Making confident decisions about your pension and investments is never easy. Yet with more freedom and choice than ever before there’s a lot of pressure to get it right. As you near retirement understanding your options becomes increasingly important, for the decisions you make now will have a lasting impact on your finances.

If you find getting to grips with your pension a struggle, independent advice could help ensure your pension is setup in a way that’s easy to manage and achieves your retirement goals. Yet when you consider the costs involved, is it worth seeing a financial adviser, or could you do some of the work yourself?

What is a financial adviser?

An independent financial adviser (IFA), is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to offer impartial advice. An adviser will ask you a series of questions to find out your financial health, knowledge of the pension landscape, retirement goals and attitude to risk. This will help them provide specialist pension advice on the full range of products on the market, and recommend the best options to suit your needs.

An IFA can help you calculate when you can afford to retire and recommend the best way to access your pension funds. And, if you have several workplace pensions, they may recommend consolidating your pensions into one single plan.

{{main-cta}}

Things to consider when seeking financial advice

• Average cost of a financial adviser

Independent financial adviser fees will vary depending on the advice you need, and how you choose to pay for it. The majority of advisers will offer you a free consultation, but if you decide to meet again the cost can be as high as ^{_higher_rate_personal_savings_allowance} for an initial review.

There are three ways to pay for financial advice. You can pay a fixed fee for a specific service, such as purchasing an annuity, or you can pay an hourly rate. Hourly rates range from £75 an hour to £350, with an average of £150 an hour.

Hourly rates range from £75 an hour to £350, with an average of £150 an hour

If you’d like an adviser to help you manage your investments on an ongoing basis, they may charge a percentage of assets rather than a fixed amount. This means they can command a percentage of your portfolio’s total value, anywhere from 0.5% to 5%.

If you’re looking for high level advice on managing your money more efficiently, and have a healthy pension, it’s unlikely that paying a percentage of assets will be cost-effective. Before you retain the services of a financial adviser you should ask for a written breakdown of their fees and find out what’s included in the costs. You may find that the cost of financial advice changes based on where you’re located in the UK.

• Restricted advice

Some financial advisers will only offer solutions based on certain products or specific providers, which makes them restricted in the advice they can give you. A financial adviser has to inform you whether they are independent or restricted so you should always ask.

In order to receive advice that’s genuinely best suited to your personal circumstances you should always seek the help of an independent adviser.

The benefits of financial advice

• Receive a personal recommendation

One of the best things about independent financial advice is the personal recommendation you’ll receive. An IFA will be able to offer guidance on how you can convert your pension pot into a sustainable retirement income, and how best to manage your money moving forward. If you have several pensions an adviser can help you streamline your funds by unlocking old pensions on your behalf.

• Learn how to protect your retirement funds

If you’re the first to admit that you don’t know a thing about your pension, an independent financial adviser can help you understand the basics. They can educate you about all of the products across the pension landscape and explain the different types of funds, and the risks involved to ensure you don’t make costly mistakes.

• Get your pensions back on track

If you have pensions here, there and everywhere and find them hard to manage – an IFA can help you get them back on track. They can breakdown how much you’re spending in fees and will recommend measures and products to help you better manage your money.

Do I need a financial adviser for my pension?

While there are many advantages to enlisting the help of an IFA, paying for advice isn’t always going to be worth it. If you have straightforward needs it’s possible to do some pension planning on your own.

If you’re unsure how much you should be saving for retirement, for example, our pension calculator can give you a good indication. Elsewhere, our Pensions Explained centre will help you find out everything you need to know about paying into a pension, taking a pension and all the pension rules and legislation - plus anything else in-between! What’s more, the money you save in adviser fees can go straight into your pension fund.

The money you save in adviser fees can go straight into your pension fund

When you sign up to a PensionBee plan we’ll help unite all of your old pensions into one manageable pot and will take care of the transfers for you. It’s easy to manage your money and measure your progress against your goals through our online dashboard.

In some more complicated circumstances financial advice is recommended. If you’d like to mix your pension options and get an annuity and adjustable income, for example, guidance is advised.

You’ll be required by law to seek advice if you have a ‘final salary’ or defined benefit pension worth more than £30,000 and want to transfer it to a defined contribution pension scheme.

How to choose a financial adviser

If you decide that you’d like to speak to a financial adviser there are several online directories that can help you find professional advice. If an adviser is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority it will be included on its free register of authorised individuals, firms and bodies.

The Money Advice Service has a similar directory for those seeking independent pensions advice.

Have you used a financial adviser? How did you find the experience? Tell us in the comments section at the bottom of the page 👇

This article was last updated on 07/02/2024

If you’ve had more than one job in recent years it’s likely you’ll have more than one pension to your name, and the longer you have left in your career, the more workplace pensions you’ll accumulate in the future thanks to Auto Enrolment.

Over time, managing lots of pensions can get messy and it can be easy to lose track of your savings. Maintaining multiple pension pots could also become costly if you’re paying several high fees.

If you’re thinking about transferring your old workplace and personal pensions into one plan there are a few things you’ll need to consider first, from transfer charges and exit fees to the special features and benefits you might lose. Here’s a breakdown of the things you should consider and what you can do to avoid paying for a pension transfer.

Common reasons to transfer a pension

Depending on how many pensions you have, how they’re performing and how much you’re paying in fees, it might make sense for you to consolidate your pensions into one. In fact, there’s a range of circumstances where you might want to consider transferring your pensions including:

• Your current pension provider’s no longer offering the type of pension option you want to use to access your savings in retirement
• Your current pension isn’t being invested in line with your expectations and you want to take more/ less risks and earn a higher income
• You’re moving abroad and want to take your pension with you
• You want to have just one pension to manage
• You want to pay just one fee, which will hopefully be cheaper than the multiple fees you’re paying now.

{{main-cta}}

When to transfer a pension

Transferring your pension is an option that’s open to everyone and you don’t necessarily need to have a ‘good’ reason, provided you’ve done your research and are confident you’ll be financially better off with a new provider. You can transfer your pension at any age, no matter how close you are to retirement, although if you’re nearing retirement you’ll want to make sure your savings are invested in a plan with less risk.

The majority of newer workplace and personal pensions are defined contribution pensions, which have a value based on how much you’ve contributed and how your investments have performed. If you have one of these pensions it’ll be relatively straightforward to transfer.

However, if you have a defined benefit pension you should approach any potential transfer with caution until you’ve assessed what benefits you could lose by exiting your current scheme. You can find out what type of pension you have and what benefits it comes with by checking your pension paperwork, such as an annual pension statement, or by contacting your provider directly.

When not to transfer a pension

If you’re part of an older pension scheme, known as a defined benefit or ‘final salary’ pension, a transfer might not always be the best option. Defined benefit pensions have a value based on your salary and the number of years you worked for your employer, and can often come with special benefits that you could lose if you leave the pension scheme.

Special benefits could include a guaranteed annuity rate upon retirement, regardless of the market rate at the time, and other perks that you may not want to forfeit. To ensure you weigh up your options carefully it’s a legal requirement for savers with defined benefit pension pots worth more than £30,000 to speak to an independent financial advisor before moving their pensions. If you have a public sector pension you probably won’t be able to transfer this type of pension, although you can stop paying into it and start a new one separately.

Pension transfer charges

The amount you’re charged for transferring your pension can vary from provider to provider and from scheme to scheme, so it’s important to find out how much you’ll be charged and understand the impact this will have on the size of your pension.

Pension transfer charges usually come in the form of an exit fee. This is where your current pension provider charges you a fee to release your money, and it’s usually deduced from the balance of your pension. Exit fees can either be charged as a flat fee or as a percentage of your savings, which means the larger your pension, the more you’ll have to pay. Where a percentage is charged it can be as much as 1^{_personal_allowance_rate}.

Transferring your pension’s free with PensionBee

If you decide to transfer your pensions with PensionBee, we won’t charge you a thing. You’ll get your own personal BeeKeeper who will then guide you through the transfer process, from start to finish.

All we’ll need is a few details about your pension history to get started, such as a pension number or provider name. And, if we find any pensions where your current provider charges an exit fee of more than £10, we’ll check with you before going ahead with the transfer.

It can take just two to three weeks for us to receive your pension money and we’ll always attempt to use electronic transfer technology to send and receive it safely and efficiently. Once we’ve received your pensions we’ll charge just one annual management fee, which is taken directly from your pension pot. There are no hidden transfer fees, or any other kind of fees, and the more you save with PensionBee, the less you’ll pay.

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

You should always thoroughly research any new providers you’re consider joining to ensure they are fully regulated. You can check the Financial Conduct Authority register to confirm that they’re authorised to manage your money and you can also check the FCA Warning List which highlights companies known for pension scams.

All through our lives we’re taught to spend sensibly and put money aside for a rainy day. Whether that’s saving into a piggy bank as kids, or our pensions as we get older, eventually there comes a time to count the pennies and see how much we’ve got saved.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve just started a pension, are close to retiring, or are somewhere in between, it’s important to keep an eye on your pension and check your balance regularly. Unlike a piggy bank where what you put inside stays there until you break it open, a pension balance can go down as well as up, depending on the type of pension you have, how much you’ve saved and how your investments have performed.

Here are our top tips for finding out how much your pension pot is worth and ensuring you’re on track for a comfortable retirement.

Check your pension statement

The easiest way to find out how much your pension is worth is to check your pension statements. Whatever type of pensions you have, you’ll receive an annual pension statement from your provider. In it they’ll tell you how much your pension is currently worth and what it’s expected to pay out at your retirement date. It’ll also tell you which type of pension you have.

Most personal, workplace and private pensions are defined contribution, which means you’re mainly responsible for contributing to your pension and it’s value when you retire will be based on how much money you’ve paid in, how your money’s been invested and how those investments have performed. If you’ve got a defined contribution pension, your statement will explain how your pension’s been invested in the past year and how it’s performed.

The other type of pension is defined benefit and its value is based on your salary and how long you’ve worked for your employer. If you have one of these pensions you might have heard it being called a ‘final salary’ pension, and your statement will tell you if there’s anything else included with it. Sometimes defined benefit pensions can come with additional benefits, such as a guaranteed annuity rate or life insurance.

Of course, to be able to check your pension statements, you’ll need to make sure your pension providers have your current address details. Depending on who your pension provider is and how old-fashioned they are, you might be able to check your pension contributions and balances online.

