11 Summary of Session 6

There has been a lot to digest in this session.

Figure 13 Enjoying a long retirement

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The figure is a photo of two elderly women with arms around each other at an 80th birthday celebration. In the background is a large cake with the number ‘80’ pinned on top of it.

Figure 13 Enjoying a long retirement

Ensuring that you have a good plan for a pension or other sources of income is essential for an enjoyable retirement. Ideally you should start planning from early in your adult life, as leaving it to later in life risks failing to accumulate sufficient funds for an adequate pension.

While the state pension provides a start to your target income in retirement, you will need to make additional provisions yourself to provide you with the lifestyle you want when you finish working.

In this session you have examined the different types of pension schemes found in the UK, and looked at alternatives to providing cash in retirement, like equity release. You also have seen that pensions are subject to various tax rules – and this alone is good reason to consider using a financial adviser to guide you through the pension options available to you.

The great news is that recent decades have seen people in the UK living longer lives. Enjoying a longer life makes it essential that you are meticulous with your pension planning, and that you don’t postpone taking action to implement your plan.

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Transcript: Video 3 Summary of Session 6

MARTIN LEWIS

Congratulations, you’ve got through it. You’ve completed the six modules. We hope you enjoyed it very much and you’ve learnt something. Just don’t go trying to nick my job.

Now that you’ve gone through it, what’s next? Well, look, the honest truth is when it comes to finances, things are changing all the time. And just as important as learning the answers is learning what questions to ask. And that’s what you really need to think about now. Every time you make or take a financial decision, you should be thinking, have I done it right? Have I asked the right questions? How do I know this is the right thing to do? Have I gone and done my proper research in advance?

This course has tooled you up on six big, broad subjects. But every time you’re doing something, delve into the detail. We’ll try and help you do that over at moneysavingexpert.com itself. But most importantly for you, I hope having done the course, you’re feeling proud of yourself. You can stand tall and make the right decisions financially for you in the future. Well done.

End transcript: Video 3 Summary of Session 6

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Video 3 Summary of Session 6

MSE and other links

• If you want to assess your pension position, follow this link to the Money Advice Service (MAS) pension calculator [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
• If you want to find out more about the state pension credit, follow this link to key points for retirement saving on the MoneySaving Expert website.
• If you want to learn more about what to consider when choosing a financial adviser, check the MoneySavingExpert website.
• If you want to learn more about the equity release market, follow this link to the MoneySavingExpert website.
• To find out more about Pension Credit, follow this link: MoneySavingExpert and Pension Credit.