The exact amount of your income in retirement will be based on a combination of different sources. They may include the basic state pension, the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), one or more company pension schemes, personal pensions and top-up schemes.
Details of these schemes are available elsewhere in this Pensions & Retirement section. Moreover, your income in retirement is not tied exclusively to pensions. It may also come from additional investments you have built up over the years.
The starting point for planning your pension comes with knowing how much you are entitled to now. Here are some simple steps to find out.
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- To find out what level of state pension you are likely to receive, fill in and send off form BR 19, (available from DSS offices, or below). That will give some idea of the minimum you will receive at 60/65 and points in between.
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Click here to download BR19 State Pensions Forecast Form
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- Do the same for your various company schemes. If you don’t have records, you can write to Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) with details of the employers you have worked for. You will be told who to contact at each scheme.
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Click here to contact OPRA’s pensions tracing service
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Tip
Don’t forget to factor in any other income you might have at your disposal. For example, ISAs, bequests or even the proceeds of your home, if you move to a smaller property. |
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- You may have started and stopped one or more personal pension or private top-up schemes with a number of UK insurers. Their names might be different now, as a result of mergers and takeovers within the industry. The best way to find out the new name of your company is to contact the Association of British Insurers. You will be given the name and address of your private pension provider.
Get in touch with the Association of British Insurers (ABI)
If you want a rough indication of how much your income is likely to be at retirement, use our Pension fund calculator to find out.
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Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
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