Remove pension stress with a pre-retirement checklist

Retirement should not mean spreadsheets and sleepless nights. While you might not be able to control markets, inflation, or interest rates, you can control how prepared you are, and a bit of admin now could buy years of confidence later.

Here are seven things that you can check off now to help you get organised before you enter retirement, whatever that might look like for you. If you’d like to know more about your options, our retirement hub has plenty of information, including short videos to help explain the options.

1. Round up your current pensions

This could include workplace pensions through to personal pensions like SIPPs. Your providers might write to you once you reach age 50 with information on your options, but you don’t need to wait until then. Log in to your accounts today to find out how much they’re worth, where your money is invested and whether they have any special features or valuable guarantees.

If you’ve had more than one employer, there’s a chance you’ve lost track of all your pensions – and some may be quietly gathering dust. Providers like AJ Bell offer pension finding services to help you track down lost pensions, and even combine into a single, low-cost pot that is easier to manage.

2. Check when you can access them

You can start accessing most pensions from age 55, although this is rising to age 57 from 6 April 2028. But defined benefit pensions (sometimes called final salary schemes) might not allow you to access them until you are older without a reduction in your starting pension.

You should also keep in mind that the age at which you can claim the state pension is increasing gradually to 67 from April this year.

3. Get a state pension forecast

Speaking of the state pension, an official forecast will give you information on your qualifying years and any gaps so far, how much you might expect to receive from the state pension, and when. The quickest way to get a get one is online or via the HMRC app. Although the full new state pension will be just over £12,500 year from April 2026, what you’ll be able to claim when the time comes will depend on your own National Insurance record.

While your state pension could provide a great foundation for your retirement income, it’s unlikely to be anywhere near enough for a more comfortable retirement.

4. Work out how much income you’ll need

This leads us on what you want your retirement to look like and working out how much this might cost you. This number will be personal to you, but research from Pensions UK might be able to help you work it out.

They’ve put an annual cost (pre-tax) on typical living standards in retirement, ranging from a minimum standard covering the bare essentials, to a moderate and then a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

More information on the living standards can be found in our saving for retirement page.

5. Look at the options to access your pension

You don’t need to decide just yet, but you should get to grips with what the options and what your plans could give you.

Your main options are:

• Drawdown – up to 25% tax free cash, with the remainder left invested to take flexible income
• Pension lump sums – cash lump sums with tax on anything above the 25% tax-free portion
• Annuity – swap all or part of your pot for a guaranteed income for life

Once you’ve reached age 50, you can get free information and guidance on your options from the government’s Pension Wise service. But if you’d like to know what option is best for own situation, you should seek advice from a suitably qualified financial adviser. You’ll have to pay a fee, but it can help you avoid costly mistakes.

6. Consider topping up your savings

Our pension calculator lets you see if your savings are on track and allows you to model how increasing your regular pension contributions and/or making annual top ups can boost your projected pot value.

You’ve still got time to plug gaps in your retirement savings, especially if you’re at the top of your earnings potential.

Most people can pay in up to the lower of their annual UK earnings or £60,000 per tax year and enjoy the full benefits of pension tax relief. But you’re not just restricted to pensions, ISAs offer tax-free withdrawals and shelters investments from HMRC with a generous overall allowance of £20,000 a year, but without the upfront tax relief.

7. Review your investments

As retirement approaches, you should check if your pension investments still match your retirement objectives. Some pension funds start to reduce risk and move into cash as you approach a certain age, assuming you’ll buy an annuity. But if you’re considering a more flexible option, your funds might need to last you another 30 years from now which means you’ll want to avoid inflation eroding your spending power over time and moving into cash may not make sense.

And a final touch of pensions housekeeping

A sneaky eighth point for the checklist – think about who you’d like to take over when you might need them to.

Most pensions are set up under trust, meaning they aren’t covered by your will and until April 2027, will not form part of your estate. It’s crucial you tell your provider who your preferred pension beneficiaries are and keep your nominations up to date.

Making a will tells your loved ones what you’d like to happen to the rest of your estate when you die, and making a power of attorney means someone can manage your affairs in your lifetime if you’re unable to.