We provide a wide range of pension services for those wishing to fund for a decent level of income in retirement; for those at retirement who need to make the most of the pension plans that they have; and for those already retired who want ongoing investment advice. This includes the following types of situations:

Mr A has reached retirement age and has received retirement packs from his three personal pension plan providers. We can search for the most competitive annuity (ie pension for life) for his circumstances and arrange for this to be purchased under the Open Market Option.

Miss B is shortly to retire from the bank she has worked for for nearly 30 years and has the option of taking some of her pension as a tax free lump sum. We can advise her on the pros and cons of taking the lump sum and offer her investment advice if she does.

Mr C is about to retire with a pension pot of just over £1.2 million and he is loathe to purchase an annuity as he sees these as offering poor value. We can arrange a pension drawdown for him so that his pension fund remains invested and he draws suffivient money each year for his income requirements.

Mrs D has returned to work after bringing up a family and is concerned that she has no pension in her own name. We can arrange a low cost pension plan into which she can invest a monthly amount together with the occassional lump sum as and when available.

Miss E has just turned 30 and has her own successful business such that she is a higher rate tax payer. She would like to start saving for a pension but is not sure a pension plan offers good value. We can advise her on the pros and cons of setting up a pension plan in her position. We can also show her that her pension funding does not have to be limited to simply using pension plans.

Mr F now lives abroad and is unlikely to return to the UK. He has a two UK personal pension plans and has pension benefits with three UK former employers. We can investigate all of his pension benefits and recommend some transfers to tidy up his overal pension portfolio.

Mr G's company has announced the closure of their money purchase pension scheme and the setting up of a new group personal pension plan. They have given him the option of transferring the £350,000 pension fund he has bult up to the new scheme or to an alternative product provider. We can advise him on the pros and cons of transferring to a the new group personal pension plan or an alrernative provider. If he takes the transfer offered by his employer we can advise him on the nost suitable fund choice.

Mrs H has a personal pension plan which invests in a With Profits Fund. However, the annual bonuses are very low. We can carry out a detailed review of her With Profits Fund to determine whether her pension fund should be transferred elsewhere.

Boring pensions? Not any more

When you reach retirement age you will hopefully have a large pension fund to provide the income you will need for the rest of your life. At least £500,000 should be sufficient, depending on your income requirements, but £1 million would be better, and this is no joke. This is serious stuff, but it is no longer boring unless you get bored by the thought of having £500,000 to spend!

Pensions are still complicated by since April 2006 they have become much more flexible. For example, provided you have a decent size pension fund you can draw out what you need to live on each year rather than fixing the amount at the outset. You can also leave your pension fund to your dependants on your death before age 75 sbject to a tax charge.

If you are bored by using insurance companies then you can move your pensions to the Nucleus Wrap (provided they are at least £75,000) and invest in a range of funds from the 1,400 funds currently on offer.