Are you Taking Control of Your Retirement?
Radio Times has teamed up with My Pension Expert to offer readers a free guide to pension drawdown.
As you approach your retirement, whether that be full retirement or accessing your pension and reducing your hours, you may be thinking about how you can control your pension income and flex it to meet your changing requirements. If you are looking for financial control and flexibility in your retirement, then Flexible-Access Drawdown may be right for you.
What is Drawdown?
Drawdown is a retirement income product which allows you to access your pension fund when you need to, whilst investing the remainder of the fund and giving it the opportunity to grow further. The income you take from the fund is controlled by you, with a number of options available you could choose to take a regular income amount, lump-sumps as required, or no income at all. Not only that but you can change this to meet your changing circumstances, life is unpredictable - your Drawdown plan can change with you.
Understanding Risk v Reward
As with all investments, there is the risk that the value of your fund could go down as well as up, which is no different to when you have been saving for your pension with your provider. It is important to speak to an independent financial adviser (IFA), such as those at My Pension Expert, to make sure your funds are invested in a portfolio which is appropriate for your circumstances, and also plan how much income you take – to make sure you don’t run out of money in later years. In general, the greater the risk, the greater the potential return; however, we have a range of portfolios to meet your attitude to risk and your IFA will provide a personal recommendation.