Preparing for your Pension Wise appointment

18 July 2016

If you are approaching retirement then you may have already heard about the government’s pension guidance service, Pension Wise.

Whilst Retirement Line offer a full information and guidance service – and, in addition, can arrange your annuity on your behalf – we actively encourage our customers to speak to as many impartial people about your options as you wish before making a decision.

So if you plan to book a 45-minute appointment with Pension Wise, what might you need to prepare in advance? Here are some tips to seeking guidance for your retirement income, which is not personal advice but rather to assist you at getting the most from your appointment.

What does Pension Wise do?

Pension Wise offers impartial guidance to anyone aged 50 or over about your options for the savings you have accrued over your career in defined contribution pension schemes (also called 'money purchase' schemes). 

The guidance from Pension Wise is provided by independent organisations for information only. As they have no interest in selling you a financial product or service, they will not offer quotes and they cannot arrange your retirement income for you.

What to prepare for your Pension Wise appointment 

Ahead of your 45-minute appointment with Pension Wise, there are a number of things you can prepare and collate to help get the most out of your time with them:

• Your wake-up pack. This is normally sent to you by your existing pension provider/s around 4 to 6 months before you reach the age you said you intended to retire
• Up-to-date pension statements from anyone who holds a pension fund for you.
• Details of any valuable benefits or penalties contained in your existing pension policies. Not sure if you have any? Retirement Line offer a free pension policy review to identify these for you.

Questions or points to consider before your Pension Wise appointment

You may want to consider any of the following ahead of your appointment:

• How much cash do you want to take from your pot now or in the future?
• Do you want a guaranteed future lifetime income without any investment risk?
• Are you happy for your future income to depend on uncertain investment returns?
• Do you want an increasing future income to combat inflation?
• What are the different types of annuity that you can consider?
• How can you shop around for the highest level of income?
• Will your spouse, partner or children need an income on your death?
• Will you continue in part time work after you retire?
• What impact does tax have on your pension withdrawals?
• How long does it take to set up my pension income?
• Should you amalgamate several pension pots together?
• Can you continue to pay into a pension after accessing your pension savings? 

How do I contact them?

Guidance from Pension Wise is available face-to-face or via telephone.  You have to book an appointment online at: www.pensionwise.gov.uk or by phoning 0800 138 3944.

How can Retirement Line assist you?

Retirement Line is the UK’s largest broker specialising in annuities alone* and offers a full information service for your retirement income options.

As Pension Wise cannot provide any quotes for your retirement income, you may wish to speak to us first so that once you have spoken to Pension Wise you are fully informed and ready to go.

After our dedicated specialist has taken the time to get to know your wants and needs for retirement, we will produce a personalised report detailing your retirement income options and the best retirement income quotes we can find for you to compare.

Free policy review

An additional feature we offer is a free pension policy review, to ensure there are no hidden benefits or penalties in your existing policy documents which could drastically affect the amount of income you are offered.

For your convenience, once you have spoken to our specialists and Pension Wise and have made your decision, then we can arrange everything on your behalf – it is an entirely hassle-free service.

Speak to us today

To speak to a specialist about your retirement options call the Retirement Line team today on 0800 652 1352 (or local rate mobile number 01733 307 240).

Retirement Line work on a non-advised basis, providing factual information to enable you to make your own informed decision.

*Based on turnover