A third of couples over the age of 40 know nothing of their partner’s retirement pension plan, and general finances. As a result, there is no coherent financial planning in place, with many ‘living in hope’ that they will have sufficient income in retirement.
Companies dragging their heels in setting up annuities lose one or several weeks’ pension income for pensioners. Just a week’s delay can cost over £100 – the worst offenders can cost you over £1,000.
The pension savings of a typical middle earner in the UK could have been up to £100,000 larger, had hidden charges not been taken over the years. The same amount saved by a Dutch person would have given pension income 50% higher than his UK counterpart, due to a more efficient pension savings architecture in the Netherlands, a leading pensions expert said this week.