{{main-cta}}

Check your National Insurance record

If you’ve worked in the UK for a certain number of years you’ll also be eligible to receive State Pension. The amount you’ll get is based on how much National Insurance you’ve paid during your working life. To qualify for the new State Pension you’ll need to have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 10 years, and to claim the full State Pension amount of £164.35 per week (2018/19), it’s 35 years.

To find out how much State Pension you’re on track to receive you can use the government’s State Pension forecasting tool which you can find on the gov.uk website. It’ll calculate how much National Insurance you’ve already paid and how many years you have left until you reach State Pension age. From there you’ll be able to get a State Pension forecast and find out what you’re eligible for and how you can increase it if it turns out that you haven’t paid enough National Insurance. If you’re due to retire soon you can contact the Future Pension Centre and request a full State Pension statement.

Check for any lost pensions

The more pensions you have, the harder it can be to keep track so, even if you think you’re on top of everything, it won’t hurt to use a pension finder. The government has a free tool called the Pension Tracing Service which is a searchable database of pension provider contact details.

You can also contact your old employers to find out information about any pension scheme that was in place when you worked for the company, and then contact the pension providers directly to find out if you were a member of their schemes.

There are also some pension companies who’ll be able to help you locate an old pension, especially if you plan to transfer the balance to them. This can be more straightforward if you’re already planning to transfer your pensions or have several old pensions that you’ve lost track of.

Consider joining the UK’s most-loved pension company

If you’re having trouble managing several pensions, all with different providers, it might make sense to consolidate them into one. That way you’ll have a unified view of your savings, and just one pension balance to manage going forward. That means only one pension provider to deal with and potentially lower fees too.

Before you move your savings, you’ll need to make sure there aren’t any restrictions on your pensions, or special benefits that you could lose if you have a defined benefit pension, for example. Also, if you do have a defined benefit pension pot and it’s worth £30,000 or more, you’ll need to seek advice from an independent financial advisor.

If you do decide to open a PensionBee pension we can help you combine all of your old pensions into a new online plan. You just need to provide the pension provider name and policy number (if you have it to hand). You’ll get a personal BeeKeeper to guide you through the transfer process.

With PensionBee you’ll get an online pension that you can manage anytime and from anywhere, through your favourite device. You’ll be able to see a list of recent transactions and a performance graph showing how your pension investments have performed over time. Existing customers can download our app in the iTunes and Google Play stores, and use it to access their real time pension balance with PensionBee.

Whether you’re dreaming of travelling the world and riding off into the sunset, or are looking forward to embracing the simple life closer to home, you’ll need to ensure you’ve got enough money saved into your pension to support yourself when you retire.

How long your pension lasts will depend on a range of factors, from your desired income to how much you’ve got saved and your life expectancy. Here’s what you’ll need to consider when doing your calculations.

Your desired retirement income

The amount of money you need to have a comfortable retirement will very much depend on your personal circumstances and the standard of living you’d like to have. If, for example, you currently earn £50,000 a year, it would be quite a shock to the system to drop down to ^{_money_purchase_annual_allowance} a year in retirement – especially if you don’t intend to adjust your lifestyle or reduce your outgoings.

Earlier this year Which? conducted a study and found that the average couple needs just £18,000 between them to live for a year. This amount covers the bare essentials like food, accommodation and transport and would be just about doable if both parties were receiving the new State Pension amount of £8,546.20 each a year.

A slightly more comfortable retirement, that includes modest luxuries like European holidays, would require £26,000. A luxurious retirement, with long-haul holidays and a brand new car every five years, would cost a couple £39,000 a year.

How much you’ve already saved into your pension

To ensure you’re saving enough money to comfortably support yourself for your whole retirement you’ll need to have a good understanding of your current pension balances and your expected retirement income.

Depending on the type of pension you have, you can check your balance by looking at your annual pension statement, or by logging into your online pension account. With either option you’ll be able to find out how much your pension is worth today and how much you can expect it to pay out at your expected retirement date.

If you have your retirement savings spread across multiple pensions, you may want to consider transferring them into one. That way you’ll have just one pension to manage and will always be able to get a clear view of not only your balance, but how your investments are performing. When you transfer your pensions into one you can also go through the steps of looking for any old pensions you might have forgotten about. This can help ensure that any pensions you’ve previously started with an old employer are brought together and can’t be misplaced or lost in future.

Your life expectancy

Last year research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found that an average 65-year-old could be expected to live for another 22.8 years, giving them an average life expectancy of approximately 87 years. At the moment you can start withdrawing your personal-types/what-is-a-private-pension) from the [age of 55](/pensions-expl, workplace and private pensions, although this is expected to rise to 57 by 2028. The current State Pension age is ^{_state_pension_age}, although this is rising too and will be ^{_pension_age_from_2028} by 2028.

If you decide to stop working and cash in your personal, workplace and private pensions at 55, by the ONS’ calculations, the average person would need to have enough money saved to last them 33 years. In this scenario, your State Pension wouldn’t kick in for at least 10 years after that so you wouldn’t be able to rely on that topping up your income straightaway.

It might sound obvious, but 33 years is a long time to live off your retirement savings, if you don’t plan to have any other income from property or a part-time job, for example. This is why it’s crucial to start thinking about the kind of retirement you want to have from a young age, at a stage in your life when you can feasibly save a little bit of money often, rather than having to sacrifice more of your wages later on.

{{main-cta}}

Putting a pension saving plan in place

To prevent a shortfall in later life you’ll need to ensure you’re saving enough money for your retirement. A pension calculator can help you work out how long your average pension pot will last and how much more you’ll need to save in order to achieve your desired income for the duration of your retirement.

To use the PensionBee retirement calculator, just tell us the amount of money you’ve saved so far and your level of contributions, and we’ll show you whether you’re on track to save enough to reach your desired retirement income, or whether you’ll need to increase your contributions. Our pension pot calculator can also help you decide how much money to pay into your pension moving forwards by showing you the impact that increasing your contributions could have on your retirement income.

When you sign up to PensionBee we’ll help you take control of your pension saving, giving you access to your online pension 24/7. You can adjust your contributions and see how your pension’s performing in just a few clicks. Existing customers can download our app in the iTunes and Google Play stores, and use it to access their real time pension balance with PensionBee.

Risk warning

As always with investments, with a pension your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

Last week saw the long-awaited Pensions Dashboards feasibility study finally being published by the Department of Work and Pensions. This is a huge step forward and one that reflects the perseverance of a forward-thinking Pensions Minister like Guy Opperman.

While the study has many positives, there are also some critical flaws in the proposed implementation. This is the first in a series of three PensionBee blog articles that will address our main concerns in the study as it stands. Specifically, I will be writing about the unnecessary delays to commercial dashboards; Jonathan Lister Parsons, Chief Technology Officer, will be writing about the proposed technological infrastructure and Clare Reilly, Head of Corporate Development, will be writing about governance.

Our feedback is informed from our own experience in helping thousands of customers to find and combine their pensions (effectively providing dashboard functionality to the market) as well as our market-leading position in integrating with five open banking applications and thereby setting the standard for “open pensions”. Since our inception, we have focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for consumers and we believe pension dashboards, if done correctly, can make a real difference.

So let’s start with the unnecessary delay to commercial dashboards.

Laying out the government’s approach

The government is on board to create multiple dashboards, noting that “the Department recognises the potential for industry (for example, financial services including pension providers, and new FinTech providers) to find new ways of engaging and supporting individuals, in a way that a single, non-commercial dashboard may not.” The report goes on to say that “in order to harness innovation and maximise consumer engagement, an open standards approach that allows for multiple dashboards is the right way forward.”

However, DWP also notes that “the evidence would suggest that starting with a single, non-commercial dashboard, hosted by the Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB), is likely to reduce the potential for confusion and help to establish consumer trust”.

I will now explore the three reasons why this approach is suboptimal and actually undermines the government’s objectives to 1) obtain sufficient data coverage 2) meet the 2019 deadline 3) protect consumers and 4) ultimately help consumers engage with their pensions.

A voluntary initiative needs a commercial incentive

Because “there is absolutely nothing going on in government”, as DWP often tell us, the Department has taken the decision to get going with the Pensions Dashboards on a voluntary basis rather than by compulsion, which would require legislation. This means that providers are expected to pay for the Pensions Dashboards and provide their data out of the goodness of their hearts. Undoubtedly some will, because it’s the right thing to do, but many won’t without the opportunity to benefit commercially.

Pensions Dashboards will create winners and losers: the winners will benefit from increased pension consolidation into their products. The losers will face an exodus. If we want to start with a voluntary initiative, then there needs to be a quid pro quo for those who provide their data to also reap the commercial benefit of data sharing. So far, no major provider has put its hand up to voluntary data provision. If there is no commercial benefit, the voluntary group is likely to be too small to matter.

Delays, delays and more delays

It has been argued that the phased approach - because it seems smaller in scope - will enable the industry to release a working concept by 2019. After all, how hard could it be to launch a single dashboard? The answer is: pretty hard. Because this dashboard will be the “official version”, it will inevitably become bogged down in all of the questions that have plagued the Pensions Dashboards project and that still remain unresolved, such as: how many providers are enough? what is the minimum viable product? Answering these questions to the satisfaction of the industry (or at least the initial group of voluntary data givers who will have diverse interests) will take time and there is a substantial risk that nothing gets out the door.

It is unclear to me if anyone has actually done the math on what it would take to get a voluntary Pensions Dashboards shipped from a timing perspective. The SFGB will begin work in January 2019. If it begins working on the dashboard immediately, we would expect it to have a governance committee in place at the earliest by April 2019. The committee would then need to design the standards, which would realistically take at least another 8 months. Only once the standards are in place will the voluntary data givers truly be able to prepare to give data (cleansing, validation, opening APIs, testing) - this will take at least 12 months...so that brings us to 2021. Maybe. Then we would need to do consumer testing and answer all of the difficult questions above.

If it were made clear that commercial dashboards could launch at any time, there would be an incentive for providers to push the project forward and sufficient tension for the “official version” to get on with it or risk being left behind.

No such thing as private data on a public dashboard

I disagree that commercial dashboards will necessarily endanger consumer interests. After all, it is proposed that commercial dashboards are regulated entities that would presumably require authorisation and supervision.

