How do I check my pension?

Whether you have just started to think about your pension or already have an idea of what you want to do with it, a pension check is a great place to start.

With a pension check you will know how your pension is currently looking and how to make the most of it to have the retirement you want.

To check your pension yourself requires a lot of in-depth knowledge on how pensions work. And this can get quite confusing at times. So, the easiest way to check your pension is to ask a regulated financial adviser to do it for you.

What is a pension check?

A pension check is much like a service for your car. It’s an investigation to see how it is currently working and to identify anything that isn’t performing so well. And, much like an oil change, you can make changes to your pension to improve the way it runs.

You would only get your car serviced by a mechanic you trust, right? Well, it’s the same with your pension. It’s important to choose the right financial adviser to make sure you get the best outcome.

Finding the right financial adviser

When looking for a financial adviser to check your pension for you, the most important thing is that they are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This means more protection for your savings. You can check if a company is regulated by using their online register.

It’s also a good idea to look at how and what they charge. By using a financial adviser that doesn’t charge an upfront free, you can learn all you need to know about your pension without having to pay a penny.

Here at Pension Access, we can conduct the initial investigation into your pension free of charge. And in most cases, we can go on to give full advice without a fee being due. A charge would only be applied if you wanted to follow our advice and asked us to take care of everything for you. And this would be fully explained before you decide to go ahead. This means that you can walk away fully informed with nothing to pay. And if you do ask us to take care of everything for you, generally, there is the option for the fee to be taken from your pension, so there would be no extra money for you to find.

What do I get from a pension check?

By asking us to check your pension, you can find out:

• The current value of your pension
• Your tax-free cash allowance
• If the pension suppliers we use could give you a scheme with lower charges
• If your investments could be improved to get a higher return
• Your options for withdrawing your pension from 55

Releasing pension money early isn’t right for everyone as it will leave you worse off in retirement.

And if you choose to follow our advice then you will receive ongoing management and annual reviews to make sure your pension is always working in the best way for you.