A Guide to Pension Wise

Written by Retirement Line

Last Updated: 3rd December 2024

How can Pension Wise help you make a decision about your retirement income?

Pension Wise is the government-backed pension guidance service. If you are nearing retirement with one or more personal or workplace pension pots, you may already be familiar with their free service.  

Whilst Retirement Line offers a full annuity information, guidance and arrangement service, we actively encourage our customers to also talk to Pension Wise about their options. This will help you to make a confident decision about your retirement finances.

What does Pension Wise do?

Pension Wise offers free impartial guidance to over-50s about your options for taking money from any UK-based ‘defined contribution’ pension schemes that you have saved into. These are also known as 'money purchase' schemes. 

The guidance from Pension Wise is given to you by these independent organisations:

• Money and Pensions Service

• The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux

• The Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux

These providers of the Pension Wise service offer information and guidance about how each option for accessing your pension savings works. They’ll also explain how each option is taxed, which could be important in helping you make an informed decision about your retirement income.

Preparing for your Pension Wise appointment

If you are aged over 50 and have a defined contribution pension pot, you can get a free 60-minute Pension Wise face-to-face or telephone appointment, or speak to one of their specialists via the Pension Wise Digital webchat service. It doesn’t matter how big or small your pension savings are.

So if you plan on talking to Pension Wise, what might you need to know in advance? There are a number of things you can prepare and collate to help get the most out of the service:

• Check your scheme. As Pension Wise can only provide guidance on defined-contribution schemes, they cannot help you if you only have defined-benefit pension schemes. Check your policy paperwork to see what type of pension scheme you have before your call.

• Keep 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 intend to retire. If you have yours, keep it safe ready for any pension appointments you have.

• Make sure you have up-to-date pension statements. You will need one of these for each pension scheme you have. It’s especially important that you know the value of each pension pot.

• Check if you have any special features or penalties. Information about these, such as a guaranteed annuity rate, can be found in your pension paperwork. 

• Get an estimate of your State Pension. To find out how much you can expect, call the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175 or use the Check your State Pension forecast service.

Questions to consider before using Pension Wise

You may want to consider your answers to the following questions to give your Pension Wise specialist a clearer understanding of your wants and needs for your retirement:

• How much cash do you want to take from your fund now or in the future?

• Do you want a secure 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?

• Will your spouse, partner, children or other dependents need an income on your death?

• Will you continue in part time work after you retire?

You may also want to ask the following questions during your appointment to ensure you cover as much as possible during your time with them:

• What impact does tax have on my pension withdrawals?

• How long does it take to set up my pension income?

• Should I consolidate several pension funds together to create one easy-to-manage pot?

• Can I continue to pay into a pension after accessing my pension savings?

What type of appointments does Pension Wise offer?

Pension Wise offers three ways to access guidance on your retirement options: digital, telephone, and face-to-face appointments.

Digital appointments

The new digital guidance service is a self-guided, online option, providing interactive tools and resources to help you explore your pension choices independently and at your own pace. You can also get online support from one of their pension specialists via the webchat.

Telephone appointments

Free, one-hour telephone appointments are available to book if you prefer to discuss your pension options during a call with a specialist. 

Face-to-face appointments

Limited face-to-face appointments are also available. These are primarily for those with accessibility needs that make other formats unsuitable. These appointments are provided through Citizens Advice or Citizens Advice Scotland. 

During your Pension Wise appointment 

What happens during your Pension Wise appointment depends on the type of appointment you have booked.

Telephone or face-to-face appointment

If you arrange a telephone or face-to-face appointment, your pension specialist will discuss what you should think about when considering your retirement income choices. 

For example, do you have any plans to continue working when you begin receiving your retirement income? Do you have anybody that you want to continue providing financial support for when you pass away? 

They’ll also discuss your personal and financial circumstances and explain all the payment options available, together with how they relate to your circumstances.

In addition, you’ll learn about the tax implications of accessing your pension, things to check for before making any decisions, how to protect yourself from scams and your next steps.

Digital appointment

During a digital appointment with Pension Wise, you’ll be guided through key steps to help shape your retirement plan. You can answer simple questions about your retirement goals and explore your pension options to see which might work best for you. Based on your responses, you’ll receive a personalised to-do list outlining your next steps.

A key benefit to this type of appointment is that you can stop at any point, save your progress and return to the session whenever it suits you.

After your session ends, you can view or download a summary, which includes extra information on taxes, retirement planning and other important topics. Then, if you want further support, a pension specialist is available via webchat Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Next steps

Guidance from Pension Wise is available in three formats: a digital session with optional webchat, or through a face-to-face or telephone appointment that you have to book in advance.

• You can start your self-guided online appointment here.

• Book you telephone appointment here or call 0800 138 3944 between 8.00am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.

• Arrange your face-to-face appointment by calling 0800 138 1585 between 8.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

If you want to look further into whether an annuity is a viable option for taking your retirement income, Retirement Line is also here to help. As the UK’s largest pension annuity broker*, we offer a full annuity service. We can provide you with annuity quotes from leading providers, help you compare annuity rates, and help to arrange your retirement income for you if you decide to proceed and buy an annuity through ourselves

To speak to an annuity specialist call the Retirement Line team today on 01733 973038 or request a free call back here.