Common questions answered
How much should I be saving for retirement?
It depends on how much retirement income you want, when you plan to retire, your sex and your age now. The table on 'Pensions' gives an indication if you aim to retire at 65. It’s impossible to know how your pension savings will grow in future, so the indications are based on assumptions that may turn out to be too optimistic or too pessimistic. Because of this, it is important to review your pension savings regularly and be prepared to adjust the amount you save to stay on track.
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My benefit statement shows my pension in ‘today’s money’. What does that mean?
Over time the value of money falls because prices rise. If you have £1 and baked beans cost 25p a tin, you can buy four tins. If in a year’s time the price of baked beans has doubled to 50p, you can buy only two tins. The buying power of your money has halved, so the value of £1 tomorrow is only 50p in today’s money. Your benefit statement makes an adjustment for possible future price rises to give you an idea of the value of your expected pension in terms of what it could buy today.
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I was previously married. Can my ex-wife claim the death benefits from my occupational pension scheme if I were to die?
It depends. Your divorce settlement may already have compensated your ex-wife for the loss of any claim to your pension scheme benefits. If not, a claim from her might succeed if she could show that she was still financially dependent on you – for example, because she relied on your maintenance payments.
If you are separated but not divorced, your ex would be your legal widow and it is quite possible that the scheme would recognise a claim from her as valid.
