April 4, 2023
The changes to pension allowances announced in the March 2023 budget have prompted some controversy as they mostly benefit higher earners. But whatever income bracket you’re in and whatever stage of your career you’re currently at, a new tax year is a good time to review your retirement savings.
Read our blog to learn about these changes. Whether they affect you or not, now is an ideal time to take a fresh look at your savings and plan to make the most of this year’s allowances.
If you’re concerned that you haven’t started saving for retirement yet, you’re not alone. Around 17% of people aged 55 or over have no pension savings. It’s never too late to start saving, though, so why not make 2023 the year you develop some healthy financial habits?
For the current tax year, you can save up to £20,000 in an ISA. You can either choose to save it all into one type of ISA, or split it between different types. If you choose to split it, remember that the maximum you can save across all types remains at £20,000. A Talis IFA can explain the different types of ISA available to you, and help you work out your preferred options.
The younger you are, the more benefit you’ll get from saving regularly into a pension. If you’re employed, you might well be enrolled in your workplace pension scheme. Some employers will match your additional payments up to a certain level. It is also worth asking about salary sacrifice (or exchange) arrangements and finding out whether this might benefit you too.
It’s common these days for people to accumulate several different pension pots over the course of their careers. This is where most people decide to seek advice, as there are so many options available and pitfalls to avoid. Engaging an independent financial adviser (IFA) can help to clarify your options and guide you towards a decision that suits you and your circumstances. We will take the time to understand what you want from your financial future before making formal recommendations if we think that consolidating your pension pots will help.
If you think you might have a pension pot that you’ve lost track of (particularly likely if you’ve changed jobs many times over your career), you can use the government’s Pension Tracing Service at Find pension contact details – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
An IFA can help you review your finances, make sure you’re making the most of the tax-free allowances available to you, and check whether there are alternatives approaches which might suit you better.
At Talis IFA, we’ll give you transparent advice in plain English. If what you’re already doing looks like the best choice, we’ll say so. But if we can see ways to make your savings work harder for you, we’ll talk you through your options and help you make some changes.
You can view all of our independent financial advisers here.
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