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Are you saving enough?
Find out how much your lifestyle could cost when you retire and how to work out if your savings are on track.
Are you saving enough?It is pension engagement season
It’s that time of year again. Pension Engagement Season is back for 2024 with more useful content, pension problem-solving and handy tips to help you get behind the driving seat of your pension.
Here’s what’s happening this year and how you can get involved:
Pension Attention 2024
Spanning from 6 September to 8 November, the Pension Attention campaign is back with a new moto ‘Face Forward’.
Led by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), the campaign is encouraging pension savers to take 3 simple steps:
Find out if you have any lost pension savings
Research tells us billions of pounds are locked away in dormant pensions. Could some of this money be yours? Look back to yesterday and track any old or lost pension you may have. You don’t have to do this alone – the government-backed Pension Tracing Service is here to help.
Take stock of your pension plans and check what you’ll get when you retire
Tap into the information available on your member website to help you manage your pension. The ‘Tools’ section in particular offers some handy tools and information for members of the schemes.
Take the opportunity to look back and think of what other pension plans you may hold – keeping on top of your pension game now will help you achieve your retirement goals in the future.
Picture your future self and how much you’ll need later in life
It’s never too early or too late to start planning for your future. No matter where you are on your pension saving journey, take the time this autumn to stop and think about your future and how to get there financially. It may seem like a long way off if you’ve started saving recently. Or it might be that you’re well into your career but haven’t prioritised saving for later life yet and think that it’s too late to start now. It always pays to plan ahead and save for the future, even if it is only a small amount you can afford to put away each month.
Take a look at the Lifestyle costs in retirement page to check what income you’ll need when you stop work.
Check out the government’s planning tool for step-by-step guide to retirement.
You can find out more about the Pension Attention campaign by visiting pensionattention.co.uk and youtube.com/@pensionattention.
Pension Awareness 2024
Pension Awareness Week will run from the 9th-13th September, bringing 3 solid days of free online shows on various pension topics.
The shows will take place on the 10th, 11th and –12th and will be available to watch on catch up if you miss them on the day.
Running for a tenth consecutive year, the campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of saving for later life. It provides free, impartial and practical help for tackling primary pension problems, as well as other money matters like savings,
debt and budgeting.
You can sign up to join the shows at: Pension Awareness Day
Tuesday, 10 September
Is it a good idea to transfer my pension? 10:00 – 10:45
Financial wellbeing – finding the balance between money and mindset 12:30 – 13:15
Wednesday, 11 September
Retirement reality check – how to have the lifestyle you want in retirement 10:00 – 10:45
How to get ready for the retirement you want – 12:30 – 13:15
Pension investments explained 14:30 – 15:15
Thursday, 12 September
How to shrink the gender pension gap – 10:00 – 10:45
Pension Geeks for HR/Pension Managers – 12:30 – 13:15
DB or Not DB? 14:30 – 15:15
DB or Not DB? 14:30 – 15:15
Matt Riley
Manager
Matt joined Zedra Governance Limited (formerly PTL) in January 2008 having previously worked for Mercer Limited, Hazell Carr and Prudential.
As a Manager for the company's Birmingham Office, Matt’s responsibilities include working closely with Client Directors and individually liaising with Employers, Trustees and Members to ensure the smooth running of their pension schemes. Matt’s current portfolio of clients covers ongoing, paid-up and winding-up schemes. In addition, Matt has experience of schemes that have transferred or are in the process of transferring to the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme. Matt also works closely with clients in relation to risk registers and internal controls.
Matt particularly enjoys resolving issues in a fair and pragmatic way ensuring that the right result is reached for the member or employer.
Sam Burden
Client Director
Sam Burden joined Zedra Governance (formerly PTL) in 2022. He is an Accredited Professional Pension Trustee (AMAPPT) and an Associate of the Pensions Management Institute (APMI)
Sam has more than 25 years’ experience in the pensions industry gained with WTW, KPMG, and Standard Life working with a wide range of pension schemes and sponsoring employers. His trustee appointments include DB, DC and hybrid pension schemes and he has experience of handling a broad range of projects relating to the management of pension schemes.
Beyond his pensions experience Sam is a former Birmingham City Councillor where he chaired the audit committee and a current charity trustee.
Payam Kazemian
Client Director
Payam Kazemian joined Zedra Governance Limited (formerly PTL Governance Limited) in 2021. He is an Accredited Professional Pension Trustee (AMAPPT) and an Associate of the Pensions Management Institute (APMI).
Payam has more than 17 years of experience in the pensions industry. Through his current role as a professional trustee, as well as previously as a pension’s de-risking and investment structuring expert at financial institutions including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, he has had overall responsibility for creating investment, de-risking, journey planning, and governance solutions for a wide range of UK DB pension schemes. He currently holds a number of board positions (as Chair of Trustees) and sole trustee in his professional trustee capacity. Payam has been involved with a number of pensions projects including pensions buy-in, pensions buy-out, GMP equalisation, investment strategy reviews, and dialogue with the pensions regulator. Payam looks to create and believes in a collaborative relationship between the sponsor, the trustee, and all other parties involved as this results in best member outcomes and helps deliver pragmatic solutions for scheme. Aside from his pensions experience, Payam holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge.
