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"Most people treat pensions like a gym membership"

ended 06. July 2025

The Express are keen on any pensions stories, any advice or any tips you may have for people with pensions.

  • Do you have any advice for people with regards to their pensions on how to retire comfortably? Any specific things they can do?
  • What advice would you give someone in their 40s with a small pension, or someone in their late 50s who still hasn't thought about pensions much yet?
  • Any other tips or tricks or intel on pensions please let us know.

Responses by 2pm today  please.

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Gosia Dawson
Director at Glade Financial
So, how do you retire comfortably? Pension planning is crucial, but often overlooked. Whether you’re in your 40s with a small pot or in your 50s and just starting, it’s never too late to take control. Begin by understanding what you have, where it is, and how it’s performing. In your 40s, maximise contributions and harness compound growth. In your 50s, review your retirement goals, check your State Pension forecast and consider using carry-forward allowances for tax relief. Always review your investment choices, check fees, update beneficiary nominations, and take advantage of employer contributions. A little action today can make a big difference to your financial future tomorrow.
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David Nicklin
SSAS Consultant at Retirement Capital
Most people treat pensions like a gym membership. They set it up with good intentions, ignore it for years and hope for miracles. Business owners in particular can't afford that luxury. Savvy people use their pension to fund their business, buy property or lend themselves money. That is a SSAS. And it is still criminally underused. If you are in your forties with a small pot, you have time to build something real. If you are in your late fifties and only just starting out, it is not game over, but it is not amateur hour either. You need a plan, not just a polite chat with your provider. The real question is not whether you have enough. It is whether you are using what you already have to its full potential. Pensions are not just about saving, they are about strategy. With tax and inheritance changes on the way, those who are prepared will have the upper hand. A well-structured pension gives you room to manoeuvre. The time to act is now.
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Dr Ramin Nakisa
Managing Director at PensionCraft Ltd
People making the right choices can still swing the odds in favour of a good pension outcome, especially if they're starting investing late. Firstly, use your ISA and SIPP allowances fully. These tax-efficient accounts can significantly boost your retirement savings. Second, aim to keep total investment fees below 0.2% annually, which is easy for DIY investors. High fees erode your returns over time, so shop around for low-cost platforms and funds. Also, educate yourself and understand investment returns. Historically, stocks offer the highest returns, followed by bonds and cash. However, stocks are more volatile, so assess your risk tolerance to find a balance that suits your situation. For those in their 40s with a small pension, it's crucial to start contributing more aggressively. Above all, though keep it simple. A handful of funds is enough for almost everyone and makes management much easier without sacrificing the ability for strong returns.
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Ross Lacey
Director & Independent Financial Adviser at Fairview Financial Management
Pensions suffer with an image problem. There's so many misconceptions and complexities that it often leads to people being disengaged with their pensions and what they mean for them in the future. It's no surprise that the natural inclination for most is to pull out the 25% tax free cash as soon as it's available, and stick it in the bank. This could be one of the biggest mistakes they make. The term "pensions" is often used to decribe them like they are an investment in themselves, when in reality, a pension is purely the bucket that holds investments within it. That means everybody's pension is potentially different, in terms of what it holds and what it will do for them in the future. So 10 people with pensions from the same provider could have completely different experiences and outcomes from their pension. That's why it's so important to take personal advice on making sure your pension is aligned to how you plan to use the money in the future.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
Your company must offer you a pension scheme in most circumstances, and they will make contributions on your behalf, so whatever you do don't opt out of these schemes as they are very valuable. Look at your old pensions and see what fees you are paying. Some of these are astronomical, and modern online-based pensions are so much cheaper with much more choice. Finally, do some planning. A good financial adviser will create a cashflow model that will predict what you are likely to get in retirement if you make different contributions and how and when you could start taking an income or lump sums.
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Rob Mansfield
Independent Financial Advisor at Rootes Wealth Management
My tip would be simply to get involved and ask questions. Don't just file the statements and think it'll be alright. Most providers may as well write in another language and it really puts people off. But it's so important for setting you up for retirement. The main levers you have to pull are how much you put in, how hard you make that money work and when you take it out. It's never too late to start a plan. Get a state pension forecast and start working out what you need to live on. The gap between the two is what you need your private pensions to deliver.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
As a first-generation, self-made multimillionaire, who built his wealth the traditional way (buy-to-let, bricks, and a few sleepless nights), let me offer you my take on pensions. They are like insulation: boring, invisible, but vital if you don’t want to freeze later. A well-managed SIPP grows free from both income tax and capital gains tax, and offers tax relief on contributions up to £60,000 a year. Combined with an ISA, which allows £20,000 a year in tax-free investing, these vehicles form the backbone of a truly tax-efficient retirement strategy. In a world where tax policy shifts with the political breeze, the only sensible route to lasting wealth is to think like a sovereign fund, not a seat-of-the-pants speculator. For a savvy retail investor, the holy trinity is clear: a stocks ISA, a good SIPP, and equity mutual funds plus commercial property held in the SIPP. One shelters capital gains and dividends, the other gives you tax relief on the way in and zero tax on the way out.