Pension Experts
Whether you are thinking about setting up a pension or have existing pension arrangements, our independent retirement planning experts can help you optimise your pension planning through advising on areas such as:
- The most tax-efficient way for you to make contributions
- Consolidating your pension plans
- Selecting the right pension product, such as a Stakeholder pension, Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) or, if you are a business owner, a Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS)
- Recommending a suitable investment strategy
- Structuring your pension death benefits correctly to ensure that they can be passed on in accordance with your wishes
- When and how you should draw benefits
- How to avoid or minimise any future potential exposure to the Lifetime Allowance Charge
Our pension advisers also have particular expertise in:
Defined Benefit Pension Transfer Advice
Most people fortunate enough to have a DB pension (also known as a Final Salary scheme) should remain in their schemes. However, a DB transfer may be suitable in some cases. For example, a final salary scheme transfer may be considered if you have other assets which could help fund your retirement and your aim is to crystallise a lump sum death benefit which your children and/or grandchildren might inherit.
If you are considering a DB transfer it is important to seek advice from a qualified pension expert and to assess carefully both the potential advantages and disadvantages of transferring out. We have adopted the Personal Finance Society’s Pension Transfer Gold Standard, which is a voluntary code of good practice for safeguarded and defined benefit pension transfer advice, based around a set of principles described here.
Our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), explains what you need to think about if you are considering transferring out of a DB pension scheme:
Defined benefit pension transfer process explained
Watch some of our pension experts interview with PCD Club here
International Pension Planning
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- We have extensive experience advising UK tax resident clients on their overseas pensions, including Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS), Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS) and International Pension Plans (IPPs). If you have accrued benefits in an overseas pension scheme, you should ensure that your scheme remains suitable in light of current legislation and your objectives.
- We also advise clients who are tax resident outside the UK, with a particular focus through our Nice office on British ‘expats’ living in France.
- If you have any concerns about your overseas pensions, talk to our pension experts today to ascertain if you should act
Talk to us about international pension planning
Pension Sharing on Divorce
Leading UK matrimonial lawyers regularly instruct us to provide pension sharing reports for their clients, often with a view to dividing the pension provision available to both parties to achieve equality of income. We commonly act as a single joint expert.Reports are written with the practical application of our advice in mind. Specific Lifetime Allowance recommendations are included in our reports, which sets us apart from some other firms, and we are able to respond quickly to requests for advice.
We are familiar with the Civil Procedure Rules and will attend Court where necessary.
On reaching a divorce settlement, we are able advise on the implementation of a pension sharing order. Read our latest article here.
Talk to us about pension sharing
Hear from one of our pension experts and find out what your pension could do for you.
Read our news and press articles here on pension-related advice matters
How can you be sure you’re getting the right advice on your defined benefit pension
Pension Sharing In Divorce
The small nudges that could make young people £142,000 better off in retirement
SME owners can leverage their pensions to help navigate the crisis