Sweeping changes to pensions are on the way. All employers - even those that only employ one person - will have to provide workplace pensions for their employees.

Unlimited access to personal pensions is also on the way. Chartered Financial Planner, Julie Wilson, looks at some of the implications of the biggest changes to pensions in decades.

Flexible Pensions

Personal pension investors used to have two main options when they got to retirement: Buy an annuity (an income for life) or take a capped income directly from the pension fund. Most people with small pension pots bought an annuity.

This year, the Government announced that from April 2015, people will have unlimited access to their personal pension fund. Which sounds like good news. But there are two main pitfalls:

  1. Tax. Anything taken above 25% will be taxable at your highest rate, which could be as high as 45%.
  2. Your pension fund has to last for the rest of your life, so blowing it all on a Ferrari in year one might not be such a good idea.

I've written a guide to help you explore your options and make smart decisions about your retirement income. To get your FREE copy, just call Helen on 01904 661140, or email helen@pen-life.co.uk

Workplace Pensions

All employers - including those that employ temporary or seasonal staff - will have to provide workers with a workplace pension scheme by law.

Employers will have to automatically enrol their employees into a compliant pension scheme and pay contributions - eventually at the rate of 3% of earnings. Failure to do so can result in fines of up to £2,500 per day.

We're already seeing companies being fined for non-compliance.

Small employers (with less than 49 workers) will have to start automatically enrolling workers into a compliant pensions scheme from June 2015 or face fines for non-compliance.

I've written a guide to help employers understand their obligations and outlining the steps they’ll need to take to set up compliant schemes and avoid hefty fines. To get your FREE copy, just call Helen on 01904 661140, or email helen@pen-life.co.uk