INVESTMENTS & PENSIONS

What does your retirement income look like?

Preparing for retirement means making choices about your finances, assets and what will happen when you die.

Choice is good, as long as you make the right one...

Willow Tree Financial Services understand that managing your finances effectively can be a confusing business. We will help you learn about the choices you have when considering your retirement planning and pension requirements, so that you can make an informed choice about the right retirement option for you. We can provide you with advice on every aspect of retirement planning, such as...

Hand inserting pennies in a white piggy bank

Personal Pensions

Sometimes known as defined contribution or 'money purchase' pensions, you'll usually get a pension that's based on how much was paid in.

Older couple collecting money in a piggy bank

SIPP/SSAS

Alternative pension types are self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and 'small self administered scheme' (SSAS) pensions.

Workplace Pensions

Occupational Pensions and Auto Enrolment are both types of pension schemes provided by your employer.

Annuities

You can use all or part of your pension pot to buy a guaranteed retirement income, also known as an annuity.

Income Drawdown

Pension drawdown is a way of using your pension pot to provide you with a regular retirement income by reinvesting it in funds specifically designed for this purpose.

When You Die

Your retirement fund is an asset, so you need to consider and understand what will happen when you die..

The value of pensions and the income they produce can fall as well as rise, you may get back less than you invested.
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Auto Enrolment is not regulated by the financial conduct authority.

RETIREMENT

More choice, more freedom, more decisions...

There are many things to consider as you approach retirement. It's good to start by reviewing your finances now, to ensure your future income will allow you to enjoy the lifestyle you want.

Retirement is no longer the cliff-edge it once was. In the past people tended to work until a retirement age set by their employer or the State. But you can now usually work for as long as you want and you don’t have to retire all in one go.

You might choose to retire gradually or to carry on working for longer perhaps moving to part-time work before you stop completely.

When you give up work you’re likely to lose your main source of income, so you need to make sure you’ll have enough income from other sources before you retire.

The Government wants you to have greater freedom in the way you spend your pension fund. There has been plenty of talk in the financial media about retirement freedom and how everyone can spend their pension fund as they see fit.

UNDERSTANDING RETIREMENT

Do you see this as an exciting 'freeing up' of your retirement choices and a licence to spend your money how you wish?

Or do you worry about making the wrong choice? Maybe you are not sure which way to turn, or what is the best choice for you?

When it comes to putting in place an action plan that is right for you, we can help you identify:

How much to save and for how long.
How much trade-off to take between investment returns and investment risk.
Investment solutions that you are comfortable with.
The most tax-efficient vehicles for your savings.

Of course, doing all of the above is not just a one-off exercise – your circumstances change, the stock markets go up and down, and tax regulation doesn’t stand still. We will help you review all of this regularly, saving you time and helping you identify the right action for you at each stage of your journey. If a strong plan is in place, it might not be necessary to make frequent changes, but nevertheless you will have peace of mind in knowing that an expert is on hand to support you when you need it most.

trusted, local advice

Picking the right investment solutions can be one of the most complicated things for you to do.

Rest assured we will support you throughout this process, ensuring that you only save and invest in a way that you understand and are comfortable with. Everyone is different, but for many, a strong approach can be to use solutions that are well diversified and match your risk tolerance, spreading your investments across different types of asset classes such as equities, bonds and alternative asset classes.

LET'S CHAT

You're in very good hands

At Willow Tree Financial Services our approach to retirement advice is based on clearly understanding your financial situation, your goals, and how much risk you are prepared to take with your money. Our expert professional guidance your financial adviser will give you helps you through this process. This means we can make sure that our solutions are right for you and that you have all the information you need to make a clear decision.

Retirement freedom creates more choice; but it brings with it more risk. We may not have liked the restricted choice we’ve had until now but it did protect us from running out of money.

We now live in an era in which we live longer. We are retired for longer. We need to make our savings last for longer. We can only do this if we make the right choices. We can only make the right choices with the right advice. We will take you through the choices that are on offer so that you can approach retirement feeling more informed and with the help and advice you need.

Remember - There are lots of things you need to consider before making any investment decisions, and regardless of the investment path you follow investment returns are never guaranteed. This means that the value of the investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back as much as you put in.

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