The consumer ultimately owns the data on the dashboard. And therefore the consumer has the right to share this data with whomever they wish. In the period between when the “official version” is live and the first regulated commercial dashboard is available, anyone who can convince the consumer to give them access to the data will be able to get their hands on the consumer’s “official dashboard” data. The lowest form of technology to do this with is a screenshot, but we expect many scraping services to pop up. The DWP has said that “commercial dashboards should not be available to users until the appropriate regulatory framework is in place”, but it is unclear what mechanisms will prevent rogue dashboards from appearing in the period between when the “official version” is launched and commercial dashboards are formally regulated. The feasibility study has said that “information and functionality will be covered by existing regulation”, so why not lead with this approach? To protect consumers, we should make it clear that only regulated entities can operate dashboards and should be allowed to access a consumer’s data at any time; alternatively we could find ourselves confronted with the data scandal of our time.

Consumer engagement: a distant fantasy?

Ultimately delaying commercial dashboards means delaying the full potential of consumer engagement with their pensions. It is expected that the “official Pensions Dashboards” will not (and could not) meet the diverse requirements of 15 million pension owners. The official dashboard will primarily be used as a tool to find old pensions and only the commercial sector can truly deliver the innovation consumers need and deserve in pensions, such as saving round-ups, dynamic outcome calculators and asset aggregation. These are the tools that are needed to get consumers to understand their pensions more and ultimately to save. Attempting to delay commercial dashboards means we would delay - or even fail to deliver - all the good things dashboards are expected to do.

It has been argued that the phased approach will make at least one dashboard more deliverable by 2019. However, in the next post by Jonathan Lister Parsons, Chief Technology Officer of PensionBee, we will discuss why an open standards technological infrastructure would be the optimal approach to allow commercial dashboards to launch at the same time as an “official dashboard”.

Dear PensionBee team,

As I reflect on a phenomenal 2018, in which PensionBee grew its customer base over 3x to c.30,000, it seems there is no better way to reflect on the last 12 months than to spend some time thanking you for all your hard work.

Jonathan, I’ll start with you. Since embarking on this journey 4 years ago, you have been the technological backbone of PensionBee and so much more. 2018 was no exception as you did a remarkable job transforming our pension system on Salesforce, launching our native app and putting us at the forefront of the open pension revolution. Thank you tech team, for the unending drive to be the best, for the late nights, early mornings and everything in between that made sure our customers got the best from PensionBee’s product.

Jasper, I’ll turn to you next. I know you still feel like we’re sitting in that bathtub when you look around our now small office and see we’ve grown to 40. Like you, I sometimes look back at the pictures from day 1 in our little room and I must admit — it is PensionBee fashion to grow so quickly you are busting at the seams! 2018 has been your year. As CMO, you have led our marketing and product strategy to become the UK’s most loved pension brand. The marketing and product team has been a powerhouse of customer activity, taking feedback and insights straight from those who matter most — our customers — and translating it into their pension experience. Thank you for the unrelenting focus on what our customers want.

Clare, it’s been a whirlwind 2018 for you. You’ve launched 5 (!) open banking partnerships, expanded the B2B line with me and of course fought the battle we all wake up for in the morning: to make pensions better for consumers. I’m confident that we will get a pension switch guarantee, public information of switching times and the right kind of pension dashboard. And we will have led on those movements thanks to you.

Tess, you are PensionBee’s moral compass and chief culture carrier (or Chief Christmas Officer, as you were recently known!). You took on the huge challenge of running PensionBee operations during an unprecedented period of change and growth. The operations team has adapted to everything thrown your way, making sure our BeeKeepers and Nectar Collectors are well-equipped to give our customers the PensionBee love. Because you know that’s what it’s all about. You are building the next set of PensionBee leaders and a prime example is Emily, our very new Head of Talent. Emily, you have made our unique way of hiring into the A-team of BeeKeepers and Nectar Collectors — our Program — the foundation of great customer service. I’m excited about where you will take this next as we build out the kind of company and culture that reflects our values of honesty, innovation, love, quality and simplicity.

And last but most certainly not least, our A-team of BeeKeepers and Nectar Collectors. Every time I read one of your inspiring Trustpilot reviews I am reminded of the extraordinary lengths you go through to make sure our customers can enjoy PensionBee, whether they are finally taking control of their pensions by combining them, topping up as they look forward to a good retirement or drawing down so they can enjoy the fruits of their hard work.

Yes, 2018 is a year of thanks and it is a year we will look back on fondly as we face the challenges of 2019, whether those are market headwinds, the sheer impact of tripling in size (again!) or the most important challenge of all: staying true to ourselves and our mission of making pensions simple and engaging for all.

Here’s to 2019!

Figuring out how much you and your partner will need for a comfortable income in retirement can be tricky. It’ll depend on several factors like how much income you’re used to, when you intend to retire and the lifestyle you hope to lead.

Data from the Department for Work and Pensions analysed earlier this year showed that the average UK retired couple has a weekly income of £576 or £29,952 a year, while one-fifth have a higher than average weekly income of £936 or £48,^{_pension_age_from_2028}2 a year.

The average UK retired couple has a weekly income of £576

A 2018 study by Which? found that the average retired couple needs just £18,000 a year to pay for their essentials such as food, transport and housing costs. This amount rises to £26,000 if you’d like a more comfortable retirement, which includes occasional European holidays and other luxuries. If you want to take long-haul holidays and buy a new car every five years, you’ll need around £39,000 a year.

According to Which? you’d need to have a defined contribution pot worth £210,000 and the State Pension to generate a retirement income of £26,000 a year. Here are three simple ways you can increase the size of your pension to bring it in line with the average pot size for a couple and beyond.

1. Set a retirement goal

If you’re unsure of how much you should be saving for retirement our pension calculator can tell you. If you’d like to aim for a joint annual retirement income of £26,000 with your partner, simply halve that amount and input it as your retirement goal, along with your age and the age at which you’d like to retire. You can also enter how much you’ve already got saved and how much you’re currently paying into your pension.

Our calculator will tell you how much you’ll need to save each month, and for how long, to reach this goal. You can then set the same goal for your partner and adjust as necessary based on their age and savings total. If you find that you’ll each have to save a large amount each month to reach your target, adjust the settings until you get to a more manageable amount. It may be the case that you’ll have to delay your retirement slightly in order to achieve the retirement income you want.

2. Pay into your pension

While you may intend to share your pension income with your partner in retirement, you’ll need to concentrate on building your own pension while you’re still working and generating an income. Not only can this help avoid a pension savings gap between you and your partner in future, it can also help ensure you have enough saved to look after yourself should your plans or circumstances change in later life.

Knowing how much to save into a pension is one of the biggest challenges people face when planning their retirement. The amount you save will be dependent on your individual circumstances and how much you can afford, but once you’ve set yourself a retirement goal, it’ll be much easier to see how the contributions you make each month can quickly add up.

The more you pay into your pension the more tax relief you’ll get from the government as for every £100 you pay into your pension, HMRC effectively adds £25 in the form of a tax top up. You can currently save up to 10^{_personal_allowance_rate} of your salary (up to £40,000) into your pension and benefit from tax relief.

From 6 April the total min contribution to workplace pensions will rise from 2% to 5% https://t.co/i3nZLZ3BpW #autoenrolment #pensions

— Pension Geeks (@PensionGeeks) 3 April 2018

If you’re paying into a workplace pension, your employer has to pay in too under the rules of Auto-Enrolment. The minimum employer contribution level is currently set at 2% of your annual earnings, as long as you’re contributing at least 3%, however this is set to increase to 3% for your employer and 5% for you within the next year.

If you have several old pensions you may want to consolidate them into a single pension plan so you can manage all of your savings in one place. This can give you a better overview of how your investments are performing and give you peace of mind that you’re on the right track to meet your goal.

{{main-cta}}

3. Check your National Insurance record

While you shouldn’t rely on the State Pensionto fund your retirement, it can be useful for supplementing your income. It’s worth remembering that your State Pension entitlement is based on your National Insurance record and how many years’ contributions you’ve made, and only you will be able to influence this. If you haven’t already retired, you’ll need at least 35 years’ of qualifying National Insurance contributions to receive the full State Pension of £164.35 a week or £8,546.20 a year.

Your State Pension entitlement is based on your National Insurance record

If you’ve taken time out of your career to care for your family or as a result of illness, you may be able to claim National Insurance Credits. It’s worth checking your National Insurance record sooner rather than later to ensure you and your partner are on track to receive the full amount, in order to boost your retirement income.

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

There are several financial milestones in life. From getting your first paycheck and paying off your student loan to getting married and having a baby - yet none is more satisfying than paying off your mortgage.

While the average UK term for repaying a mortgage is 25 years, it’s possible to be mortgage-free much faster with a little discipline and determination. If you’d like to pay off your biggest debt long before you retire, follow these six tips.

1. Remortgage for a better deal

Remortgaging is a great way to get a better interest rate on your mortgage. If, for example, you currently have a 25-year fixed-rate mortgage of £300,000 with an interest rate of 2.5% and remortgage for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage with an interest rate of 2%, there’s potential to save tens of thousands of pounds in interest charges over the term.

2. Shorten your mortgage term

Rather than remortgaging, you may be able to stay with your current lender and shorten your mortgage term by a few years. While this will mean higher monthly repayments and some sort of adjustment fee, you’ll have a shorter path to being mortgage free, without any of the hassle that comes with changing lender.

3. Make a one-off payment

If you don’t want to top up your mortgage each month it may be possible to make a lump-sum payment instead. Whether you get a bonus at work, come into some inheritance or win the lottery, it’s worth using some of the money to pay down your debt.

4. Increase your monthly repayments

Whenever you get a pay rise or have extra cash at the end of the month your lender may allow you to increase the size of your monthly repayments. While you might not choose to spend your extra cash this way every month, a little can go a long way.

If, for example, you have a £100,000 mortgage with an interest rate of 6% over 25 years, overpaying by just £100 a month could save you £26,892.54 and reduce the term of your mortgage by more than six years.

5. Pay your mortgage fees at the beginning of the term

When you’re buying a property or remortgaging, there are lots of costs to consider and if your lender is charging a sizable fee it can be tempting to add it to the principal and worry about it later. While this might be convenient in that moment, it’s likely to be an expensive decision in the long run as interest will be charged on that amount annually, until the end of the term.

6. Offset your savings

An offset mortgage is linked to your bank or savings accounts, and lets you use your savings to reduce the amount of interest you pay on your mortgage.

This could save you thousands of pounds

If, for example, you have a mortgage of £300,000 linked to a savings account with a balance of £20,000, you would only be required to pay interest on £280,000. Over the lifetime of a mortgage this could save you thousands of pounds in interest.

