Retirement

Brits are diverting money spent on season tickets and commuting into their pensions, boosting their retirement by over £1,500 a year, explains our personal finance specialist, Annabelle Williams.

The state pension has hit the headlines after official figures suggested that payments could rise by up to 9% from next April. Annabelle Williams, personal finance specialist at Nutmeg, explains what happened and whether pensioners could really be in for an inflation-busting income boost. 

Your pension is a key part of your retirement planning. How much you put away now, how you invest for the future and how you choose to access your pension once you’ve stopped working, are all key considerations for anyone hoping to enjoy a long and happy retirement. However, when it comes to answering these questions there are some key variables – including whether you are a man or a woman. 

Retirement saving is a challenge for many people and making pensions more user-friendly while helping people build up bigger savings are key priorities for the government. Inspiration for improving the system sometimes comes from other countries, so here we look at retirement saving around the world and consider what features might be imported to help Britons in the future.

Being retired is like having a lifetime of Saturdays stretching out before you. Having enough money to no longer have to work is an incredible freedom. What would you do with your days if you didn’t need to work to pay the bills?  

Thinking about being able to afford life after work may seem like more of a dream than a possibility. But starting early and investing regularly into a pension pot could help you get there. 

Investing for your future and your retirement via a pension is one of the most powerful things you can do. That’s a big statement but the fact that it is likely to be your pension, more than anything else, which supports you financially once you finish working, means it will shape your wellbeing for decades. The investment decisions you make for your pension as a younger person should reflect that importance.

When it comes to financially planning for your retirement the two key variables you need to weigh up are how much money you will retire with and how old you will be when you plan to retire. Recent research from consumer champion Which? suggested several scenarios for pensioners in different circumstances.

The Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdown has affected us all in many different ways. All of us, to a lesser or greater extent, have had to rethink how we work, how we travel and how we plan for the future – something especially relevant when it comes to money.

Nutmeg took part in a software development day to create an innovative tool to help spread awareness of pension fraud. The result was an online game in which players take on the role of a “cloaked vigilante” who must destroy pension scams before they reach their victims.

Pensions are complicated, particularly so when you consider the number and variety of pension types that have appeared over the years. Unclear which category your pension falls into? We’ve put together a handy guide to help identify what type of pension you have.

The short answer is however much you want. Although as with any personal finance query, there are a few quirks you should know if you want to take full advantage of pension tax relief.