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Looking for retirement advice?

Whatever your age, the need to Economic Lifestyle and to understand the options available to you regarding your personal and occupational pension schemes and investments becomes increasingly important as you approach retirement.

Based in London Economic Lifestyle offers you specialist retirement planning advice, including pension release and pension lump sum calculation and advice. Our professionally-qualified and FSA-registered independent financial advisers will be able to provide you with advice that takes account of your personal circumstances and future aspirations.

Use our free Pension Calculator to work out how much you might receive. Remember, the plans that you make now can help you look forward to a financially secure and well-managed future.

Covering London and Essex, your Economic Lifestyle financial advisor will have answers to the questions you may already have regarding your pension and investments:

•How do I plan properly for my retirement?
•How much income will my pension plans or investments provide?
•What is an annuity?
•What about pension release?
•How do I calculate my pension lump sum?
•What are my options?
•When can I retire?
•What about Income Tax?
•What about Inheritance Tax?
•What happens to my dependents if I die?

Advice on pensions & retirement in Great Britain

Firstly, to supply facts and information on annuity choices. Secondly, to arrange the annuity for you and deal with the transfer of your pension funds.

You will be asked to complete and send us a Service request form giving the financial and personal details we need to select the annuity most appropriate for you. We then search out the best annuity for you and forward a personalised report together with all the relevant documentation.

Once your application is received, we undertake all the necessary administration and arrange for the transfer of your pension funds to your new annuity provider.

The annuity service is run by a dedicated team of specialist, independent advisers and administrators, who will manage the process from start to finish. You will have access to a free helpline and can phone at any time during business hours should you need help or information.

Your Pension Explain

Your pension fund is essentially a savings vehicle from which you must draw a pension income (an annuity) and possibly a lump sum. Many people are better off taking the lump sum if available as, unlike the pension,this is tax-free.

The service is of benefit to holders of the following types of pension arrangements listed below:

Personal Pension Plan (PPP)
Additional Voluntary Contribution Plan (AVC)
Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution Plan (Financial Services AuthorityVC)
Section 226 Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC)
Section 32 Buy-out Bond (S.32 Buy-out)
Executive Personal Pension Plan (EPP)
Occupational Pension Scheme - Money Purchase based
With the proceeds of these pension plans you can purchase a guaranteed annuity or a non guaranteed annuity. Please click on the appropriate headings for further details on each

What's new? Phased Retirement for anyone (2016)

Phased retirement was introduced to add flexibility to drawing benefits from a personal pension. Basically, it divides your pension fund into one thousand little policies allowing you to draw the combination of tax-free cash and annuity income from each one separately. The concept is to encash (vest) the exact number of plans each year to meet a target income.

As most of the cash released comes from the tax-free cash element of the policy initially there is very little tax liability in the early years. Over the years the annuity element will rise and eventually this will provide the majority of the income.

The main advantages of the system is that it allows you to adjust your income levels at will in the early years and to leave most of the fund invested whilst drawing an income. Annuity purchase is thus delayed and spread over a number of years rather than taking place all at once. The concept is very flexible but the main disadvantage is that most of the tax-free cash is used to provide income and cannot be drawn as a lump sum.

These days phased plans are often combined with income drawdown to give the greatest possible flexibility but the administration of these plans can be complex. At age 75 any remaining funds that have not been vested must then buy their annuity (or tax-free cash.). Phased Retirement -