Planning for your future and saving more
You can probably already picture the retirement you want. Knowing how much that lifestyle is likely to cost, and whether you can afford it, is an important part of planning for your future - and gives you time to potentially boost your retirement balance if the numbers do not quite add up.
The information below explains how to set your own retirement target, and save more towards it with the Retirement Balance Plan (RBP), including:
- increasing your core benefit level
- paying additional contributions
- bonus waiver (into a separate arrangement)
Setting a savings target
Will you have enough money to live the kind of life you want when you retire? Follow these three simple steps to find out and give yourself something to aim for.
- Work out how much you are likely to need in retirement
The Retirement Living Standards (RLS) offer a general guide to how much income you might need (after tax) when you stop work. When you are looking at these figures, keep in mind, it assumes that you will not have any mortgage or rent payments to make. You can find out more on the Retirement Living Standards website.
For a more personalised estimate, you can use our Lifestyle Calculator tool. It is based on RLS, but lets you adjust certain figures for a more tailored idea of how much income you might need to pay for the retirement you want.
2. Work out how much you are likely to get in retirement
Once you know how much you are likely to spend in retirement, you can then work out whether you are likely to have enough money coming in to cover those costs. You will need to take into account all your possible sources of income. These can include:
- Your Uniper pension - you can check your Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) or request an estimate to see how much you might get.
- Your State Pension - the amount you get is set by the government. You can request an estimate online at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.
- Other pensions - such as a private pension or pensions linked to previous employment. You'll need to speak to each of the providers individually for estimates on those accounts. If you have lost their contact details, the Pensions Tracing Service may be able to help. It is a free, Government-backed service available online at www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details and over the phone on 0800 731 0175 or +44 (0) 191 218 7777 if you are calling from outside the UK. Other companies offer a similar service but may charge a fee.
- Savings and investments - if you have savings outside of your pension, get those statements from your bank or other provider.
Remember, the Retirement Living Standards and Lifestyle Calculator figures are based on the income you may need after tax, whereas your pension estimates will give you a guideline of what you might get before tax.
3. Compare what you are going to need with what you are likely to get
If you do not think you are on track to be able to pay for the retirement you want, then you can make some changes to help you reach that target.
These could include:
- adjusting your lifestyle
- changing your retirement date, or
- saving more. There are a few days you could do this within the Retirement Balance Plan: by increasing your core benefit level, and making additional contributions. You can find more details on these options by selecting 'saving more' above. You can also save more by using the bonus waiver option into a separate pension arrangement to RBP. More on this as well above.
Saving more towards your target with RBP
If you want to save more for retirement, you may be able to 'top-up' your retirement balance. Options for doing this include:
Increasing your core benefit level
You choose how much you want credited to your retirement balance each Plan year (1 April to 31 March) based on five core benefit levels.
These levels are:
- 20% of pensionable pay
- 25% of pensionable pay
- 30% of pensionable pay
- 35% of pensionable pay
- 40% of pensionable pay
The higher the level, the higher your retirement balance will be when you come to retire. It also means your contributions will be higher too. You can find the contribution rates in your Member Guide.
You have the option to change your core benefit level once a year via the 'Benify' flexible benefits platform. The window to make this change opens in March, in advance of the start of the Plan year on 1 April.
For more information, log on to the Benify platform and select the option for 'Retirement Balance Plan'.
Paying additional contributions
The highest core benefit level you can choose is 40% of your pensionable pay.
If you are already at that level, and want to save even more, then you can opt to pay additional contributions and have your balance credited with additional benefit levels.
These additional benefit levels must be in multiples of 5% of your pensionable pay, for example 5%, 10% or 15%, on top of your 40% core benefit level. You can pay up to 100% of your taxable earnings.
How much you will pay in additional contributions depends on the additional benefit level you have chosen and your age on 1 April in the Plan year. The rates are set by the Scheme Actuary and can be found in your Member Guide.
Enrolment for additional contributions runs within the same time window, and is done on the same Benify platform, as for selecting your core benefit level. This is described as above.
For more information, log on to the Benify platform and select the option for 'Retirement Balance Plan'.
Increasing your overall pension benefits by paying your bonus into a separate arrangement
You cannot pay your annual bonus in to your Retirement Balance Plan but you can apply to pay part, or all, of your annual bonus into a separate arrangement - the Uniper Pension Plan (UPP). This is called a bonus waiver and could help to increase your overall pension benefits.
Please see the dedicated bonus waiver page for more details.
Getting financial advice
An Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) can offer you professional advice to help you make financial decisions.
You can also find support and guidance through the government-backed MoneyHelper service.
Visit the help and advice page for more details.
Neither Trustees, the RBP administrator, Railpen, or Uniper can provide you with any financial or investment advice. They can give you factual information but not advice.
Request an estimate of your pension
An estimate is a forecast of your pension. You can request one at any time by logging in to your myESPS account or contacting the RBP administrator, Broadstone.
Download the step-by-step guide to requesting an estimate online below.