Three actions to help you make the most of your pension plan

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Still a long way off retirement? Or already taking your pension money? Either way, there are things you can do for your pension plan that could benefit you now and in the future. Here are three steps you can take today. 

1. Try a tool or calculator

There are lots of free resources available that can make it easier to plan for life after work or help you if you’ve already retired.

For example, if you haven’t started taking your money yet, you could use our pension calculator to help you understand how much you might get from your plan in future. The calculator can help you see if you’re on track for the income you want in retirement. 

If you’d like to know how you could take your pension money when the time is right, we’ve got a tool that compares your retirement options. 

And if you’ve already started taking your money, you can use our Can I reclaim tax? tool to help you see if you might be eligible for a tax refund.

2. Check your information is up to date

If your personal details are out of date, your provider might not be able to contact you with important information, and you could end up losing track of your pension plan. So make sure you keep your details – like your contact numbers and home address – updated across all your providers, current and previous. 

And don’t forget to give your providers your personal email address. This helps them to keep in touch with you if you leave your job and lose access to your work email.  

Remember to keep your beneficiary information updated too. Your beneficiaries are the people you want your pension money to go to when you die. Your pension provider will keep a record of your wishes and take them into account when paying death benefits. So by reviewing your beneficiaries regularly, you can help your pension savings go to the right people. 

You might need to ask your pension provider for a beneficiary nomination form. Or you may be able to name and update beneficiaries online or on your provider’s app. 

3. Consider managing your plan online

If you haven’t done so already, setting up an online account with your pension provider or using their app (if they have one) could make it easier for you to manage your plan.

There are usually plenty of things you can do online. Depending on the type of plan you have, for example, you can change how much you’re paying in or how much you’re taking from your pension savings. You can update your details and see how your investments are performing too. 

Knowing you can check in on your pension savings and make changes anytime, anywhere could help you feel more confident about your financial future. 

If you’re a Standard Life customer and you’d like to find out more about our online services, you can take a look at our website. But don’t forget, you can also visit our support page to find out about other ways to get in touch or take action. 

The information here is based on our understanding in August 2023 and shouldn’t be taken as financial advice. 

Standard Life accepts no responsibility for information in external websites. These are provided for general information.

A pension is an investment and its value can go down as well as up and may be worth less than was paid in.