A few things to consider

1. Restrictions on your mortgage

Before deciding to repay your mortgage early, you’ll need to look at the conditions of your loan to see if you’ll face any penalties for early repayment. Some mortgages stipulate that you can only repay a certain amount each month and overpayment could incur a fine.

These days most lenders will let you overpay by up to 10% annually without incurring a penalty, but it’s always worth checking your paperwork or contacting your lender for clarification.

2. Other debts

If you have other outstanding debts it might make better financial sense to repay them first, especially if the interest rates are higher. Credit cards and store cards, for example, often have high interest rates and the longer you take to repay a balance in full, the more you’ll end up paying.

3. Opportunity for investment

As mortgage interest rates have been consistently low for several years many believe there isn’t as much to gain from repaying your mortgage early than if rates were higher. If you’re financially comfortable and don’t have many years left on your mortgage you may want to consider investing in other things that will help grow your savings.

Putting extra money into your pension is always a good idea as you’ll receive tax relief from the government on all of your contributions, to an annual limit of £40,000 (2018/19). This means that for every £100 you contribute to your pension, HMRC adds £25 as a tax top up.

The more money you can pay into your pension now the more time it will have to grow, and there’s a good chance you’ll have more in retirement. If you’re unsure how much money you’ll need for a comfortable retirement, our handy pension calculator can help.

Listen or read the transcript for episode 4 of our podcast and find out more about mortgages and your retirement.

Risk warning

The information in this article should not be regarded as financial advice.

Much has been said of the “ticking time bomb” of British pensions in recent months, with experts predicting a full-blown UK pension crisis. Yet in spite of the headlines and genuine worry among savers, it isn’t all doom and gloom. There’s still a lot you can do to grow your pension and protect your retirement fund – you just need to know how!

Why is there a UK pension crisis?

The pension crisis has been brewing for a while. The fact that Brits are living longer, not saving enough and, in some cases, accessing their pension early, is proving problematic. Add to that the end of final salary pensions and a lack of awareness around the benefits of saving from an early age, and it’s not hard to see why Brits are being caught short.

Millions of us just aren’t saving enough to retire comfortably, which is forcing our aging population to work for many more years than previous generations. ONS figures show that there are just 1.2 million retired Brits under 65, down from 1.6 million in 2011. 10 years ago just 434,000 over 65s were still in work, compared to 10.1 million today.

There are just 1.2 million retired Brits under 65

Women in particular have been hit hard with a pension age increase and a persistent gender pay gap. The average 50-year-old woman has saved just half the pension pot of the average 50-year-old man, with the gap widening the closer they get to retirement.

How to avoid pension problems

Thankfully there are lots of things you can do to protect yourself from a shortfall in retirement. For when it comes to managing your pension, knowledge really is power and it’s never too late to start saving. Here are several things you can do now to avoid pension problems in the future.

1. Don’t put off saving into a pension

We know that saving your hard-earned money for a rainy day can be painful, especially when there are so many fun things you could be doing with your cash instead. We’ve heard all of the excuses why people don’t save – from being too young to wanting to live in the moment instead – yet these are the very reasons why Brits are suffering.

Pensions aren’t supposed to be sexy. They’re practical and essential to protecting yourself in retirement. They can help you achieve the fantasy lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of having or they can leave you facing the reality of life on the breadline. Building a decent pension isn’t a choice as much as it is a necessity to maintain the lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to in your working life.

The sooner you start saving the less painful it will be

The sooner you start saving the less painful it will be. Data from Scottish Widows shows that the amount you’ll need to save to draw an annual pension of £23,000 increases significantly the later you leave it. At 25 you’ll need to save just £293 a month, rising to £443 a month at age 35. Wait until you’re 45 and you’ll have to part with £724 a month and a whopping £1,445 aged 55.

2. Calculate how much to save into your pension

How much you’ll need to save into your pension depends on a lot of things, including your salary and how long you have left to save.

Our handy pension calculator will help you figure this out based on your current age, how much you already have in savings, plus the age at which you’d like to retire and how much you’d like to get each year.

Let’s say you want to retire at 65, with a retirement income of £30,000 a year. Our calculator will tell you how much you’ll need to save each month to reach your £30,000 target. Find out more about our pension calculator and how to work out pension contributions in the Pensions Explained section of our website.

3. Make regular contributions to your pension

It’s widely believed that retirees will need around 7^{_personal_allowance_rate} of their salary to live comfortably in retirement so don’t underestimate how much you’ll need to save. ^_ni_rate is a good portion of your salary to set aside for retirement, but don’t forget that this amount will need to increase the later you start saving.

^_ni_rate is a good portion of your salary to set aside

Try and save the maximum amount that you can comfortably afford on a regular basis and if you come into any extra money, try and save some of that too. You can save up to £40,000 or 10^{_personal_allowance_rate} of your annual salary into your pension each year, depending on which is lower.

Alongside the money you pay into your pension, it might be possible to increase the level of Auto enrolment employer contributions you receive. From 6 April 2018 your employer is required to pay a minimum of 2% of your qualifying earnings into your pension. Some employers may also offer what’s called contribution matching, where increasing the amount you save into your pension will encourage your employer to pay more in too.

4. Find your old pensions

One of the best things about working in today’s job market is the wide variety of opportunities that are available. It’s likely you’ll have several employers before you retire and that means several workplace pensions. If you’ve already got a few under your belt, you’ll need to trace your old pensions and check your statements regularly.

Out of sight, out of mind doesn’t work so well for pensions as lots of things can happen over time to affect the size of your pot such as records being lost and high fees wiping out your pension.

The government’s Pension Tracing Service can help you find old workplace pensions or you can contact your old employers directly to try and find the details. Leaving them where they are could end up costing you…

5. Combine all of your pensions into one pot

If you manage to track down some of your old pensions you’ll have several pension transfer options, including transferring them all into one pot. It’ll make it much easier for you to manage your pension and see what’s going on, as well as reducing the fees you pay on each individual pot.

When you choose a PensionBee plan we will transfer any old pensions you tell us about into one pot that you can easily manage through an online dashboard. You can see how close you are to reaching your savings target and ensure your savings are growing in the right direction. You just need to provide us with a few bits of information including the pension provider name(s) and the policy numbers (if you have them to hand).

{{main-cta}}

6. Don’t rely on the State Pension

The way things are going you’re unlikely to draw your State Pension until your late sixties, so you’ll need to consider what you’ll live off if you need to stop working before then. By the end of this year the State Pension age will become 65 for men and women, rising to ^{_state_pension_age} by 2020 and ^{_pension_age_from_2028} between 2026 and 2028.

To qualify for the full State Pension you’ll need to have paid National Insurance Contributions for at least 35 years. And even then the total amount you’ll receive is just £8,296 a year – a long way from the amount you’re likely to need.

Rather than relying on the State Pension to fund your retirement, you should use it to supplement the income you’ve built up in your personal or workplace pension. So by the time you get to State Pension age you’ll have a little extra money in your back pocket.

If you don’t have 35 years of National Insurance contributions because you’ve taken time away from work to raise a family, you may be entitled to National Insurance credits. Read our tips to find out how stay-at-home mums can build a pension.

The future of pensions

Even though the future of pensions in the UK seems uncertain, you can protect yourself by following the simple tips above and by managing your pension more efficiently.

On one hand the government’s struggling to regulate the State Pension age and as the population continues to age, it’s perhaps inevitable there’ll be more rises in the future, along with increased tinkering to the triple lock.

Yet, on the other hand, the government’s Auto Enrolment scheme has been hugely successful in ensuring Brits have a workplace pension that they can access from the age of 55. And with minimum contributions for employees and their employers set to rise to a total minimum contribution of 8% by April 2019 things are moving in the right direction.

How are you protecting yourself from the pension crisis? Tell us in the comments below.

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

Whether you’re hoping to pack your job in early or are simply counting down the years until you can permanently snooze your morning alarm, retirement is something to look forward to.

Sadly too many of us are not taking retirement planning seriously enough and, as a nation, we’re woefully underprepared. If you’ve got big plans for what you’d like to do with your freedom in old age you’ll need to make sure you have a decent pension in place.

Here are five of the most common mistakes people tend to make when planning their retirement, and five ways you can overcome them.

Retirement planning mistakes

1. Putting off saving altogether

One of the biggest misconceptions about pension saving is that you can put it off until later. Yes, it’s true that it’s never too late to start saving, but the earlier you start the more money you’ll end up with. And, if you think about it, the later you start saving the more you’ll need to put away each month to make up for it.

Scottish Widows did some research that highlighted that the older a person is when they start saving, the more significant their contributions will need to be. To save enough to receive an annual pension of £23,000 a person would need to save £293 a month at 25 and £433 a month at 35. If they put it off until 45 they’d need to save £724 a month and £1,445 a month at 55.

2. Believing your State Pension will be enough

While it’s great that we have a State Pension system in the UK, it’s not quite enough to live off in retirement. The good news is the State Pension amount’s recently increased. Other than the fact that it’s not enough to live comfortably in retirement, the bad news is that you won’t be able to get this income until you reach 65. And, the age is only getting higher – it’ll be ^{_state_pension_age} by 2020 and ^{_pension_age_from_2028} by 2028.

3. Underestimating the costs of retirement

If you thought you could rely on the State Pension then it’s likely you haven’t given much thought to how much money you’ll need in retirement. Underestimating how much you’ll need is perhaps the worst mistake you can make as if you end up with a retirement shortfall, you may be forced to return to work or sell any assets, such as your home, to fund your retirement.

It’s critical that you think about how much money you’ll need to cover your basic living expenses, plus the luxuries you’ve come to enjoy such as holidays and perhaps a new car every few years. Only you will know what standard of living you’ll be comfortable with in retirement and how much of your current salary you’ll need to achieve it.

4. Relying on property alone

Only investing in property is like putting all of your eggs in one basket, and it’ll leave your savings very much at the whim of the property market. For several years the prices may go up and up, but you’ll need to consider what might happen to your retirement fund if the market crashes.

Should you be reliant in the equity in your own home, then it’s also important to bear in mind the realities of downsizing. Moving property isn’t cost-free, plus finding a new home isn’t always easy - especially if you live in a desirable area.

5. Losing track of workplace pensions

If you don’t know which providers your pensions are with, it’s likely you don’t have a clue how they’re performing. In the short-term this might not seem like a big deal because you vaguely remember where your money is, but in the long-term you run the risk of forgetting these pensions ever existed and could lose out on the money altogether.

