When did you last check your pension performance?
According to the insurer Aviva, nearly two-thirds of people aged over 45 haven’t checked the performance of their pension. This means that around 10 million retirement savings schemes are at risk of underperforming.
Of course, given the current situation we are living through, you can easily be forgiven for this not being at the forefront of your mind. However, the current disruption to the stock market, makes it more important than ever to appraise your pension savings vehicle.
If that happens, the remedy could be a difficult scenario: you may be forced to continue working for much longer than you planned. But, by taking action now, you can avoid that potential disaster. The first step is to track down all your old pensions – which you may have paid into in previous jobs – through the Pension Tracing Service. It’s an official service that keeps records of all company pension scheme members.
You can find the government’s Pension Tracing Service online or you can call 0345 6002 537 to speak to someone who can guide you through the process. It will help if you have your national insurance number, as well as details of the companies where you’ve been employed and when you worked for them.
Make your money easier to manage
For starters, rather than leaving several different pensions from different companies where they are, it may make sense to consolidate them all into one, which will make your money easier to monitor.
There may also be some benefit in moving your savings into a better fund – or one that is more appropriate for your retirement plans.
On the other hand, if you have an old final salary pension, it is unlikely to be better to switch the cash out.
Seek professional advice
There may be some complicated decisions to make, which means it would be good sense to talk to an independent financial advisor.
For pensions and investment advice contact Becky Hammonds on 07969 269677 or email becky@willowfs.co.uk
