Pension planning

[Re-sign Carl Dale]

I think you need to make this a sticky Mike, I'm sure many will look it up in the future. It sounds like I'm in the same boat as many with 4 different company schemes. I'll look to retire in the next 2~3 years but need to understand the numbers as I got shifted from 65 to 66 (not as bad as my wife who moved from 60-67!)

Speak to an IFA who specialises in retirement planning and who does proper “cash flow modelling” would be my suggestion.

We run various “what if” scenarios for our clients to help establish what their retirement may look like - it’s never going to be spot on, but is a really valuable guide to help make decisions.

My experience is that many people worry about whether that can afford to retire, when in reality they will end up at age 90 with too much money but not enough time to enjoy it.

[Swiss Peter]

Speak to an IFA who specialises in retirement planning and who does proper “cash flow modelling” would be my suggestion.

We run various “what if” scenarios for our clients to help establish what their retirement may look like - it’s never going to be spot on, but is a really valuable guide to help make decisions.

My experience is that many people worry about whether that can afford to retire, when in reality they will end up at age 90 with too much money but not enough time to enjoy it.

Yes, my IFA did all of this and I found it incredibly helpful. The answer to the question as to whether I should cash in my final salary changed depending on whether I was looking to meet my future needs (in which case it was really very borderline), or to build in the flexibility to be able to fully exploit future earning potential. I opted for the latter but I don't underestimate the risks around how the market could pan out.

Bottom line - as you say - get yourself a really good IFA.