Pensions

21 August 2026

In the lead up to recent Budgets, many retirees opted to take tax-free lump sums from their pension after rumours that there would be cuts to the allowance.

But tax-free lump sums have not been changed yet, leaving some in an awkward position of now having a chunk of cash sitting in their accounts, with no need to spend it right away. Even for...

17 August 2026

Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) allow plenty of choice when it comes to investment options. This is a perk that many AJ Bell customers have taken advantage of, putting their savings into a variety of stocks, funds, investment trusts and ETFs instead of the cookie cutter pension investment options.

However, choosing investments for your...

13 August 2026

From April 2027, unused pensions will be brought under the umbrella of inheritance tax (IHT), as well as their current tax policy of possibly facing income tax upon withdrawal. Now, HMRC is introducing more details on how this pension inheritance tax would be approached.

Under the plans, inheritance could be subject to a two-tier tax system, where...

6 August 2026

One of the most important things you can do for your pension is set yourself up for success early on. Pensions aren’t going to garner all of your attention in your 20s and 30s, and they don’t have to, but devoting just a bit of time to it is certainly worth it. Ticking off these three items can make the difference of hundreds of thousands of pounds...

5 August 2026

Most people are currently collecting pensions like they’re trying to complete some sort of set. The automatic-enrolment rules mean that as long as you’re aged 22 or over and earning at least £10,000 a year, you’ll be automatically enrolled into the pension when you start a new job. When you leave and start somewhere else, you’ll leave the pension...

29 July 2026

When you reach the point you begin to think about dipping into your pension pot, it can often feel like an endless string of financial decisions that you must ‘get right’.

In July, the Department for Work and Pensions released its findings following in-depth interviews with people aged 53 to 67 living a variety of lifestyles across the UK. They...

28 July 2026

AJ Bell has written to new Chancellor John Healey calling for a public commitment to a long-overdue Pension Tax Lock to avoid a repeat of the 2024 and 2025 Budgets and give stability to Brits saving for retirement.

Pension providers raised alarm bells at both the 2024 and 2025 Budgets, warning that cash was being withdrawn from long-term pension...

3 July 2026

The government is collecting more in death taxes than ever before, and the inheritance tax (IHT) take has more than doubled in a decade thanks to rising asset values and frozen allowances. This, together with the April 2027 changes that will bring unused pensions into the value of estates, has led to many more people considering using gifts to...

25 June 2026

From 6 April 2027, unused pensions will be included in calculations for inheritance tax (IHT). As well as introducing new complexities for people who planned to keep excess savings in their pension to pass on to loved ones, the new regime also creates extra challenges for those dealing with the estate after someone dies.

Personal representatives...

12 June 2026

You might have an idea of how well-off your friends are based on the size of their home, the amount of reusable Waitrose bags they have at their disposal, or how often they tell you they’re off to the ‘ruggers’.

But how much people have stored up in their pensions is a bit trickier to deduce, especially since it can’t be accessed until age 55...

9 June 2026

The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement promotes extreme planning for early retirement in your 30, 40s or 50s, achieved via severe cost-cutting, adopting a frugal lifestyle, and saving up to 70% of what you earn. The aim is to build up a pot worth 25 times your annual expenses, and then withdraw it at 4% a year, so it lasts for...

4 June 2026

HMRC estimates more than 2.8 million people could cut their pension contributions once the salary sacrifice cap is introduced in April 2029. Though this is guesswork and the Office for Budgetary Responsibility has warned that the behavioural impact of the new cap on pension saving is highly uncertain.

This is not a simple case of higher earners...

2 June 2026

Rising prices for food, essentials and leisure have hiked what people need from their pensions in retirement, according to the latest Retirement Living Standards from Pensions UK.

A ‘comfortable’ lifestyle is now priced at £45,400 a year for a single person, with the ‘moderate’ and ‘minimum’ lifestyles coming in at an annual cost of £32,700 and £13...

16 May 2026

Anyone stepping into the role of prime minister and entering Number 10 midway through a term will have some tough decisions on their plate. They will be eager to stamp their mark on their premiership, yet must balance this with the risk of reneging on key promises made to voters less than two years ago – and threaten to erode public trust in the...

12 May 2026

Read the full report from the AJ Bell Money Matters team

There is no hiding from the gender pension gap. But looking at how and when it starts could provide valuable insight into the best ways of working towards closing it.

New research from AJ Bell Money Matters shows that among retail investors, men and women’s pension contributions start taking...

5 May 2026

By the time you’ve reached retirement age, you’ve likely learned that life often doesn’t go as planned. And in this case, it might mean returning to work after you thought you’d thrown in the towel for good.

You may have returned for a bit of extra cash, or just because you were missing the hustle and bustle. But if you weren’t accounting for the...

28 April 2026

There are no guarantees any of us will make it to state pension age in robust health, and in nine out of 10 areas of the UK, the average person doesn’t. It raises the question of what you’d do if you needed to fill the gap.

The problem is likely to get worse. Healthy life expectancy has fallen by two years in a decade, so if the trend continues...

27 April 2026

When it comes time to hang up the boots, it’s common to face anxiety about our savings being enough for the retirement we imagined.

Preparing for retirement, we often think about how much we plan to spend, whether that’s continuing a similar lifestyle to your current one or abandoning the UK winters for sea-side sun. Depending on the plans, this...

24 April 2026

Setting yourself up for retirement is one of life's biggest goals, and one of the hardest to plan for.

It's impossible to know exactly how much you’ll need in retirement, because you can’t anticipate every life event or how inflation might change prices by the time you get there. However, having a number in mind can be a helpful goal to aim for...

23 April 2026

When you work for yourself, you don’t have the luxury of auto-enrolment and a HR department to sort a pension for you. Competing pressures on your time and the fact income can be lumpier than a regular salary can mean that saving looks different for you.

But pensions are not just for employees and the powerful tax perks they come with can turn even...

21 April 2026

I started my first job in London on a salary of £30k. It wasn't the lowest salary among my friends, but every month still ended with dinners of a hodgepodge of pasta noodles from the back of my cupboard and sauce that was a few days past the best by date.

It didn’t feel very possible to set money aside for the future when it felt so necessary for...

14 April 2026

While you cannot directly gift your pension to another person, you can use withdrawals from your pension to fund gifts to loved ones. As pensions become included in estates for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027, those facing a large inheritance tax bill, or worried about the income tax their beneficiaries may face after inheritance tax is...

13 April 2026

As you move into your 50s, 60s and beyond, your relationship with investing will naturally change. You may be thinking more about accessing your pension and generating an income or making sure you don’t outlive your pensions and other savings in later life.

While there’s plenty of change ahead - and hopefully some exciting plans - your investment...