It’s never a good idea to neglect your pension pots as they could be in poorly-performing funds that won’t maximise what you’ve built up. Plus, things like hidden pension charges could be having a negative effect on your pension causing your pot to decrease in size, rather than increase, once you’ve stopped paying into it.

5 retirement planning tips

Now you know what costly mistakes to avoid, here are five things you can do to rectify them when planning your pension.

1. Save whatever you can afford

You don’t have to be rich to save into a pension and if it comes directly from your wages, chances are you won’t notice the money’s missing. Even if you can only afford the 3% minimum required to be enrolled on your workplace pension scheme, make sure you don’t opt out of Auto Enrolment as you’ll be missing out on the 2% employer contributions.

Plus, if you’re retirement planning in the UK you’ll receive tax relief from the government so it’s well worth paying in whatever you can afford. Even when it doesn’t feel like much, it’ll make a big difference in the long run.

2. Make sure you qualify for the full State Pension

To qualify for your State Pension of £8,7^{_pension_age_from_2028} a year, you’ll need to have paid National Insurance contributions for at least 35 years. As you’ll already know, National Insurance payments automatically come out of your wages each month along with income tax, and only get paid when you’re working.

If you haven’t worked for 35 years or more throughout your career there are a couple of things you can do, such as claiming National Insurance credits for periods when you were caring for children or elderly relatives and topping up your contributions.

You can take a look at your National Insurance record online using the government’s check your State Pension service.

3. Use a pension calculator

Figuring out how much you’ll need in retirement income can be a challenge. Unless you’re due to retire in the next couple of years it can be hard to know where you’ll be or what you might want. What you need, though, is unlikely to change. Lots of research suggests you’ll need around 7^{_personal_allowance_rate} of your current income in retirement to cover basic living expenses and any extras you’ll want to enjoy.

Our pension calculator can help you figure everything out and will ask you your current age, the age you’d like to retire, how much you have in savings and how much you’d like to get each year.

4. Diversify your investments with a pension

Property can always be a good investment, but it’s important to protect your interests and reduce risk by investing in other things too. All good pension plans, like those offered by PensionBee, will invest your money in a portfolio that spreads your assets across a range of funds.

These may include shares, property, bonds and cash and, in the case of PensionBee pension plans, will be managed by some of the world’s biggest money managers. Whatever you choose to invest in, variety will give you a good chance of protecting your money and helping ensure you won’t be left short in retirement.

{{main-cta}}

5. Track down old workplace pensions

If you have some of the paperwork, tracking down your old workplace pensions can be relatively straightforward. But if you run into difficulty the government’s Pension Tracing Service can help. Or, if you’re a PensionBee customer our BeeKeepers will help you track down any old pensions and transfer them into your new plan. Often, the name of an old pension provider or policy number is enough to help you find and start the transfer into a PensionBee plan.

Can you think of any other common pension mistakes? Leave a comment below and let us know if we’ve missed anything.

Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

If you went to uni, it’s likely that you took out a student loan to help pay for your tuition and living expenses. As tuition fees have increased, so too have the popularity of student loans among millennials. The government lends over £13 billion every year - and that figure is only set to increase.

With news of rising interest rates for current students, many graduates are considering paying off their student debt early. Before you decide to repay your student loan there are a few things to consider. Here are five steps to help you make the right decision for your finances.

1. Check if there’s any benefit to paying off your loan early

Holy Moses. Apparently I've paid off my student loan. Only took 9 years!!! pic.twitter.com/fxddW3Woht

‍— nadine nakagawa (@NadineNakagawa) August 24, 2017

First of all, you need to make sure that it’s worth paying off your debt early. Student loans can be some of the cheapest loans out there which means they don’t always make the most pressing debts.

To decide whether it’s worth paying off your debt early, you’ll need to consider your personal circumstances. Think about the year you started uni and dig out your old loan statements. Student loans have different conditions and interest rates depending on whether they’re from before 1998 or before 2012.

Another thing to consider is your current earnings and your projected income. For anyone who attended uni after 2012, you’ll pay higher interest once you start earning over £41,000.

If you don’t see yourself earning over £41,000 in the near future, it’s often worth sticking to the minimum payments automatically taken out of your salary. This is because the interest will usually cancel out any extra payments you make.

2. Pay off other debt first

If you decide you do want to pay off your student loan early, it’s important to take care of any other debt first. Student loans are designed to last a long time but tend to be quite cheap in comparison to other loans. This means that if you have other debt, it’s probably having more of an impact on your finances than your student loan.

Payments for your student loan will automatically be deducted from your salary, so you don’t need to spend much time thinking about them until you’re ready to make additional repayments.

Paying off your other debt will require budgeting and planning, as only paying back the minimum amount tends to increase debt which can quickly become a problem. Tackle any existing debt by setting up automatic payments and paying more than just the minimum required.

3. Calculate your student loan repayments

Due to the interest on your student loan, you’ll need to pay above a certain threshold in order to make it worth paying more than the minimum each month. To work out what this amount might need to be, try using a student loan calculator.

Calculators can give you an idea of how much you could be paying off each year, based on your salary, income increase over time, and the interest rate on your loan. This can be a good way to stay on top of your student debt now and in the future.

{{main-cta}}

4. Budget for your student loan repayments

Paying off any debt affects your overall finances, so it’s important to properly budget for any early payments of your student loan. You’ll want to take a look at your budget and consider how any payments might influence other expenses and any savings.

Student loan calculators could come in handy throughout your career as they allow you to easily see what would happen if you adjust your contribution amount whenever you get a pay rise or a bonus.

5. Set up your student loan repayments

When you’re ready to start making payments, you can do this through Student Finance. In general, monthly payments work best as you can set up automatic payments, making it one less thing to think about.

Monthly payments also mean you’ll regularly see a nice chunk taken off your loan which could make a big difference over time.One-off payments are also possible and could be more useful if you have an irregular income or if you’ve just received a bonus.

Paying off your student loan early can give you huge satisfaction and peace of mind, especially if you haven’t got any other debt to worry about.

Have you paid off your student loan early? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below!

Today, PensionBee is taking our range of plans from three to four. Existing customers and new customers can now invest in our Future World Plan. So what exactly is it? And how does it work?

What is the PensionBee Future World Plan?

The Future World Plan invests your money into companies that pledge to move to an environmentally-friendly economy. It seeks to generate returns, manage risk and influence change, by using investor power to encourage companies to make the low-carbon transition.

Your money is invested across the globe in over 3000 companies, and any that fail to meet the minimum environmental standards will be excluded altogether from the fund. It’s serious about building a better future - for you and the environment - as it aims to strike the perfect balance of performance and sustainability.

You can dig into more details via the the plan’s factsheet.

{{main-cta}}

Why are we introducing it?

Everything we do at PensionBee is driven by our customers, and we saw demand for a more enviromentally and socially responsible plan coming from everywhere - Facebook, phone calls, Twitter - you name it.

On these grounds the Future World Plan provided the best fit, as it encourages both positive change and positive returns.

How do you become a Future World Plan customer?

If you’re already a customer, switching is simple - just contact your BeeKeeper. If you’re yet to join us and like what you see, just head to our plans page.

Keep an eye out for more plans in the coming months, and if you think there’s something that’s missing, just tell us! You can drop us a note in the comments below, or chat to us any way you like.

You exercise most days, you eat right, you de-stress and decompress every week. But are you on top of your finances? We all know how important it is to be healthy but maybe you didn’t know that taking care of your pension could also benefit your health. Here’s why.

No more money worries

Financial anxiet is something a lot of people experience, if they don’t feel on top of their money. Financial anxiety looks like your heart racing every time you check your bank balance, or it could mean poor sleep and regular panic attacks.

It’s pretty common to feel anxious about money but luckily, it’s easier than you think to feel in control again.

Financial anxiety comes with uncertainty about money

Take some time to work out your money goals and then create a plan to help you tackle your finances, one step at a time.

Remember, financial anxiety comes with uncertainty about money. Your pension helps you to better plan for your future. When you can easily access and manage your pension, you can see exactly how much you need to save for a comfortable retirement. Combine this with a realistic and achievable savings plan, and you’ve got one less money worry taking its toll on your health.

Saving is good for your wellbeing

According to one study, having a decent savings fund could make you feel happier. This study suggests that it’s not about how much you earn but how much you save.

Saving can offer you peace of mind and greater independence. When you save money, you’re taking care of yourself and your finances. If you’ve ever treated yourself, you know the feeling of fulfilment that comes with doing something good, just for you.

Saving into a pension can provide the same boost to your wellbeing and happiness. You can take pride and comfort in knowing that you’re taking care of your future self, giving yourself the chance to spend your retirement exactly how you want.

Reap those long-term health benefits

Retirement is a big life change and, as with all life changes, this can trigger common mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and stress. In fact, financial instability is one of the main reasons people experience mental illness in retirement.

The earlier you start saving into your pension, the more time and opportunity your pension pot has to grow. And a larger pension pot means you’re less likely to have to deal with the stress of financial instability once you retire.

{{main-cta}}

Plus, financial stability in retirement comes with other benefits which could have a positive effect on your health and wellbeing. Not having to worry about money means more time spent with family, on holiday, or just getting some downtime, all of which can reduce stress and make you happier.

Free up time for other things

It’s easy for the little things to get overwhelming, when they’ve been on our to-do list for a long time. Sorting your pension doesn’t have to take very long but until it gets done, it can still be a toll on our time and mental resources.

Instead of fretting about your pension, you could be in the gym, getting more work done, or relaxing with your loved ones - all of which have proven health benefits.

So get your retirement fund set up and start focusing on the stuff that brings you joy and good health.

The UK wastes 7.3 million tonnes of food every year. This costs the average family £700 each year. Plus, if you’re mostly buying branded goods, you might be spending an extra £1,219 a year. So how can you ease the pressure on the planet – and on your wallet? Here are seven ways to make sure you’re getting the most out of your supermarket shop.

1. Buy what you need

Shops frequently put on special offers, like 2-4-1 deals, that seem like great value but don’t make sense in the long run. Most of us tend to buy more than we need and we end up with a lot of food that’s gone bad or gets forgotten in the back of the fridge. We also find it difficult to recognise a good deal over a bad one.

