Dispatches: How to Blow Your Pension

Last night Channel 4 showed a 30 minute programme called “How to Blow Your Pension”. The premise being that the new pension rules might result in thousands of “pensioners” cashing in their pension pots, blowing the lot only to run out of money. You can see the show on the 4OD website should you wish to. The intention was good, but the execution rather miserable and once again missing the opportunity to educate people and whilst Michael Buerk had a good reputation as a BBC newsreader, clearly he doesn’t appreciate that a document from a pension provider is not actually advice – but information about options. Frankly it isn’t that much of a jungle out there, but you will need proper advice, this is not the time to become a DIY internet “expert” it has to work and last. Just because someone has teeth that they care for, doesn’t mean that they should do their own dentistry. Just because you earn, handle and spend money does not make you best placed to do a proper job of planning and generating income for the rest of your life… So I thought I’d have a go at explaining the issues.

New Pension Rules – Simple

Pension rules are changing, from April 6th 2015 anyone aged 55 will be able to access their entire investment based pension pot should they wish to. There will be no compulsion to buy an annuity (an income for life). The principles have not changed – in that 25% of the pot is treated as tax free and the remainder is treated as income when you take it, however you take it – and so subject to income tax at your relevant rate of tax. You can still buy annuities should you want to. That’s it.

Running out of Money

The difficulty is that for most people their pension needs to last as long as they do…. ideally a bit longer if they have a spouse that outlives them too. So in practice you need to be careful about how much you take, its got to last and once its gone, its gone. So you have to guess how long you and your spouse might live (clue – actuaries do this for a living and designed annuities).

Make a Plan

So you will also need to reflect on how much income you need, what plans you have and it would be sensible to allow for some unexpected costs. You may need to pay for your own care or medical treatment – if you wish to choose how this is provided to you. You will also need to reflect on the impact of inflation, which at the moment is at record lows – but do the things you pay for really have such a low rate of inflation? and making a guess now for the next 20, 30 or perhpas 40 years of retirement needs some proper thought. If you don’t buy an annuity (which for many will be a very sensible option) the fund will need to grow (just to stand still and keep pace with inflation at the very least) – so how much investment risk is appropriate? what returns do you really need? what happens if these aren’t achieved? how will the portfolio be looked after? … and so on.

Review the Plan

As a result of these new “freedoms” (which some already enjoy anyway) you have a plethora of choices and the truth is that these need to be reviewed – in fact thats the beauty of it all, you get to alter your decisions (unlike simply buying an annuity and having to live with the consequences for the remainder of your life). The ability to access the money means that the crooks are on the scent… be it “pension liberation” or rubbishy investments that aren’t regulated and promise more than they could ever deliver. An independent financial adviser can sort the wheat from the chaff, but a financial planner, will do that and also help you plan your income requirements to suit your unique requirements.

Was that really so hard?

Dominic Thomas