
Pension Annuties
Deciding what to do with your pension in retirement is one of the most important financial decisions of your lifetime. When you are approaching retirement, you can choose a number of pension options. One of these is buying an annuity.

Contracting Out
The Basic State Pension is what most people will be entitled to this and the amount you receive depends on the amount of National Insurance you have paid. So if you have breaks in your career, you may not get the full entitlement. By 2020, this will be payable from the age of 65 for everyone (prior to the 1995 Pensions Act, women could receive the pension from age 60 however women born after 6 April 1955 will receive it from age 65).

Pension Transfers
A pension transfer is the process of transferring or switching all your contributions from one pension scheme to another. There are many reasons why you may wish to transfer your current pension to a new or different scheme.

Section 32 Buy Out
Section 32 buy-out policies (sometimes referred to as pension transfer plans) were introduced so that occupational pension benefits could be transferred to a different provider without having to go into another occupational pension scheme.

SIPP Pensions
Self-invested Personal Pension plans, or SIPPs, have been available for more than 10 years and whilst they do not suit everyone, more and more people are using them to take control of their pensions, as they allow you to make your own investment decisions.