Scottish Widows: Very real pension savings chances

The government's decision to exclude residential property from self-invested pension plans (Sipps) should not be allowed to overshadow the very real opportunities that the new regime offers in terms of flexible pension savings.

This is the opinion of Terry Walker, the market director of retirement income and planning at Scottish Widows.

In light of the government's plans, the bank has reviewed its positioning with regards to A-Day and found that flexible pension savings are still an option.

Property, in fact, had become a distraction which took attention from the other valuable planning opportunities around A-Day, Mr Walker notes.

The ability to build an asset portfolio that is relevant to the needs of an individual is now at the forefront of the bank's new A-Day proposition, he says.

Scottish Widows' Retirement Account remains relatively unaffected by the changes announced by the chancellor, Gordon Brown, in his pre-Budget speech, says Mr Walker.

The Retirement Account is designed to take full advantage of the new simplified regime, which continues to offer excellent tax planning opportunities, he explains.

These opportunities refer specifically to the areas of higher contribution limits and the concurrency benefits of early access for some to personal pension benefits while being part of an occupational scheme, according to Mr Walker.

Pensions

Scottish Widows: Very real pension savings chances

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