Your pension is probably going to be one of your biggest sources of income when you’re no longer working. So how much will you need?
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association suggests you’ll need at least £10,900 a year to cover the basic costs of living when you retire. Or, if you’d like a little more flexibility and security from your income, you’d need at least £20,800 a year.
The question is, how could you achieve this?
Check how much you're paying
The first thing to do is look at what you already have, whether it be your retirement benefits within the Siemens Benefits Scheme (SBS) or any other benefits you’ve built up elsewhere. To see how much you’ve built up in the SBS, and what this could be worth when you retire, just log into your My Work Pension account.
Remember, you can normally save up to £40,000 every year into your pension tax free. Also, paying into a company pension means your employer will pay in too, up to a limit. It’s really worth checking to make sure you’re paying in enough whilst maximising contributions from the company.
To change how much you pay in just go to the My Benefits website.
Review your investments
If you have savings in a defined contribution pension scheme, like the Investor Plan, it’s important to make sure your investments are working for you in line with your retirement goals.
When you join the Plan we’ll invest your money for you automatically but you can choose where your money is invested if you prefer. There’s a wide range of investment options for you to choose from but please remember that all investments have a level of risk to them. This means the value of your retirement savings can go down as well as up. If you’re unsure about how to best invest your money we always recommend you talk to a registered financial adviser. You can find details for advisers on the government’s free Money Helper website.
You can review and change your investments by logging into My Work Pension. Or take a look at the investments available to you in the Investment hub. It’s a good idea to check your investments regularly to make sure you’re on track for the retirement you want.
Think about when you want to retire
You may also want to think about giving your money a little more time to grow.
You don’t necessarily have to take your benefits at the date you have selected right now. You may be able to change it to a later date that suits you better. This way you could work a little longer or work part-time and wind down to retirement.
If you have defined benefits with the Siemens Benefit Scheme, you’ll have to check with us to see if you’re able to retire later than the Scheme’s normal retirement date.
If you have benefits in the Investor Plan, changing your retirement date won’t necessarily guarantee that the value of your benefits will increase but it may still be worth thinking about. You can use My Work Pension to change your current retirement date.
Whatever you do, it’s a good idea give your retirement savings a regular ‘health check’ to help make sure you’re on course to enjoy the lifestyle you want when you retire.