Pension planning

Superannuation has become very expensive.

However great a pension scheme it is, if the contributions are significantly affecting your monthly cash flow, you need to know if there is a way of reducing your superannuation costs while investing elsewhere to provide for the future. We can introduce you to the specialists who understand the NHS Superannuation Scheme.

The benefits are amazing but so are the costs.

There can be no general rules to apply to superannuation, and decisions will have to be made depending on the lifestyle choices of individual doctors.

It is such a technically difficult subject that, in our opinion, needs a specialist IFA to advise about the very many implications of possible decisions that can be made.

If you have opted for Fixed Protection and you are a GP, almost certainly you should be cancelling this quickly to avoid potential penalties because of “benefit accrual”- but again everybody has their own unique situation, so we cant give you a general rule - you need to have your figures checked and reviewed.

The sorts of questions currently being posed include - should I temporarilly suspend my contributions to avoid future tax charges and accept improved cash flow now at the expense of reduced cash flow later?

Another is - should I keep up my contributions now and be prepared to incur a tax charge on my “over-funded” pension pot, so that I can benefit from a larger lump sum and pension when I retire?

Another regular question - Should I take 24 hour retirement now and stop paying in contributions, or should I suspend my contributions for a while instead?

We can introduce you to an IFA who understands the options, to help you understand the choices available to you, and we will then happily discuss your choices with you.