If you want peace of mind that your future retirement plans are on track, getting a pension review from a qualified financial adviser is an extremely useful conversation to have. Here, we’ll cover what a pension review involves, why you might need one, and how an independent financial planner can help you make the most of your pensions.
What is a pension review?
It’s a comprehensive check of your current retirement savings and in-depth projections for the future. It looks at how your pensions are performing, whether they’re on track to meet your retirement goals, and if they could be better managed or consolidated.
Whether you’ve got a workplace pension, a personal private pension, or multiple pension pots from previous jobs, a financial adviser can carry out a detailed review based on your individual goals and suggest ways to improve your retirement plans.
Why do you need one?
A pension review isn’t just for people nearing retirement. Ideally, it’s something worth doing much earlier because it gives you time to adjust course if necessary. Whether you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s, or older, a retirement review can help you:
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Understand where your pensions are invested and how they’re performing.
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Get projections to find out if you’re saving enough.
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Personalised insights to develop a plan to ensure you reach your goals.
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Check if you’re paying unnecessary fees that are slowing your growth.
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Make sure your money works as hard as possible for your future.
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How to consolidate multiple pensions into one manageable plan.
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Adjust your investment risk to suit specific periods in your life.
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Ensure your pension fits your retirement timeline and income expectations.
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Provide you with a better understanding of your retirement finances.
Types of pension review
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to pension reviews. The type of review you need will depend on your situation:
Basic review
A quick check of your pension plans and pots to confirm what you have, where everything is located, and whether they’re performing as expected. This is often part of a free initial consultation or can be carried out for a low, flat fee.
Full independent financial review
A deep dive by a regulated financial planner who can assess your current pots and investments, analyse your schemes and fees, and evaluate how it fits your tax position and retirement goals. They’ll give you detailed advice and actionable improvements to provide you with a more thorough plan.
Specialist pension review
You might need a specialist review if you have a defined benefit (final salary) pension, an overseas scheme, or a complex tax position. These might require specific expertise for a financial adviser specialising in the areas relevant to your situation. Although this can be more costly, the benefits are usually much greater.
How a pension review works
The exact process varies depending on your situation and the adviser you speak to, but here’s what usually happens when you book a pension review with a financial planner:
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Initial consultation: A free, no-obligation chat for them to understand your situation and goals. It’s worth being prepared with a basic idea of your current circumstances and what you’d like guidance with.
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Information gathering: Your adviser will ask for details about all your pension schemes (if you know) and take a look at the rest of your finances and overall tax position.
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Analysis and evaluation: They’ll assess how well your pensions are performing, whether you're on track to meet your goals, and find the areas where changes can lead to a more rewarding and simplified retirement.
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Recommendations: Your adviser will give you a personalised report showing what (if anything) needs changing and how to do it. This might include switching providers, consolidating pensions, or changing your investment strategy.
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Taking action: If you’re happy with the new strategy, you can follow the recommendations or have the adviser manage the process for you if you’d rather not have the responsibility.
Get a independent retirement advice and a free pension review today
Types of pensions we can review for you
We work with advisers who specialise in a variety of areas when it comes to pensions, so we can help arrange a review of almost any kind of pension, including:
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Workplace pensions (auto-enrolment schemes): Arranged by your employer, often with contributions from both of you. You may not have much control over this, but you could have several pots spread around. Common examples of pensions for review include Nest, Smart Pension, Penfold, and People’s Pension.
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Defined benefit (DB) personal pensions: This type of pension is rarer, but they’re still around and provide guaranteed benefits based on your salary and career. While usually very valuable, these pensions are often hard to understand, so a review can be crucial for retirement planning.
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Defined contribution (DC) personal pensions: Most modern pensions are DC, which means the benefits you get at retirement are directly linked to how much you’ve contributed and the performance. You now have more control than ever to review these pensions, some examples include providers like Royal London, Legal & General, and Aviva.
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Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs): A hands-on pension giving you control over your investments and access to a wider choice of assets (including commercial property). It’s a common choice if you’re self-employed. Popular SIPP pensions to review include Vanguard, Moneybox, Nutmeg, and AJ Bell.
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Stakeholder pensions: These usually come with capped charges, low minimum payments, fee-free transfers and a basic choice of investments, offering a flexible pension for people with smaller contributions.
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Old pensions from previous employers: Pensions you've left behind when changing jobs. They may have high fees or poor performance, so it could be worth consolidating and moving them all under one roof.
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Overseas pensions (like QROPS): Pensions held abroad that may need specialist advice to review, transfer, or integrate into your UK retirement plan. The tax situation can be complex when reviewing international pensions.
If you’re unsure what type of pension you have, that’s completely fine – an adviser can help you figure this out during the review.
How much should a pension review cost?
Our independent financial advisers can conduct an initial pension review for free, providing a basic overview in your initial consultation. Depending on how simple or complex your situation is, they’ll make recommendations based on your needs that will dictate any future costs.
For a straightforward situation, your adviser may charge a one-off flat fee. Or it might be more appropriate to keep in contact, sitting down regularly for periodic pension reviews. This usually involves a small yearly percentage fee based on the size and complexity of your pensions, often in the region of 0.5% to 2%.
Benefits of a pension review
Here are some of the key reasons why it can benefit you financially (and in other ways) to get a periodic pension review to keep your retirement planning on track:
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Better investment performance: Align your funds to your risk level and retirement goals for potentially better returns.
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Lower fees: Reducing your fees can give your overall pension pot a massive boost in the long run.
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Easier to manage: You might be able to combine your pension pots into one simple plan.
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Increased tax efficiency: You can maximise the tax-free benefits of your pension and get tailored tax advice.
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Clarity and peace of mind: Managing your own pensions can be stressful; letting an expert help can reduce any retirement worries or financial stress.
Why choose Money Helpdesk for your pension review?
Finding the right financial advice for your pension can feel overwhelming, no matter what stage of life you're at. Your retirement goals, pension pots, and family circumstances are all unique. Getting tailored guidance can make a big difference.
At Money Helpdesk, our expert advisers can help you get some clarity and confidence with your pension. Whether you want to track down old pots, improve your investment performance, or ensure you’re on track for retirement, they can help.
Here are some more of the reasons why people trust us to help them arrange a pension review:
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Our advisers are independent, giving you the widest pension options
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Free initial consultation, with no obligation to go further
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Fully qualified, FCA-regulated financial planners
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Access to pension specialists with experience in complex cases
Ready for a free, no-obligation initial pension review? You can get started here.
FAQs
It depends on the depth of the review. Basic reviews are often free, while full financial planning may cost a fixed fee or a small percentage of the pension value (typically around 0.5% to 2%). Fees will be discussed on a case-by-case basis, but everything will be made clear from the outset.