affect financial capability. So with ever changing pension rules, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see the wood for the trees when trying to plan your current and future financial needs.
When the new pension freedoms were first announced, fears were raised that newly enriched pensioners would be spending big, on fast cars and exotic holidays due to the first 25% of the pension pot being able to be withdrawn by anyone aged 55 or over, tax free. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case for most and the vast majority recognised that a prudent approach to savings is a better long term option for a financially secure retirement.
PKF Francis Clark Financial Planning suggest that expert advice is taken by individuals before making changes to their pensions and to ensure that pension pots are regularly reviewed. This provides a clear plan for the future, as well as peace of mind.
James Phillips, Director and Chartered Financial Planner said: “We encourage people to plan early and save enough for their retirement while they are earning in order to amass a pension pot that can meet all of their needs in retirement. Knowing how much you need in your pension pot to provide the income you require is an essential piece of financial planning we all need to consider”.
“With so many options available, advice will give you confidence that the decisions you make are the right ones and are able to meet your needs. Please get in touch with our experts if you are considering accessing your pension funds in the near future or would like general pension advice”.