Home / Wealth & planning / Pensions & retirement

Pensions and retirement planning in Dorset

Good for

  • Several pensions from several jobs
  • Ten years or less from retiring
  • Wondering whether to combine, top up or leave alone
  • Already retired and drawing an income
Walkers on the Dorset coast path

The average person changes jobs eleven times. Most leave a pension behind at each one. Retirement planning usually starts with finding them.

Gathering old pensions

We trace what you have, ask each provider what it's invested in, what it charges and whether it carries any guarantees worth keeping. Some old schemes have valuable features that would be lost on transfer. Some are simply expensive and forgotten.

Only then do we recommend whether to consolidate, and into what. Combining pensions is not always the right answer, and we'll say so when it isn't.

£26bn

estimated in lost UK pension pots ← verify source

55

earliest age to access most pensions, rising to 57 in 2028

25%

of a pot can usually be taken tax free, within limits

Turning a pot into income

Drawdown keeps the money invested and lets you take what you need. An annuity swaps a lump sum for a guaranteed income for life. Many people end up with a blend. We model what each would mean for you at 65, 75 and 85, including the years the market has a bad time.

State pension, part-time work and any final salary income are built into the same picture, so the plan reflects the whole household rather than one pot.

"I had four pensions in a drawer. Now I have one plan and a number I can retire on."

Client, Dorchester · PLACEHOLDER, replace with verified review

Tax and allowances

Contributions attract tax relief at your marginal rate, within the annual allowance. Withdrawals beyond the tax-free portion are taxed as income, so the order and timing of what you take matters more than most people expect. We plan withdrawals around allowances, not just around need.

What it costs

The first conversation is free. If we go on to work together, our fees for advice and ongoing reviews are set out in writing and agreed before any work starts. Fee structure to be inserted from Quilter-approved disclosure.

The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. Transferring out of a defined benefit scheme is unlikely to be in the best interests of most people.

Find out what your pensions add up to.

Bring whatever paperwork you can find. We'll do the tracing.