Employers are being encouraged to get their workforces thinking and talking about their finances as the Money and Pensions Service’s ‘Talk Money Week 2024’ starts today (4 November) and runs until Friday 8 November.
The campaign urges people to have more open conversations about their money. This year’s theme is to ‘do one thing’ that could help improve financial wellbeing.
Chris Flower, chartered financial planner at Quilter Financial Advisers, said that one thing people could do is check their pension statement to ensure they are on track for a comfortable retirement.
Pension check
He said that by reviewing your pension statement, you can assess whether you are saving enough to meet your retirement goals. It’s simple to do, can provide peace of mind and help people make informed decisions about financial planning.
“Checking your pension statement should be a high priority to ensure that you are fully aware of the income you’re on track to secure once you have reached retirement age. Many people disregard these statements, usually not giving them more than a quick look, but regularly reviewing these statements is a vital task to ensure you are financially stable for later life.
“Pension statements provide you with key information about your retirement pots, such as how your investments have performed, the fees you are paying on the pot, and your overall income once you retire.”
Living standards
The PLSA’s Retirement Living Standards indicate that a comfortable retirement requires a single person to have an annual income (gross of tax) of £43,100 per year.
“It isn’t uncommon for a pension fund to experience short-term volatility, but if this proceeds to become a longer-term issue, you may want to consider re-evaluating your investments,” Flower added.
Government tax office HMRC has encouraged people to download its free and secure app to access its services.
Popular app services
The government department said that the most popular features used on the app between July and September this year were checking State Pension contributions (1.9 million sessions), managing Child Benefit (1.6 million sessions), and viewing annual tax summaries (1.4 million sessions).
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC director general for customer services, said: “One of the main priorities for HMRC is improving its customer services and this incredibly useful and user-friendly app is a great example of how tax can be made much easier for people.
“Whether you’re a student looking for your National Insurance number or a new parent wanting to claim Child Benefit, the HMRC app has a range of tools for you, at your fingertips. I urge everyone to download it today.”
