Reviewing your pension
Consolidating your pension
Your options at retirement
Reviewing your pension
Your pension provider will send you a statement annually. This is a good opportunity to review your plan by considering the following points:
- Could you pay more to your pension plan? Remember the more you put in, the more you could potentially get out in retirement. Increasing your contributions could provide you with a bigger pension pot for when you no longer wish to work. There are planning tools on the Aviva website to see if you are on track for the retirement you would like.
- Review your investment fund(s). Are your contributions invested in accordance with your risk profile, aims and objectives? Do you need to make any changes?
- Check your selected retirement age. Your plan may assume you wish to take your pension benefits at age 65. However you may need or want to continue working past 65, even if on a part-time basis. Or you may have plans to stop work earlier.
- It is important to align your selected retirement age with your plans, especially if you are in the default fund, as your investment holdings will automatically change as you approach that age making this an important part of your pension planning approach. If you do not intend to retire at this age, you may be inappropriately invested during this period.
You should therefore update Aviva with your intended retirement age whenever this changes by calling 0800 068 6800 (you will need your policy number) or by logging into your policy here.
Consolidating your pensions
You may contribute to several pension plans over the course of your working life and it may be that these legacy contracts are imposing high or punitive charges on the funds held on your behalf.
It is possible to transfer these funds to any other pension plan, including the Nvidia Group Personal Pension Scheme, but it is important to only do so if this is to your advantage.
While Aviva are usually able to process a transfer at no charge we would recommend that you consider receiving regulated financial advice before considering a transfer of your pension funds.
Once you have decided to transfer another pension into your current pension plan, you simply need to contact Aviva to start the process.
Please click here for further information on transferring pensions.
Consolidating your pensions
You may contribute to several pension plans over the course of your working life and it may be that these legacy contracts are imposing high or punitive charges on the funds held on your behalf.
It is possible to transfer these funds to any other pension plan, including the Nvidia Group Personal Pension Scheme, but it is important to only do so if this is to your advantage.
While Aviva are usually able to process a transfer at no charge we would recommend that you consider receiving regulated financial advice before considering a transfer of your pension funds.
Once you have decided to transfer another pension into your current pension plan, you simply need to contact Aviva to start the process. Please click here for further information on transferring pensions.
Your retirement options
Approaching retirement can be a stressful and in many ways, daunting prospect. How we maintain our current standard of living without the security of employment is about as big a financial burden as we are likely to face. One of the key components in how you address these questions is likely to be: what is the best thing to do with my pension savings?
Drawing flexible amounts
There are two primary ways to draw on your pension funds flexibly:
- Lump sums directly from your pension – you are able to draw lump sums directly from your plan (provider restrictions may apply), with 25% of any lump sum paid free from tax and 75% taxed as income.
- Flexi-Access Drawdown - you can transfer all or part of your fund to a Flexi-Access Drawdown. This will allow you to take 25% of the whole amount as a tax free lump sum, plus income payments to suit your needs (and subject to income tax).
Securing an income for life
Alternatively you can secure an income for life by purchasing an annuity. By doing so you can take up to 25% of your pension fund tax free and then you will receive a guaranteed income for the rest of your life, based on the remaining 75% fund.
The annuity can be set up in a variety of ways, and you should shop around to ensure you find the best deal available to you at the time. Enhanced annuities, available to those people with existing medical conditions, offer the best value.
Click here for more information about your retirement options.