From 6 April 2015 pensions can be accessed in four ways: income drawdown, taking a single or series of lump sums, purchasing a lifetime annuity and taking a scheme pension. Individuals will be able to combine any of these.
There has been a lot of media coverage on the huge changes that will affect the way that we all use our pension funds to provide for our future retirement. However, a wealth of coverage can sometimes leave us all feeling confused. Hargreaves Lansdowne have produced one of the best summaries that we have seen, so we wanted to share it with you.
There are seven major changes:
• Flexible access to pensions from age 55
• Restrictions on how much you can contribute to private pensions
• 55% pension ‘death tax’ to be abolished
• Death after buying an annuity – tax cut
• Access to impartial guidance
• Transferring a defined benefit pension
• Retirement ages to increase
Download the report here: 2015-pension-changes.
SLR work closely with authorised advisers who can help you with your planning if you are approaching 55 and wish to take advantage of the pension changes.