Do I Need An IFA To Access My Pension?

To put it quite simply or the short answer is no you don’t, however accessing your pension benefits could be one of the biggest decisions you ever make.

Currently your employer needs to automatically enrol you into a pension scheme if you are classed as a worker and aged between 22 and state pension age.  This means, should you remain in the workplace pension you will have made some form of investment into a pension for the best part of 46 years.

According to an article off Uswitch ( https://www.uswitch.com/mortgages/first-time-buyer-statistics/#:~:text=After%20a%20decade%20of%20fluctuations,to%20buy%20their%20first%20home.) The average age of the first-time buyer is now 33.5 years old, so you could’ve saved into a pension for roughly 12 years before even looking at buying your first property.

A pension is likely to be a bigger commitment than a mortgage.

So why should you take professional financial advice to access your pension(s)?

A study from the international longevity centre  https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ILC-What-its-worth-Revisiting-the-value-of-financial-advice.pdffound found that a person who took professional financial advice were able to increase their wealth a mean average of £30,991.

Any investment is designed for the medium to longer term, more the latter for pensions, as previously mentioned they could be invested for the best part of 46 years.

You may have multiple pension pots from various employments over the years, you may be advised to consolidate these into a more manageable number, assuming you will also not lose valuable benefits.

You will be given different choices and options, more importantly you will be involved as much or as little as you want, unlike a workplace pension most will simply leave the plan only and not understand what it is invested into.

You will have peace of mind that your financial affairs are being dealt with by a professional financial adviser who will look at different events in your life and provide meaningful recommendations.

But how much does this cost?

Now it is no surprise that by working with a professional there are costs involved, take a solicitor, accountant or other service, for the works undertaken they all charge a fee.

You will need to talk to your financial adviser who can discuss your potential fees in more detail, however depending on the type of works carried out you may find there is an initial charge, this could range between 0% – 6% depending on the adviser and organisation.  Furthermore, there is an ongoing advice fee which is typically applied to the plan should you wish to make sure your finances are being reviewed on a regular basis, this could include but not limited to, reassessing an attitude to risk, providing plan updates, making fund alterations, market commentary access to your adviser face to face / over the phone / web enable when required, discussing tax implications, perhaps some cash flow planning.  This could be as low as 0.25% pa or as high as 1.25% pa depending on the level of service being offered.

Would you like to see what benefits working with a financial adviser can do for you?

As an independent financial advice company Corcillium Wealth Management pride ourselves on the advice that we give to our clients and try to make the process as simple as possible. Stripping out the technical jargon so our advice is understood is what we do best. You could simply click the link here https://outlook.office365.com/book/LeonAldensbookingpage@2plan.com/ to book an initial free meeting with an IFA.

Feel free to also give us a call on 01483 654135 to have an informal chat about your needs and what your plans are for the future. Maybe it would be even better if you could initiate contact through email so why not email me Leon at  leon.alden@2plan.com where you can be assured of a professional financial advice service you will be proud of.

Nothing beats great peace of mind when it comes to our family and our finances. So, please don’t delay get in touch today.