How much is my pension worth?

No matter how far away you are from retirement, it’s always good to have an idea of how much your pension is worth. This way you can know what your retirement will look like and make changes when needed that could mean the difference between living comfortably and just scraping by.

How much a pension is worth is based on a number of factors that vary between different types of schemes. And finding out how much your pension is worth is quite straightforward.

How is the value of my pension calculated?

If you have a defined contribution scheme then the value of your pension all depends on the contributions you have made, the performance of your investments and the charges you pay. You will have also received tax relief and contributions from your employer, if it’s a workplace pension, to give it a boost.

If you have a defined benefit, or final salary, pension then things work a little differently. Rather than having a monetary value, this type of pension promises to pay a guaranteed income from a set age. This income all depends on the salary you were on when you worked for the company and how long you worked there.

How do I find out what my pension is worth?

You can find out how much your pension is worth by asking your provider or checking your annual statements. However, you won’t receive any support to know if the performance of your pension could be improved to give it more of a boost before retirement.

To get this extra support, the best thing to do is to ask a regulated financial adviser to check your pension for you.

What do I get from a pension check?

By asking a financial adviser to check your pension for you, you can find out:

• What your pension is worth
  
• Your tax-free cash allowance
  
• Show you if their pension suppliers can give you a better pension scheme
  
• 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.

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

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. 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.