Mindful consumption habits can save you money

Pay attention to your food consumption at home. What do you always need more of, and what do you always seem to be throwing away? Being mindful of your consumption habits will help you to determine which deals actually work for you and your lifestyle, and which ones you’re better off ignoring.

2. Try own-brand products

Own-brand products sometimes carry stigma. There’s an assumption that own-brand means low-quality, but own-brand products consistently perform well in blind tests against big brand names. Plus, own-brand prices are usually only a fraction of their branded counterparts.

In fact, some own-brand products are made in the same factories as their big brand equivalents, which means you can sometimes get the exact same product for a much lower price if you buy own-brand.

3. Look down

We’re more inclined to buy whatever is most convenient to access. Supermarkets exploit our psychology by placing all the priciest stuff at eye-level and within hand’s reach. Cheaper products are often placed on the bottom shelf where you need to crouch a little to access it, or where you might not see it at all.

In addition, avoid the endcaps of aisles. These locations are the easiest for customers to access so they display the priciest products and the worst deals. Next time you go shopping, remember this sneaky bit of psychology, and try looking down to find some bargains.

4. Buy what will last and save the rest

A lot of the UK’s food waste comes from consumers binning items that have exceeded their expiry date. Avoid wasting food (and your money) by ensuring you only buy perishables when you need them, or by preparing excess for later.

Batch-cook your own freezer meals to avoid waste

Freezing food means that you only use what you need, when you need. You can freeze many staple foods, like bread, vegetables, and even some dairy products like butter and milk. Even better, try batch-cooking. This is where you make a meal in advance and then freeze the cooked meal, ready to be re-heated when you want it. This is like creating your own freezer meals – but you know exactly what’s inside and you’re saving a ton of money.

5. Always bring a bag

Since 5 October 2015, supermarkets are required to charge 5p for all single-use plastic carrier bags, in order to reduce litter and help the environment. Most of us have a ‘Bag For Life’ (or more than one!) which are a lot sturdier and entirely reusable. However, it can be easy to forget to bring your bag with you on your shop, and a bag stuck at home isn’t much use on an impromptu nip into the supermarket.

Keep one bag on you or somewhere convenient to make sure you’re always prepared and don’t need to fork out 5p (or the cost of another Bag For Life) each time you hit the shops. Try keeping a reusable bag in the boot of your car, or in your work bag in case you make a trip to the store on your way home.

{{main-cta}}

6. Compare prices before heading to the shops

It can be a real hassle going to a bunch of different supermarkets whenever you’re on your weekly shop. Save yourself time and annoying mental arithmetic by visiting a price comparison website before heading out to the shops.

Popular price comparison sites include Give As You Live, which will also send a donation to a UK charity of your choice, at no extra cost to you. This can help you plan your shop better and find the best prices in your local area.

Save time and money by using price comparison sites

7. Choose a basket instead of a trolley

Unless you’re planning a truly substantial shop, always opt for grabbing a basket instead of a trolley at the shops. Trolleys are bigger so our brains tend to see them as less full even when we’re buying a lot of stuff.

You’re more likely to be mindful of what you’re purchasing if you use a basket, but the best way to avoid overspending is to always bring a shopping list with you – and then stick to it! Your list will tell you exactly what you need and reduce the likelihood of impulse or excessive buying.

Do you have any money-saving tricks you like to use at the supermarket? Let us know in the comments box down below.

Rewind to February 2015 and I was still slaving away behind a desk at a big corporate. My personal finance blog Mrs Mummypenny was my hobby. I kept it updated once or twice a week and had made a start on building up my social networks. I could not have imagined where I would be just two years later, running my blog successfully on a full-time basis and earning a living from it.

The gift of redundancy gave me the opportunity. It meant our family bills were covered for 18 months, in which time I could focus and build my business up to a sustainable point of earning. So, how did I do it?

1) Sponsorship from brands

This makes up the largest chunk of my earnings. I work with all sorts of finance and lifestyle brands, where I write a post about new products, services or marketing campaigns for a one-off fee. The posts that work well are ones where I explain how a product or service has solved a problem. This is how the relationship with PensionBee started. My pensions were in a mess and PensionBee helped me sort them out, read the post here. I‘ve worked with all sorts of brands from Compare the Market to Disney to Aldi. The more branded work you do, the more you are approached to do!

2) Affiliate/referral revenue

This is a similar type of writing to a sponsored post, but this time your earnings are based on how many customers you refer to the company. This is known as passive income as it can continue to earn you money whilst you sleep. It’s also continual income that will earn for (hopefully) a longer period of time.

3) Testing and reviewing new products

Companies who are developing products related to your niche may employ you to provide feedback on their new creations. This might be before the point of releasing to the public in test phase, or in early release to help with testing, feedback, or building up subscriber numbers. I’ve worked with several companies building new personal finance apps.

4) Advertising space on your website

A blogger can sell estate on their blog, in the shape of things like banner adverts. They can also use ad networks such as AdSense to include adverts within blog posts, in more permanent places on the website. In addition, the revenue stream from YouTube can be significant if you can generate high numbers of views.

5) Appear in an advert for a brand

We’re getting into model territory here! Josh - my middle son - starred in an Aldi school uniform advert last year, and I’ve also done a few wine tasting videos for their YouTube Channel. Elsewhere, I’m doing some filming for an education brand shortly to aid with their advertising strategy. Extend your blog into YouTube and show you’re a natural on camera to get these types of commissions.

6) Event attendance

A fee might be paid for attendance at an event, which you’ll then write about after. Many bloggers are sponsored by a brand to attend blogging conferences.

7) Write a book

Writing a book is something you can do when you become an expert in a niche area - it’s something that I and plenty of others have done. I co-wrote “Blogging Your Way To Riches” with fellow blogger Emma Bradley. We’ve written about everything you need to know to create and grow a successful blog. We cover things like negotiating, networking, pitching and SEO. If you’re thinking of setting up a blog or are keen to monetise it, then you should find it handy!

8) Public speaking events

Once you become an expert in your field you may be approached to speak at events. You can ask for a fee from these events.

{{main-cta}}

9) Writing content for brands to appear on their sites

Many brands have a blog and are keen for fresh and exciting content to be featured. Relationships can develop to the point of being invited to write content on the brand’s website - like with PensionBee and Mrs Mummypenny!

10) Social media

As your social media channels build to significant numbers it’s very possible to be paid for Facebook posts, Instagram pictures and tweets. This is something that requires big numbers though! An Instagram profile with 50k natural (not paid for!) followers is a valuable asset.

11) Blogger outreach

This is a service that many bloggers offer to brands who might want to outsource their blogger outreach. A blogger will organise for sponsored posts to be written by other bloggers and will broker the conversation, ensure quality of posts and pay all the bloggers a fee from the brand.

12) Newspapers/magazines/radio/TV

These media sources are always looking for amazing content, and a blogger can be well placed to produce it. Sometimes, you could even be the focus of a story. More often than not the blogger will pitch an idea to a publication. Elsewhere, a TV show might be looking for a blogger with certain experience to feature in a program.

Is blogging looking a bit more attractive now? If you can find the perfect niche, be an engaging writer and win at social media it could be for you. It’s changed my life, it could change yours too!

Lynn Beattie is a PensionBee customer and CEO/Founder of Mrs Mummypenny, a personal finance website. She is also an ACMA management Accountant, previously working in commercial finance for Tesco, EE & HSBC. Lynn is a single mum to three boys, living in Hertfordshire, and is the author of ‘The Money Guide to Transform Your Life‘ published in September 2020.

I’ve been writing up some of our most incredible customer case studies from the past year. It’s been really powerful to intertwine customer voices with our transfer data, the small details and quotes really tell the human story behind the numbers and bring the transfer nightmares alive.

Some of the stories still shocked me the second time round.

There’s the tale of Tom who battled for 347 days to move a £5k pot away from his old employer’s scheme. Tom had a few small old workplace pots he wanted to combine, to get a better understanding of this retirement income and in his words ‘not be a burden to anyone in old age’. But after nearly a year of mind numbingly frustrating hold music, he was convinced they didn’t want him to transfer his pension at all.

Then there’s the tale of Anna who battled for 142 days to move her pot of just under £10k. What should have been a routine transfer became an epic struggle between her and her old workplace scheme. The interesting thing for Anna was ‘that the various parts of this provider go to varying degrees of difficulty with this’ as she was asked to send in MORE random documentation.

Oh and of course there’s Samuel whose battle lasted a modest 104 days. Samuel was furious that the ‘assumption or suspicion seems to be that everyone who switches pension provider is engaged in some sort of nefarious conduct. It’s like some kind of cartel among the big providers as they deliberately make it as difficult as they possibly can‘.

Far too often we see completely routine transfers of old defined contribution workplace pension pots taking between 100 to 200 days. What’s really frustrating is that all of our case studies of huge delays usually involve the same four providers. These paper providers think it’s acceptable to make a customer wait six months to leave, and some think it’s ok to make customers wait up to a year!

It’s also not fair that those four providers give the whole industry a bad name. We think it’s time to call them out.

So whilst it will take you under 12 days and no hassle to switch out of electronic providers, the typical journey we see for a customer trying to leave a paper provider like Willis Towers Watson, Aon Hewitt, Mercer or Capita is very different. If you have ever worked for a bank before then you will have likely been placed (ahem, trapped) in one of these paper schemes.

Around 65% of people don’t know their provider name or policy number. Most people have also moved house a few times. So if you are going to try and transfer your pension without the help of a PensionBee BeeKeeper, don’t know your policy number and are also with a paper provider, then this going to be a your typical 54-step escape route.

