Pension Awareness Week: Why you should review your Will and your Pensions.

Pension Awareness Week is all about getting people thinking about their pensions and more importantly their future.

When we speak about our pensions, we think about saving for our retirement…however it is also just as important to think about and plan what happens to our hard earning savings, i.e our pensions, when we pass away.

Pensions and your Will- How things work presently

Presently, most people’s pensions are not disposed of by their Will. Instead, most pensions are set up so that the pension provider, or their trustees, decide who receives the money when you die. To do this, the provider/trustees will strongly consider who you have stated as your “nominated beneficiaries”. This means it’s really important to keep your nominated beneficiaries up to date. Therefore, if you’ve had big life changes, such as getting married, divorced, or having children, your pension money could end up going somewhere you no longer intend if you fail to keep your nominated beneficiaries up to date.

Big changes coming in April 2027

From April 2027, the rules surrounding pensions is subject to change. Pensions will start to be dealt with through your will and by the executors of your estate. This is a big shift because it means:

• Your will is going to play a much bigger role in deciding what happens to your pension.
• Executors will have new responsibilities for dealing with pension money.
• How pensions are taxed when someone dies will change.

What you should do now to be prepared for these changes: 

These changes make it more important than ever to:

1. Make a will if you don’t already have one.
2. Review your existing will to check it reflects your wishes, especially with the 2027 changes in mind.
3. Check and update your pension nominations now – until the new rules come in, pensions still sit outside your estate, so nominated beneficiaries are very important!

In Summary

Your pension is often one of your biggest assets, so it’s vital to make sure it’s protected and passed on in the way you want.

Pension Awareness Week is the perfect time to review both your will and your pension paperwork, so you can have peace of mind knowing everything is up to date!