Retirement Planning

Auto-enrolment default funds are capped at 0.75% per year on member-borne costs, but other charges vary widely.

This article explains practical pension planning approaches for company directors in 2025/26, covering Annual Allowance management, carry forward, salary sacrifice with employer NI at 15 percent, integration with dividends and salary, and the regulators and guidance bodies that govern UK pensions.

A career average pension UK members earn revalues each year's accrual rather than using final salary.

For many public sector members, the appeal of an AVC is the ability to enhance the tax-free cash lump sum at retirement without commuting valuable DB pension. The LGPS Shared Cost AVC, in particular, can also save National Insurance through salary sacrifice.

AVCs are run within a workplace scheme and are usually cheaper, with limited investment menus and the possibility of generous lump-sum rules in defined benefit schemes such as the LGPS. SIPPs are personal pensions with broad investment freedom but typically higher charges and no …

Whether a stakeholder pension is still worth using depends on the saver's situation: self-employed, topping up provision, saving for a child, or seeking a simple capped-charge alternative outside the workplace.

Annuities shift longevity andInvestmentrisk to an insurer and provide certainty; drawdown keeps the pot invested and offers flexibility and potential growth but with market and longevity risk.