The Benefits of Pension Advice

5 ways financial advice can help you

• More confidence in your financial decisions
• Bring an objective view to your finances
• Get the right timing for your retirement
• Get the most out of your pensions
• The average person that takes financial advice is £30,991 better off in their lifetime than someone who did not.

Have confidence in your decisions

When you are approaching retirement age, you are faced with a number of decisions, not least how to convert your pension pot into your retirement income. A financial advisor is often vital to help you optimise the amount of income your pension generates.

You have a variety of options when it comes to using your pension to provide an income when you retire. Some are relatively straightforward however many are more complex, therefore deciding which is the right option is not a simple process. The first question you need to answer is can you afford to retire at your current age? Then you face other decisions such as combining your pensions and the value of your state pension.

The current regulations for accessing your pension

As of April 2015 the pensions freedoms were introduced, meaning that you are able to use your pension pot in any way you wish. Prior to this you were required to purchase an annuity to provide you guaranteed income after you'd taken your tax-free lump sum. With a greater freedom of choice, professional advice has become more popular.
If you have never taken financial advice before and are approaching your retirement, now may be the best time to do it, because decisions you make now have a lasting implication on the rest of your life.
Unless you are confident on what you want to do with your pension pot, then taking financial advice may be the finest financial decision you'll ever make.

The importance of advice

Pension advice allows you to prepare for you retirement, giving you more confidence in your finances to live the retirement you want without worrying about running out of money. An advisor will set out a clear plan for your retirement helping with any challenges faced on the way. This allows clients who have taken advice to live a stress free retirement compared to those who opted to make the decisions alone. As well as peace of mind financial advice also leads to added value to your finances, research by the International Longevity Centre found that those who sought advice between 2012 and 2014 ended up with more financial assets (£13,435) and higher pension wealth (£27,664) than individuals in similar circumstances who did not seek advice. 

Research by Aegon also found that 9 out of 10 people that received financial advice were satisfied with the advice they received regarding their finances, illustrating that the majority of people benefit from taking advice from an advisor. Many people believe that financial advice is only for the rich as it is expensive and only the wealthy benefit from it, yet this couldn't be further from the truth. Professional advice can benefit anyone, it offers a clear plan, a peace of mind, financial stability and even gain. A third of people surveyed stated they wouldn't get advice due to high costs, yet 9/10 of them admitted they didn't know how much financial advice costs showing that this was based on feeling not fact. Financial advice doesn't have to be expensive and could make a huge difference to your finances in the future.

How we can help

Ultimately, those who seek financial advice are better off in their retirement than those who don't. Get piece of mind over your finances with our free pension consultations, our experts will go over your options regarding your happy retirement. Our advisors are FCA regulated and have a wealth of experience in retirement planning, find out more: www.advieswealth.com