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What Does Your Pension Statement Say?

By June 20, 2022No Comments

A pension statement is a summary of what’s happening with your pension account.

That means you can have a rough idea of how much income you’ll get from your pension in later life, whether you need to be saving more into your pension, and if you may need to supplement it with other sources of income after you retire.

What should your annual pension statement tell you?

Your pension statement will give a projection of how much income you should get from your pension after you retire.

But remember, this will only be a rough estimate. Nobody has a crystal ball, and the value of your investments and the economic climate could change massively in the years ahead.

A pension statement will also give you granular information such as:

  • The amount that you’ve paid in
  • How much has been paid in by your employer and the government
  • The amount your pension was worth at the beginning of the year
  • How much your pension is worth now
  • Information on any funds your money is invested in
  • Details of any charges
  • An estimate of how much income you’re likely to receive at retirement if you convert your pension into an annuity when retire

Your pension provider will usually issue a pension statement once a year, but if you use a digital dashboard, you can access this information any time you wish.

Why it’s important to regularly check your pension statement

There are many compelling reasons why you should read your pension statement at least once a year. A pension statement shows you if you’re on course to get the income you need for your retirement.

You don’t just want to be making ends meet when you retire

As you’ll most likely have lifestyle goals and ambitions you want to achieve in later life.

So it’s really important to know well in advance if your pension income will be enough for you.

If there’s a shortfall in your savings, you need to identify it as soon as possible, or it’ll be much harder to deal with.

With that in mind, you can also use your pension statement to review your investments and estimate future investment returns.

That means you can make decisions such as sell your investments, invest in new assets or diversify your portfolio.

In short, a pension statement helps you plan for the future and see where changes need to be made, so you’re in the best possible position to enjoy a happy and fulfilling retirement.

Find out more

For all the information you need to access your Annual Benefit Statement, understand it and gain help towards planning the lifestyle you want for your retirement, read our essential guide here.

Read now
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