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    • Home • Advice • Common questions

    What should I do to best help me in my retirement?

    10 November 2021

    Question by Lucy

    I’d like to know how I go about gathering my private pension pots (c£250k) and putting them together in the best place for me. What should I do to best help me in my retirement?

    Answered by Fraser Kerr

    Thanks for your question Lucy hopefully I can help provide some information on the options available.


    Firstly, it is important to have a thorough understanding of your current pensions. It could be that there are benefits to keeping them where they are as well as benefits to moving them. So, I would suggest you contact each provider and find out:

    • The charges you are paying
    • Any exit charges you would need to pay on transferring the plan away
    • If the plan has any guarantees – for example, a guaranteed annuity rate or an investment guarantee

    Carrying out this research helps you avoid losing out. It can get quite complicated though which is where an adviser can help.


    Thinking about retirement more generally, a good place to start is to understand how much income you might need. As an indication, according to Retirement Living Standards (https://www.retirementlivingstandards.org.uk/), retired single people (outside London) typically spend:

    • £10,200 a year for a Minimum lifestyle
    • £20,200 a year for a Moderate lifestyle
    • £33,000 a year for a Comfortable lifestyle

    And then to find out what sort of income you could get from all your assets, spend five mins using our retirement calculator.

    Answered by

    Fraser Kerr

    Financial Planner & Regional Director

    I’m a Regional Director with abrdn Financial Planning. We offer free planning support and specialist financial advice across the UK, to help you make the most of your money for your life. I support individuals, couples and families to set and achieve their goals, giving them confidence and peace of mind for the future.

    Important stuffHolly and the team have worked in the finance industry for many years but we are not regulated to give you personal financial advice. For every story on this website about a good investment, or something which went up by 10% or made someone £200, we could also share a story about a bad investment, something which fell in value or lost someone £200. We aim to provide general information and pointers – and btw we are totally agnostic about which providers you might pick – but if you have complex affairs, want personalised advice or need specific recommendations, please look at advice pages and see if regulated digital or traditional financial advice would be the best solution for your needs. Boring Money Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registration number 09459832 and we have our registered office at 10 Lower Thames Street, London, England, EC3R 6AF.
    Risk warningAs is always the case with investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
    Boring Money Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales under registration number 09459832 and we have our registered office at 10 Lower Thames Street, London, England, EC3R 6AF.
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