Pension planning is in such a mess, for most people working out the best way to save for retirement is an impenetrable mass of rules and regulations.
A-Day – April 6, 2006 – was aimed at simplifying pensions by changing rules and regulations.
New pension products like stakeholder schemes; SIPPS and QROPS were introduced to make retirement planning easier for UK taxpayers and expats.
In fact savers can almost pick any letter and come up with a scheme to match – let’s not forget ISAs and OIECS for instance.
The latest member to join the financial alphabet gang is a NEST – National Employment Savings Trust – a government-sponsored scheme to help workers build a pension pot that is due to start in 2012.
In fact, financial products seem to be designed by a Countdown contestant – “I’ll have three consonants and a vowel….”
Sorting out a pension is a nightmare
The reality is pensions are more complicated now than they were ever before and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are forever chasing their own tails fire fighting schemes that challenge the spirit of the schemes.
Add in the extra issues of international tax planning and fluctuating currency exchange rates for expats, and the whole sector becomes a nightmare.
Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman has floated the idea of letting people work until they are 80 years old and other politicians are talking of raising the current retirement age to 70 or 75 years old in the near future.
Contact QROPS.net for specialist independent pension advice
Planning for retirement does not only mean the goalposts are constantly moving but the return on investment is blunted by low interest rates and the boom-bust economy.
One way of negotiating the pension maze is discussing your financial plans with a QROPS.net.
Ask QROPS.net about the pension providers they will discuss with you – a bank is likely to have a tie-in with just one pension company and some independent advisors are in networks that have a limited number of pension choices as well.
