Retirement Planner

Can you afford to wait?

When considering saving for retirement you may have thought about how much income you will need. However, have you given any thought to whether the payments you propose to make to your plan will be sufficient to help you achieve your desired retirement income?

Why not try using our Retirement Planner? This has been designed to allow you to view the projected retirement income based on your and your employer's payments to your pension plan, against the desired income you would like to receive at retirement.

Will the payments I make achieve my desired retirement income?

Our Retirement Planner will show you any potential shortfall between your projected retirement income and your desired target retirement income.

What happens if a shortfall is identified?

You can then choose to view the effects on your desired pension income by increasing/decreasing the payments you propose to make or by altering the age at which you wish to retire.

What are you waiting for?

To view your pension projections, please click on the 'get started' button below and enter the details on the following screen. Initially, the target retirement income field will default to 75% of your gross annual salary up to a maximum target of £70,000; however, you will be able to alter the target income field, initial payment levels, and retirement age by overtyping the amounts or by using the sliders to increase or decrease the amounts.

The retirement age field will also default to a retirement age of 65, which will allow you the option of including/excluding the basic state pension from your projections. The earliest age from which you can choose to take your Basic State Pension is 65 if you are a male and 60 if you are a female in this illustration. If you select an earlier retirement age than this, Basic State Pension will not be included in your projections.

You may also wish to include other yearly income from a chosen age, or a lump sum payment into your pension. More information can be found in the help boxes next to these inputs.

Important notes and assumptions are detailed below this screen and the Retirement Planner screen. Please use the scroll bar at the side of the screen to view this information.
Click here to get started

Important notes

Tax

The Government changed the tax regime for pensions on 6 April 2006. In the new regime the maximum permitted payment you can make to a pension which is eligible for tax relief is the greater of your relevant UK earnings (annual salary) subject to the Annual Allowance or £3,600 each year. These limits are set by HM Revenue and Customs and apply to the total payments made by you and any third party (including your employer) to all your pension arrangements.

There is also an Annual Allowance for tax relief on payments that you, your employer and any third party can make to all pension arrangements. The Annual Allowance for the tax year 2013/14 is set at £50,000. Payments above the Annual Allowance may be subject to a tax charge (depending on previous years pension payments) at an individual's marginal tax rate. The Government announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement proposals to reduce the Annual Allowance to £40,000 for the tax year commencing 2014/15.

There is a HM Revenue & Customs limit known as the Lifetime Allowance. This is the total value of all pension benefits you can take in your lifetime without paying a tax penalty. Anything over the current Lifetime Allowance limit may be subject to a tax charge. The rate of the Lifetime allowance charge depends on how benefits are taken. For more information regarding the Lifetime Allowance please click here

Tax rules and legislation may change. The value of tax relief may change and will depend on your financial circumstances. The information we have given is based on our understanding of law and HM Revenue & Customs practice at 6th April 2013.

Assumptions

State Pension

It should be noted that the Government announced in January 2013 proposals that would make significant changes to the State Pension. The key proposals are:

BT does not take any responsibility for the content or output of the Retirement Planning Tool provided by Standard Life

For former SLFPP (Syntegra Limited Flexible Pension Plan) members only

Your Payment
(% of pensionable salary)
Your Employer’s Payment
(% of pensionable salary from 1 April 2010)
23
34.5
46
58
68.5
79
8+9

For members making payments of 5% or above, a minimum employer’s payment of £1500pa from 1 April 2010 will be applied. These payments will be applied pro rata for part time employees or for leavers during the year.

For former BTRP (BT Retirement Plan) members only

Your Payment
(% of pensionable salary)
Your Employer’s Payment
(% of pensionable salary from 1 April 2010)
46
58
68.5
7+9

For members making payments of 5% or above, a minimum employer’s payment of £1500pa from 1 April 2010 will be applied. These payments will be applied pro rata for part time employees or for leavers during the year.

The notional earnings cap for tax year 2013/2014 is £141,000 and is assumed to increase at 2.5% each year, rounded up to the next multiple of £600. Your employer’s payments will be a percentage of your salary, up to the notional earnings cap.

For New Entrants (if you are neither of the above)

Your Payment
(% of pensionable salary)
Your Employer’s Payment
(% of pensionable salary from 1 April 2010)
58
68.5
7+9

For members making payments of 5% or above, a minimum employer’s payment of £1500pa from 1 April 2010 will be applied. These payments will be applied pro rata for part time employees or for leavers during the year.

The notional earnings cap for tax year 2013/2014 is £141,000 and is assumed to increase at 2.5% each year, rounded up to the next multiple of £600. Your employer’s payments will be a percentage of your salary, up to the notional earnings cap.

©2010 Standard Life


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