Retirement: Seek advice early about what is right for you

Planning for your retirement early is the key to making the most out of it. Here, one of our Chartered Financial Planners and Chairman of the Clarion Investment Committee Sam Petts explains why, and what this means for his clients.

Sam said: “The crucial thing is to get advice because the rules have changed a lot over the last 5-10 years.

“Gone are the days where you would crystallise your pensions and purchase an annuity, which is basically a fixed income for the rest of your life.

“You’re more likely to need on-going financial planning advice, your pension pots will probably remain invested and you’re likely to drawdown each year whenever you need to supplement your expenditure.

“This means you’ll need ongoing investment advice and ongoing financial planning advice. The sooner you can start to put that plan in place, the better. Don’t leave it until the day before you retire.

“Five years before is when you want to start looking at gathering information about your existing pensions. There may be elements that do provide income already, but there might be other private pensions that you’ve built up which need reviewing.

“The key is to plan. And we are there for our clients to help with that to suit each individual’s needs.”

Experience true financial planning at our cost: contact Sam Petts to book a free initial consultation meeting at spetts@clarionwealth.co.uk which is backed by our Clarion Guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with the value of the service you have received after the fourth meeting, when you receive your written financial plan, we will waive all fees.