If 2025 starts to countdown to your longest holiday – otherwise known as retirement – then there are lots of plans to make.
Taking some time to get everything in order can really help you get the most from your planning. Even small steps can make a massive difference.
Here are five top tips to get you started.
This article isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure what’s right for you, ask for financial advice. Remember, pension and tax rules can change, and any benefits depend on individual circumstances. You also can’t normally access money in a pension until age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028).
How to find those lost pensions?
Tracking down lost pensions can potentially add thousands of pounds to your pension pot.
It’s worth taking the time to sit down and make a list of all your employers and checking to see if you have pension paperwork for them.
If you don’t and you think you might have had a pension with them, then contact the government’s Pension Tracing Service.
If you have a personal pension and don’t have any paperwork relating to it, the Tracing Service could help you too.
All you need is either your employer’s name or that of your pension provider. The service can’t tell you if you have a pension with them, but they can give you contact details so you can find out.
You can call the Tracing Service on 0800 731 0175 – Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm.
Do you need to consolidate your pensions in one place?
Once you’ve found any lost pensions, it might make sense to bring them all together into a private pension, like a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).
Having one overarching view of your pensions saves you time, administration and potentially money. But it also gives you a true sense of what you really have, and this can have a huge impact on your retirement decision making.
For instance, if you have several small pensions, you might be tempted to take them as cash. However, if they’re consolidated into one larger amount, you’re more likely to take a longer-term view.
Before you decide to bring your pensions together, make sure you aren’t potentially incurring exit fees or missing out on benefits like guaranteed annuity rates.
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Know how much you’ll get from your State Pension
A full new State Pension is currently worth just over £11,500 per year.
However, many people don’t get this amount due to gaps in their National Insurance record after time spent out of the workforce.
A State Pension forecast will show you how much you’re on track to receive and highlight any gaps. If you qualified for a benefit that comes with an automatic National Insurance credit – like Child Benefit – during one of these gap periods, then you might be able to backdate a claim.
If not, then you could plug gaps through buying voluntary National Insurance Contributions.
You can usually go back six tax years, but if you’re a man born after 6 April 1951 or a woman born after 6 April 1953, you might have the opportunity to plug gaps going back to 2006.
You’ll need to move quickly though as the deadline to take advantage ends on 5 April 2025.
However, check with the government’s Future Pension Centre to make sure you really will receive an uplift in your State Pension. If you were contracted out at any point, then you will have paid less National Insurance which can have an impact on your State Pension entitlement that might not be solved with top ups.
The age at which you can claim the State Pension, and how much you’ll get, is different for everyone. Download our guide to find out:
When you can claim the State Pension
How much income you might get
What happens if you were contracted out
Ways to boost your State Pension income
Plus much more
Take a look at how much you could get from an annuity
Annuities have surged in popularity in recent years. They let you swap money in your pension for a guaranteed income for life.
The latest data from HL’s annuity search engine shows a 65-year-old with a £100,000 pension can get £7,235 per year for a single life, level annuity with a five-year guarantee, paid monthly in advance.
However, once you buy an annuity, it can’t be unwound, so you need to consider your options.
Using an annuity search engine can help you compare the different quotes on offer. You can also check rates for different types of annuities, like those that rise in line with inflation. This way you can get a sense of what type of annuity might suit you best.
You might decide the flexibility of taking an income when you want through income drawdown is a better fit instead. With drawdown your income isn’t secure, so you’ll need to regularly review where you’re invested and how much income you’re taking to help avoid running out of money in later life.
You could even decide to use both options. You can use an annuity to secure your needs and leave the rest invested in drawdown where it can hopefully grow, and you can access it if needed. You can then annuitise in slices as you age, potentially securing higher annuity rates.
Remember, annuity quotes will vary depending on individual circumstances, the options you choose and the rates available at the time you get a quote.
The government’s free, impartial Pension Wise service can help if you’re over 50 and need guidance on understanding your retirement options.
Plan your days
Knowing how you want to spend your time in retirement is vital.
The shift from working a full-time job to stopping completely is huge and might not suit everyone. Keeping your options open and thinking about activities like volunteering, charity work, or even part-time work can play a huge part in a happy retirement.
Knowing what you want your retirement to look like can also help you gauge whether you’re saving enough to deliver the lifestyle you want.
If you need help to get your own financial future on track, or you simply don’t have time to do it yourself, HL's expert financial advisers can help.
They’ll spend time getting to know you and your financial goals, before producing personalised recommendations to help you achieve them.
It all starts with a call to our advisory team.
While you won’t get advice on this initial call, it’s an opportunity to learn more about the service, including charges. If you’d like to continue, they’ll then put you in touch with an adviser.
The government’s free and impartial PensionWise service can offer guidance on retirement options for people aged 50 and over.