Retirement Planning

Pensions, savings & investments

For many of us, retirement might seem very far away, and, with the costs of living soaring, it can be hard to think about putting anything away for the future. As people are living longer, there is a chance that around 30 years of your life will be spent in retirement, and for this reason it is more important than ever to start saving for a pension and making investments for your future.

When you start planning your retirement, it can be worth working out how much state pension you will be entitled to and what you might get from any company pensions that you have signed up to.

How much state pension will you receive

The basic state pension is set at £97.65 a week for a single person. From April 2010, women and men need to have amassed 30 years of national insurance contributions to receive the full amount. From April 2011 the state pension will rise in line with rises in earnings or by 2.5%, whichever is greater. The state pension age for men and women is set to rise to 66 by 2020.

You can work out how much pension you will be likely to get by getting a state pension forecast from the Department of Work and Pensions’ Pension Service.

Get independent financial advice from an IFA today

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is a fund set up by the Government as a last resort for those owed money by insolvent firms.

All about financial services

The term financial services covers a number of areas within the world of money. Financial services describes many services which banks offer.

Does the Financial Services Authority work?

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the financial regulator of financial services in the UK and set rules for companies to follow.