You decide to leave your provider. What happens next:

‍

1. Rummage around in drawers for old pension paperwork
2. Realise it stopped following you when you moved house six years ago
3. Call your old employer to try and find name of pension provider
4. Get name of pension provider
5. Call old provider to locate pension pot
6. Try one of 5 telephone numbers they have on their website
7. Sit on hold for 20 minutes
8. They tell you go and find old paperwork with a policy number on
9. Rummage unsuccessfully again to find old paperwork
10. Call back, sit on hold again for 20 minutes
11. Tell them you have no paperwork, no policy number and you moved house
12. Get sent to 10 different departments with 10 different legacy IT systems
13. Waste 2 hours of your day on the phone
14. No one will give you policy number until you send new proof of address
15. Send new proof of address in post
16. Call back pension provider a week later
17. They have not processed change of address
18. Call pension provide another week later
19. They have new proof of address and give you your policy number
20. Ask to leave to a new provider
21. They will send you paper transfer forms
22. Paper transfer forms take 3 weeks to arrive
23. 20 page transfer form arrives with lots of terms you do not understand
24. You sigh loudly
25. Show form to your colleagues/family/friends to see if they understand it
26. No one does
27. Put form on shelf to deal with later
28. Come back to form a week later
29. Google all of the complicated jargon and spend hours filling out form
30. Find witnesses to sign form
31. Send off form by post
32. Wait 1 month
33. Get letter from provider requesting an original copy of your birth certificate
34. Call provider to tell them you do not want to send this
35. Sit on hold for 20 minutes
36. Find out they will not process your transfer without it
37. Look for birth certificate for 1 hour
38. Take a morning off work
39. Travel to post office
40. Queue at post office
41. Pay for recorded delivery for the original birth certificate to be sent to provider
42. Wait 1 month
43. Get a letter in post from provider that they will process your transfer now
44. Wait another 2 weeks
45. Call your new provider and ask if they received the money yet
46. They tell you no
47. Call old provider and ask what is going on and where is your money
48. Provider says they have written to HMRC by post about your new scheme
49. Call back old provider three weeks later
50. Still no news
51. Lose will to live
52. Call new provider
53. Still no news
54. Finally a letter arrives in post from your new provider
55. ‍

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE FINALLY MOVED YOUR PENSION!

This is a guest post from personal finance blogger Emma Drew, winner of Best Money Making Blog 2016.

I graduated into the recession back in 2008 and couldn’t find a job, so I got creative and started earning money online. A year later I found a part-time job, and still relied on making money online to achieve a full-time income. By November 2015 I was earning more money online - in the evenings and at weekends - than from my full-time job, so I was able to leave the 9-5 and work on my money making themed blog full-time. Now I even employ my husband, and life is good!

I want to tell others about genuine ways to earn money from home, and nothing that involves having to sell products to your friends! With stay-at-home mums often sacrificing their income in order to raise children, it is nice to be able to earn some extra money, and there are plenty of ways for mums to earn money from the comfort of their own home, at a schedule that suits them and their family commitments. Here are 10 ways for stay-at-home mums to make some extra money.

Free daily draws

Did you know that your postcode can earn you money, for free? Alongside the FREE Postcode Lottery, there are tons of daily free lottery websites around. You simply register and check the website every day to see if you have won. The websites make their money from advertising, which means they can afford to pay out the winnings.

Start a blog

Blogging is not only a great hobby, but it can also help you to generate an income as well as some other fantastic benefits. You will need a topic that you are passionate about and a platform - you can even start for free!

Bloggers earn their money in a variety of ways, from advertising, sponsored posts (this is where a brand asks a blogger to write about their branded products), affiliates (where someone buys something after a blogger has written about them) and many other ways. Bloggers can also get some fantastic freebies sent to them to try out. It isn’t as easy as just starting a blog, but if you put in the hard work, the earning potential is limitless.

Mystery shopping

Ok, so it’s not something you can technically do whilst you’re at home but it’s something you can do when you’re out and about! Mystery shopping is where you are paid to check the service provided by a company - usually a shop or a restaurant. Not only is it a great way to earn extra income, you will also get your purchase or your meal paid for. If you are looking for companies to register with, check out my post on everything you need to know about mystery shopping in the UK.

Complete online surveys

Completing online surveys isn’t going to make you rich, but it will boost your bank balance and help you pay for the occasional treat. They can take anything from a minute to over an hour, and the payment is in line with the length of the survey. There are plenty of survey websites - my absolute favourite is Prolific, where you complete surveys for academics and you can get paid as soon as you’ve earned £5.

Focus groups

Taking part in focus groups is a great way to make extra money. Focus groups allow companies to get an idea about how their potential customers will react to their new product or service and make any changes before it is released. In order to get your valuable feedback, they will pay for your time. You can also complete focus groups online, so you can earn money from the comfort of your own home.

Make money reselling on eBay

Reselling on eBay is becoming more and more popular, and it is a step up from just selling your unwanted (or your child’s outgrown) items. Reselling is where you buy something specifically to resell on eBay. Car boot sales, charity shops and auctions are great places to source your items to resell.

Earn money with your Smartphone

Did you know that you can earn money from your smartphone? There are plenty of apps around that let you earn money from your phone. Whether it is completing surveys on the go, entering free draws or doing location based tasks, you can make your smart phone pay for itself.

{{main-cta}}

Test Websites

Testing websites is an easy way to make money that we can all do. WhatUsersDo will pay you £5 for every website you test. You will need to log in and record your voice answering some questions and speaking your thoughts aloud. Each test lasts around 20 minutes, and you get paid monthly.

Virtual Assistance

Another great way to make money from home is to offer your services as a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant helps a business or an individual with anything and everything, from booking travel to social media management, but without being with them like a traditional assistant. You can work from home and around your own schedule.

Earn money from your receipts

Receipt Hog is an app that pays you for snapping photos of your receipts. After shopping, upload your receipt and you will earn coins. These coins can be exchanged for PayPal cash or Amazon vouchers.

I hope these tips help you to find a work from home opportunity that suits your lifestyle and your needs. You can find more ideas and suggestions at my blog, EmmaDrew.Info, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube.

We were honoured to be invited onto BBC Radio 4 Money Box with Paul Lewis last week - and sadly very well qualified to comment on the appalling transfer experience of one of his listeners! You can hear the show here.

Trembling with suppressed rage, one of Paul’s listeners, Dr Richard Birch, called in with his own 15-month transfer horror story.

Richard told us how he has spent the last 15 months wasting his time and money sitting on the phone, corresponding, trying to get hold of anybody and even once had to take a half day off work - just to try and and move a defined contribution pension pot to his new provider. This is a routine transfer that should happen in days. Oh, and just to add, Richard still hasn’t managed to move his money yet.

Stuck in the ‘paper quagmire’

The first point to make is that this is not a one-off. Here at PensionBee we have conducted thousands of transfers and have the data to show that this type of transfer horror story happens far too often. We’ve also worked out it’s costing UK consumers just like Richard a total of £1.03 billion!

Just to be clear, the only reason this has happened is because Richard’s new provider won’t use electronic transfers and still insists on sending paper forms full of complicated jargon. Err? Sending important financial information by post. That sounds really safe.

WHY?

Because they can.

And they can because right now there is a 6 month statutory transfer period for providers.

Delay dismay

The other guest on the show, Michelle Cracknell of The Pensions Advisory Service, told us that 44% of complaints they receive relating to defined contribution pensions are about delays. Delays as a result of providers not being part of the industry initiative for electronic transfers.

When you have two providers using electronic transfers the whole process is quick, safe, relatively simple and paperless. It takes just 12 calendar days and 7^{_personal_allowance_rate} of providers are already able to transfer electronically.

When you are transferring to or from a provider that does not use electronic transfers the process is slow, risky, incredibly complicated and full of trips to the post office. And it can take up to 191 days.

Now, switching might just seem like a whole lot of hassle, but there are also some really huge costs associated with it. Each and every consumer that battles to leave one of these paper schemes ends up paying an average of £83.40 in time, monetary and opportunity costs - just to leave! Richard was right: why should it cost him days off work, hours of calls and pages of letters to just switch provider? Why can’t they do this for him? He’s already paying fees, he shouldn’t have to act as intermediary as well!

{{main-cta}}

Your 54-step guide to pension heaven

PensionBee have calculated that it’s costing UK savers like Richard a total of £1.03 billion to actually escape from these dusty paper schemes.

You might have seen our (no joke) 54-step guide to transferring out of one of these paper schemes.

We calculate that there are 8 types of delay relating to paper transfers that each take around one hour to resolve. These are:

• Calling your old provider, sitting on hold, trying to understand how to leave
• Requesting paper transfer forms, waiting weeks for them to arrive
• Completing 20+ pages of forms with questions you do not understand (lots of Googling)
• Finding and arranging witnesses to sign forms
• Locating original birth certificates/passports/utility bills
• Taking time off work to go to post office when it’s open
• Travelling to the post office, queuing at the post office, paying for recorded delivery
• Dealing with subsequent actions relating to everything above - i.e. you signed in the wrong place, forms expired, and more

With a uniform value of £7.05 as the monetary cost of UK leisure time, paper transfers will therefore cost each individual customer £74.85.

Assuming that 3^{_personal_allowance_rate} of the 33.4 million UK defined contribution transfers that will take place at some point are by paper, the total cost to UK consumers will be £749 million.

In the current transfer landscape, it takes on average ^{_state_pension_age} calendar days from your initial decision to transfer until the funds appear with your new provider. This average includes manual and electronic transfers, which take 191 and 12 days on average respectively.

So when you also calculate the cost of being trapped in a scheme with higher fees of 0.3% more for an additional 54 days, that also costs the consumer another £8.55 in fees. A total of £285 million across all consumers.

1,034,709,651 reasons to press for change

Yes, UK pension savers are paying an extra £1,034,709,651 to switch pension, and that’s on top of all the other fees that they already pay to providers.

And it doesn’t need to be like this - electronic transfer technology exists to transfer safely and quickly, with no hassle and no paper forms, in a matter of days.

We wouldn’t tolerate this level of service from our bank, mortgage provider or gym. It’s only pension providers that seem to think their behaviour and practices are above the scrutiny of their customers.

It’s also essential that people can shop around for better deals and levels of service - that’s the hallmark of a healthy functioning marketplace. If you cannot do that and you’re trapped in a scheme that’s too expensive or too difficult to leave, then providers have no incentive to improve their offer and the marketplace fails. This is the experience that Richard is having, along with plenty of other Money Box listeners who tweeted the show afterwards.

We all urgently need to start putting pressure on these paper providers (ahem, pension dinosaurs) to tell them we will not tolerate it any longer. It’s our money to move where we want - without spending hundreds of pounds to do so. The paper transfer quagmire has to stop!

If you are trapped in a paper quagmire right now, here’s a list of things you can do straightaway to put pressure on your provider to join the 21st century:

• Use www.ceoemail.com to write a complaint email to the CEO of the paper pension provider demanding to know why, in the 21st century, they won’t use safe, electronic transfers to move your money. Publish their answers on Twitter!
• Tweet the provider’s corporate Twitter account asking why they refuse to use safe, electronic transfers to move your money #nomorepapertransfers
• Tell your former employer who put you in the scheme that you are now trapped in a paper transfer quagmire and it’s a nightmare to leave
• Expose the problem! Tell your former and current colleagues that they are also trapped in a scheme it will cost them months of precious time and money to try and leave - get them to write letters and tweet!

