News.

New research from WEALTH at work has uncovered the varying impact the pandemic has had on retirement plans.

WEALTH at work has conducted a survey with PMI to investigate the concerns Trustees have for their members in the run up to their retirement and what support provisions they have in place.

Pension scheme members now have to grapple with a multitude of risks which have become increasingly complex and uncertain.

Someone aged 45, with a pension fund of £400,000 and a salary of £50,000, could have a pension fund of £1,381,000 by the time they retire at 65.

Many people are already paying 5% of their salary into their workplace pension through auto-enrolment, with their employer contributing an additional 3%. However, they may not be aware that many employers are willing to match additional contributions up to certain limits, so they don’t take advantage of it.

Latest reports from The Office for National Statistics have indicated that in February 2021, the number of payroll employees had fallen by 693,000 over a 12 month period.

Latest figures from HMRC have revealed that 360,000 people withdrew from their defined contribution pensions throughout October, November and December 2020 which is a 10% increase on the same period last year.

These uncertain times are often seen as a window of opportunity for scammers looking to prey on vulnerable individuals, with a recent report by Action Fraud finding that pension scams had become one of the most common types of fraud to occur last year.

Global equity markets continue to move higher given the potential reflation of the global economy – no doubt helped by the $1.9tr US fiscal stimulus package that is currently working its way through Congress, coupled with the better-than-expected company result session and the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

New figures from HMRC show 360,000 people withdrew from their defined contribution (DC) pensions throughout October, November and December 2020.