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Pensions

The UK Government can help you plan your retirement income.

State Pension

Your State Pension is based on your own National Insurance record, so the amount everyone gets can be different.  The full rate of the new State Pension is currently £203.85 a week, which is £10,600 a year – but yours may be either more or less than this.  You can claim your State Pension once you reach your State Pension age.

The best way to find out how much you could get is to use the Check your State Pension service to get a personalised forecast.

Find out your State Pension age under current legislation - external link
Check your State Pension - external link

Think about how much income you’d like when you retire, and the best ways to build up your pension.  Workplace Pensions can be a great way of increasing your income, as when you pay in, your boss does too. In most cases so does the government, so your pension (in most circumstances) should keep growing.

You can get a quick retirement checklist by answering five simple questions.  It only takes two minutes and could improve your forward planning, helping to ensure that the retirement you get is the retirement you want.

Get your retirement checklist - external link
Find out how to have more for your retirement - external link

Workplace Pension

Workers across the UK are being automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by their employer.  Saving into a workplace pension is easy – you don’t have to do anything.  Once you’re enrolled by your employer, both you and your boss will pay into the scheme, and you may also get tax relief from the UK Government.  Over one million people in Scotland are now benefiting from a workplace pension.

Pensions can take many forms and you may have previously been invited to join a defined contribution or personal pension by your employer.  Find out more about the different types of pension.  Your employer will need to enrol you into a workplace pension scheme if you:

  • are not already in one, or they’ve not enrolled you into one
  • are aged between 22 and State Pension age
  • earn more than £10,000 a year
  • usually work in the UK

You can opt out if you want to, but that means losing out on employer and government contributions – and if you stay in, you’ll have your own pension that you receive when you retire.

Further information is available for employees, employers and those employing someone for the first time.

Find out more about workplace pensions - external link

The video below provides more information on automatic enrolment in workplace pensions:

Pension Wise – guidance on your pensions options

Pension Wise is a UK Government service that offers free and impartial guidance about options for your defined contribution pensions.

The service can help if you:

  • are aged 50 or over
  • have a personal or workplace pension
  • want to make sense of your options

Find out more about your pension type, options and book your appointment online or by phone:

Find out more from Pension Wise - external link