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15th September 2016
If you’ve looked at Google’s logo a lot over the years you may have noticed that practically everything has its own ‘awareness day’. Given how much goes on in our busy lives this is probably a good idea, as humans we’re more than a little prone to forgetting important things if we haven’t talked about them in a while. Like our pensions.
What is Pension Awareness Day?
Pension Awareness Day (PAD) is an award-winning campaign that takes place annually on 15th September. The aim of the day is to promote the importance of saving for the future and to alert the nation that it is not saving enough for retirement.
The campaign also aims to encourage pension providers and employers to use more simple language and to look for more creative ways in how pension messaging is communicated.
This in particular is important. Could you honestly say you know exactly how your pension works? If you answered yes, congratulations, but you’re far from in the majority. Like so many things, knowing is half the battle, and if you know how much you need to save, you can plan in advance more effectively.
Not only this but many are also unaware of how their company pension is worked out, and how much is actually in it. When you add the former to the latter, you end up not only not knowing how much you need, but not even knowing exactly how much you already have.
Why Pension Awareness Day?
The initiative was devised in response to concerns that people are not saving enough for their retirement. According to a recent report by the government, almost 12 million people are failing to save enough for their future.
This coupled with an increasing ageing population and uncertainty over the changes to the state pension, means that despite auto-enrolment being introduced to the workplace, it is clear there is still a long way to go in equipping people with the tools and information they need to help them save more.
So what should I do?
In the short term, gather all information on your pension that you actually do have, and ask your employers for what they have. Book a free initial appointment at no obligation with a wealth advisor here at Gale and Phillipson, and bring all the information you have with you. From there we can help you plan for the long term, and possibly even enable you to spend less each month on your pension!
If it turns out the best course would be simply to leave the pensions where they are, we won’t advise any differently. We take pride in our responsible, ethical advice, and never take payments to promote particular saving options. This allows us to keep your best interests at heart.