Here at PensionBee we are proud to champion safe, fast, electronic transfers for all pension savers. We will be supporting the new Pension Switch Guarantee industry initiative and are excited to see greater competition in the pensions industry.

For too long the pensions industry has treated its customers as a byproduct, rather than the centre and core of its business.

Now it’s finally time for customers wrestle back control of their money!

If you’re self-employed, you generally have to give more thought to financial management than employed people. For starters, you have to calculate your business profits and file an annual tax return, whereas most employees have tax deducted before their pay reaches their bank account. And when it comes to financial products like mortgages and pensions, being self-employed can make things a little more complex too. Follow our self-employed finance guide to get your money-related ducks in a row.

Business bank account

Sole traders can choose to use their personal bank account for business purposes, but most limited companies are required to have separate business bank accounts.

The small print is likely to say that the account is for personal use only

Whichever structure you have in place, it’s usually a good idea to open a business bank account. This helps you keep your business finances and your personal finances separate, and should make it easier to complete your tax return and to provide evidence of your business transactions to HMRC if necessary.

Plus, the small print of your personal bank account is likely to say that the account is for personal use only. Your bank may threaten to close your account and tell you to open a business account if they realise you’re using your personal account for business purposes.

Opening a business bank account

Unlike most personal bank accounts, you’ll have to pay a fee for your business bank account, usually of around £5 to £10 per month. However, most accounts offer an initial fee-free period of one or two years. Bear in mind that any transaction that’s considered ‘non-standard’ will incur an extra charge, even within the fee-free period.

Business records

If you’ve set up a limited company, there are quite a lot of rules governing the company records and the accounting records you need to keep. Many people hire an accountant to help them comply with these rules. You’ll need to record company spending, assets, debts and stock, for example.

If you’re set up as a sole trader, you need to keep records of your business income and expenditure, so that you can give the numbers to HMRC when you complete your tax return.

Keeping business records

Get into the habit of keeping records of all your transactions, including your receipts, bank statements and invoices. If HMRC query the figures in your tax return, you need to be able to provide evidence to support your numbers.

It may be a good idea to create a spreadsheet that you update regularly with your income and outgoings, and there are also lots of apps for self-employed workers that can help you save and organise your receipts and other paperwork. Check out online accountancy platforms like FreeAgent, as they can simplify your bookkeeping greatly for a reasonable monthly fee.

Insurance

Business insurance isn’t a legal requirement for most self-employed workers, although if you take on any staff then you’re usually required to have employers’ liability insurance. However, you may find that your client contracts and/or your professional bodies require you to have certain type of business insurance in place.

Getting business insurance

The two main types of business insurance are public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance. Public liability insurance can pay compensation claims if someone sues you for injury or damage - if someone trips over in your shop, or if your equipment falls and damages something, for example. Professional indemnity insurance can pay compensation claims if your client sues you for negligence or making a mistake, including accidentally breaching confidentiality or violating copyright.

Even if your client contracts and professional bodies don’t require you to have insurance, it may be a good idea anyway, as compensation claims can be very high.

Business insurance like professional indemnity and public liability insurance counts as an ‘allowable expense’, so the cost can be deducted when you’re working out your taxable income. Online insurance brokers like Simply Business can help you find a range of covers, from a range of insurers, but it can be worth exploring more specialist alternatives like Digital Risks if your needs are very specific.

Pensions

When you’re an employee, your employer will usually enrol you into a workplace pension scheme, but when you’re self-employed it’s up to you to make pension arrangements.

It’s an aspect of self-employment finance that’s easy to overlook - only around 18% of self-employed people are contributing to a pension, compared to almost half of employees - but it’s really important to make sure you put away enough money for your retirement.

Setting up a pension

As a self-employed worker, you can open a personal pension. If you have previous pensions, you can choose to combine them into a PensionBee pension, a personal pension that you can manage online.

Although you won’t get employer contributions if you’re self-employed, you will still benefit from generous tax relief, so the government adds £20 for every £80 you put in your pension if you’re a basic rate taxpayer. If you’re paying tax at a higher rate, you can claim back further tax relief through your tax return.

Your pension saving will benefit from generous tax relief

If you run a limited company, you may be able to make employer contributions into your pension instead, which also comes with tax benefits.

There’s lots more information about this topic on our page about private pensions for the self-employed and we also have a dedicated self employed pension which you can sign up to.

{{main-cta}}

Mortgage

It’s certainly not impossible to get a mortgage when you’re self-employed, but it can be more difficult than it is for employed people. You’ll usually need to provide proof of your income for the last two or three years (your tax return submissions, for example) and the lender is likely to use these to calculate your average income and decide how much they’ll lend you.

Remember that you’ll also need to pass an affordability check, so your everyday outgoings will also be scrutinised to check that you can afford the mortgage repayments.

Getting a mortgage

Since it can be trickier to find a mortgage lender when you’re self-employed, you may need to go to a broker. There are also online brokers that may be able to help you find a mortgage deal. When you’re comparing mortgages, look at the arrangement fees, interest rates and mortgage terms, and seek advice if you’re unsure. Startup broker Trussle have been picking up excellent reviews from their customers, so they’re an option that’s well worth exploring if you’re feeling a little stuck.

Tax

When you’re self-employed, you’re responsible for filing a Self Assessment tax return and paying any tax owed to HMRC. When you complete your tax return you’ll need to declare your business turnover and your ‘allowable expenses’, which are the costs that you can deduct from your turnover to calculate your taxable profit. You may want to get help from an accountant.

Completing your tax return

Avoid nasty surprises from HMRC by making sure you understand how much you’re likely to owe and putting money aside throughout the year. Remember to include National Insurance contributions and any student loan repayments in your calculation, and understand that the ‘payment on account’ system means that following your first year of business, you may have to pay 15^{_personal_allowance_rate} of the amount you were expecting.

The deadline for online tax returns is 31 January. Check out our 10 top tips for filing your tax return.

How do you keep on top of your finances? Tell us in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

With hundreds of different savings products out there, we know that trying to make sense of saving can be overwhelming. It’s important to do your research into what products offer the best solutions for your needs - but first, you need to start with a solid foundation of knowledge.

We’ve put together this guide to help you understand the different types of savings funds: what’s available, what type of fund suits what type of purpose, and how each type works. Leave any questions in the comments - and get saving!

Emergency funds

At PensionBee, we think setting up an emergency fund is a vital part of anyone’s financial health. We all encounter emergencies, last-minute problems, or unexpected obstacles to overcome. Emergency funds ensure that we have the means to deal with these things before they get out of hand.

The main feature of a savings fund for emergencies is that it needs to be easily accessible. We can’t foresee sudden problems so an emergency fund needs to be available when you need it.

Look for savings funds that allow instant or easy access to your money. Choosing a savings account for your emergency fund, instead of using a current account, will likely get you a better interest rate. Importantly, using a savings account also helps you to keep your emergency money in your emergency account - so you know you’ll spend the money on real emergencies and not on that takeaway when you can’t be bothered to cook dinner!

Regular savings

Regular savings accounts require you to make monthly minimum payments. They tend to offer better interest rates than standard savings accounts or current accounts. They could be helpful in building up a savings fund, if you’re sure you can meet the minimum requirements.

Regular savings accounts have a bunch of rules associated with them that determine when you can take money out, what happens if you miss a payment, and if you’re eligible to set one up, so be sure to research your options.

Regular savings accounts require monthly payments

Many regular accounts will convert into standard savings accounts after twelve months.

In general, regular savings accounts are good for short-term saving where you’re not looking to access your money for a year or so. This makes them useful for holiday funds or similar goals where you want to build up a pot relatively quickly.

Retirement funds

Saving for retirement is important but how do you get started? Savings funds for retirement should be equipped to deal with long-term saving. You want to make sure that you can’t accidentally eat away at your retirement fund, which means keeping that money safe in a separate fund to your current account, until you’re ready to use it.

Pensions remain a good option for retirement savings. Pensions are long-term investments that can be tailored to your retirement needs. Best of all, pensions come with ^{_corporation_tax} tax top ups from HMRC on your contributions. In addition, if you have a workplace pension, your contributions are normally matched by your employer which could help you save even more.

If you’ve had a previous workplace pension or two, you might also be able to consolidate them into a single plan that’s easier to manage. Pensions can seem confusing but here at PensionBee, we know they’re really quite simple once you understand them! So be sure to do your research and pick an option that works best for you.

{{main-cta}}

Lifetime ISA

The Lifetime ISA is a new savings product designed to help people achieve one of two common life goals: buying a house and retiring.

The Lifetime ISA, also called LISA, is a tax-free savings product designed for these goals only.

The LISA can be used to buy your first home or for retirement

In fact, if you use the money in your LISA on anything other than your first home or your retirement, you’ll be charged.

LISAs offer a tax bonus on your contributions but does come with an annual limit, like all ISAs. Restrictions apply on when and how you can use your savings on your first home or your retirement. To find out more about LISAs and see how they stack up to pensions, check out our guide.

ISA

There are other types of ISA, which stands for Individual Savings Account. ISAs are tax-free and come with annual limits on how much you can deposit into your ISA per year. Due to the tax benefits, ISAs are popular options for a variety of savings needs.

Cash ISAs are a cash savings fund. There are lots of accounts available for Cash ISAs with some offering fixed-rate interest (in return for limited withdrawals) and others offering instant access. Be sure to shop around to find one that suits your needs.

Stocks and Shares ISAs are investment funds that come with the same tax benefits as other ISAs. If you’re a parent, you might be interested in a Junior ISA for your child. You can pay into a Junior ISA, up to £4,128 each year, as long as your child is under 18 years old.

There are lots of different ISAs for different purposes

For people looking to buy a home, the Help to Buy ISA might be a good choice, as the government will top up your contributions (up to a limit) and if you’re buying with a partner, they can also get a Help to Buy ISA.

You could also use a LISA to buy your first home - the main differences between these two products are that Help to Buy has a smaller annual allowance and greater restrictions on the types of house you can use it to buy. Check the restrictions on each type of ISA if you want to use one to buy your first home.

There are a lot of different ISA options out there to suit a variety of needs. Have a think about your savings goals and compare products to see what works best for you.

Have you got a better idea of the types of savings funds that would suit you? Let us know if we missed anything in the comments below.

Risk warning As always with pensions, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.