Maximising your pension fund

Despite the ever-changing pensions landscape, pension planning and saving for your retirement are still as vital as ever. Pensions remain highly efficient, offering tax relief at your marginal rate of income tax on your contributions.

Tapered Annual Allowance

Understanding the tapering of your annual allowance can be complex.

From 6 April 2020, tapering occurs where you have adjusted income in excess of £240,000 per annum. This means you will see your annual allowance reduced by £1 for each £2 this is exceeded, to a minimum of £4,000.

Carry Forward of unused reliefs

You may be able to contribute in excess of the current tax year's Annual Allowance of £40,000, or your tapered annual allowance, if applicable. If so, you’ll potentially receive tax relief at up to 45% using Carry Forward.

Carry Forward can work for you if you’ve contributed less than the Annual Allowance in the previous three tax years and were a member of a UK registered pension scheme during that time.

Lifetime Allowance

Frequent changes in Lifetime Allowance mean that advice is more important than ever. We will help optimise your retirement planning and ensure you’re taking full advantage of the latest Lifetime Allowance protection opportunities.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you initially invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax reliefs depends on individual circumstances.

Planning your retirement

Helping you to plan for your retirement is a large part of our business. It’s one of the most important services we provide, and we will work tirelessly so that, when it comes to your retirement, everything is as it should be.

It’s never too soon to start planning your retirement. You might be thinking about making arrangements for a retirement in the not too distant future. You could be at the very start of your career and wanting to make sure you get off on a good footing. Whatever your time in life, we can help you focus on what’s most important to you and ensure you begin to take the right steps at the right time.

Working with a carefully selected panel of providers who’ll be on hand to work with you, ensuring everything is moving smoothly in the right direction.

We offer the following range of products:

• Self-Invested Pension Plans (SIPPs)
• Trustee schemes
• Retirement plans
• Drawdown plans
• Annuities

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you initially invested.

Nearing retirement

As you approach retirement, there are several options you can take and choices you will need to make.

We can help you make the right decisions.

You may use your pension fund to purchase an annuity from a suitable annuity provider. This can provide you with a secure income for life - no matter how long you live.

Alternatively, Flexi-access Drawdown allows you to take an income directly from your retirement fund, rather than buying an annuity. If you’re thinking about this option, you will need to take specialist advice. *

Defined Contribution (DC) Pensions

The Pension Freedom Reforms, implemented in April 2015, changed retirement planning significantly.

Individuals now have full access to Defined Contribution (DC) pensions from the age of 55, with unrestricted income available, subject to paying their marginal rate of Income Tax on any taxable withdrawals.

It is still possible to take up to 25% of the pension fund as tax-free cash.

DC pensions can now be passed to anyone after death, not just a dependant.

Income taken from a DC pension by beneficiaries will be tax-free, if death occurs before the age of 75 and at the beneficiary’s marginal rate, if death is later than this.

*The level of income from pension drawdown is not guaranteed. There is a very real chance that you may need to reduce your drawdown income in the future, in particular if the performance of your investments is lower than expected, or you live to a greater age than originally anticipated when choosing your initial income level.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you initially invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.

Self-Invested Pension Plans

Self-Invested Pension Plans (SIPPs) give you a much wider range of investment opportunities than those available through most traditional pension plans.

Investment is allowed in a number of assets and asset classes including equities, Unit Trusts, gilts and commercial property.

Saving in a tax-efficient manner towards your pension is always desirable and SIPPs make this possible. They also offer the added benefit of giving you greater flexibility to make your own financial choices.

This flexibility allows you to spread the risk, especially if some investments perform badly.

However, these do tend to have higher costs than a standard pension. Active management is essential to maximise the benefits of the wider investment choice on offer.

Because of this, they will not be suitable for everybody and generally only those who have a good amount of experience in actively managing their investment should consider this type of investment.

The investment growth within the fund is currently free from all UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Taxes.

The value of a SIPP can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount initially invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are dependent on individual circumstances.

Employed

The most important step you can take when you’re in employment is to start working out how much you think you are going to need to be able to comfortably retire.

Without effective retirement planning, there is the chance that you could potentially outlive your savings. As a nation, we are healthier and living longer than at any other point in history, meaning it will no longer be unusual for people to spend nearly as long in retirement as they did in employment.

Our retirement planning calculator is designed to provide an indication of the monthly savings needed to fund the gap in your required income at retirement, and your expected income from existing funds.

St. James's Place has a range of plans to help provide for your retirement, no matter what stage of planning you are at. You must have flexibility in all aspects of your planning for your needs will change as your future earnings and career evolve. We offer a service that is personal to you, delivering bespoke advice. Planning your retirement with us puts you in control, so that you can be confident about your future pension.

The value of a pension will be directly related to performance of the funds selected and can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount initially invested.

Employer

Pension legislation and the way benefits are provided have changed so much over recent years and many employers feel that they are no longer in total control of this important employee benefit.

Additionally, the introduction of Auto Enrolment has had an effect on all employers, no matter how small.

As a director or business owner, it is your obligation to understand this legislation, what the process will be, how it will work, what duties you must comply with and when to take action.

We can help with that.

We work closely with employers to ensure you understand:

• The requirements surrounding Auto Enrolment and your compliance with legislation.
• The extra administrative burden placed on you as a result of Auto-Enrolment, and assisting to make it as painless as possible.
• When seeking to recruit new staff, the pension scheme offered by your company will enhance the package on offer, aiding the recruitment - and retention - of a better quality of staff.
• You are in the best possible position to be prepared for any future changes, either legislation or specific to your company.

St. James's Place has relationships with a number of carefully selected market leading pension providers, allowing us to advise on a range of pension products.

The value of a pension will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you initially invested.

Self-employed

Being self-employed means that you cannot join occupational pension schemes, although you will receive the basic state pension and the Flat Rate State Pension, which came into effect on 6 April 2016 subject to a sufficient National Insurance record.

It is therefore essential that you make plans for contributing to an individual arrangement. This will help you to receive an income that gives you security in your retirement.

How much will you need?

Our retirement planning calculator is designed to provide an indication of the monthly savings needed to fund the gap in your required income at retirement, and your expected income from existing funds.

Expert advice, which focuses on your requirements, is vitally important and will be the cornerstone of your pension planning arrangements. Because of this, the St. James's Place Approach to Retirement Planning is founded on four key principles:

• Advice
• Service
• Flexibility
• Control

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you initially invested.

Trustees

Trustees have a vital role to play in running a defined benefit scheme, as it is a complicated, time-consuming and often expensive process.

Essentially, trustees ensure that the scheme benefits are protected for members.

Their responsibility in maintaining services that are not only comprehensive, but also provide good value, is an ongoing challenge.

It can be a daunting prospect and therefore it’s important for trustees to know that they have somewhere to turn for help.

We understand the priorities and concerns that face trustees.

We have a number of solutions available that have been designed to help Trustees.

Through Professional Trustee Solutions, you can find a bespoke strategy for incorporating cost-effective actuarial and administrative services combined with the St. James's Place distinctive approach to investment management.

The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you initially invested.