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02

10 questions to ask when advising pension holders

Open-access content Tuesday 10th February 2015 — updated 5.13pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

With the new pension reforms taking effect from April 2015, the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has published a guide with 10 fundamental questions to ask savers when discussing their pension plans.

The guide, freely available to advisers, trustees, consultants and any organisations dealing with people of pension age, was designed to help people make better decisions about their pensions.

The guide contains questions relating to savers' personal circumstances such as alternative savings, financial needs and the value of state pensions.

The 10 key questions that people need to think about are:

  1. How long will my money have to last?
  2. How much will my state pension be?
  3. What other savings do I have?
  4. What are my future financial needs and how are they going to change?
  5. How can I minimise my tax bill?
  6. Should I buy an annuity?
  7. Am I being scammed?
  8. Will taking my retirements savings impact on my welfare benefits?
  9. What happens when I die?
  10. Where do I go to get more help?

Duncan Buchanan, president of the SPP, said: "From April 2015 consumers are going to have more choice than ever before when it comes to accessing, investing and spending their hard earned pension savings. For many, this can be a very daunting prospect and the fear of making bad investments can lead to either investment paralysis or hasty decisions, both of which can result in less than optimal outcomes in retirement."

Buchanan said savers should seek advice on their pensions. He said: "While we would always strongly encourage those approaching, or at, retirement to seek independent financial advice, we have created this guide as a prompt to help people think about some of the most pertinent questions as they consider their options."

Full details of the guide can be found here.

This article appeared in our February 2015 issue of The Actuary.
Click here to view this issue
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